I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE A BITCHFEST ABOUT E-FANS. ANY POSTS DOING SO WILL BE DELETED.

Ok guys I have to do an E-fan on the truck now with the blower since my factory won't spin anymore due to pullies.

I need some ideas on what you all did for your trucks that have them and some resources to get the parts from.

I have been looking on summit for them and have found a few but would like to get some input from you all.

Thanks in advance.

Not that I really know enough to help either way, but are you looking for a way to use junkyard parts and fab up your own, or all new parts?

Seems most I've seen on here use factory fans from cars, but you mention shopping at Summit...

Well I was looking at summit for the pictures. I really have no preference one way or the other. I did find two 14" fans for like 120 on summit that would fill out my radiator nicely. So I am kicking around ordering them today.

Dayuuum, the normally congenial Doc gets abnormally bitchy about a potential bitchfest...

Having had an efan setup on the 79 for a while I can give you some info.

I used a fan from a first gen Taurus, supposedly better than any aftermarket fan, and cheap to boot. It kept my truck ,with 35's , cool even while pulling a camper.

What mine looked like.




All you really need is a fan (or fans), a high amp relay, some wiring, and a thermostat to control the fan.

Here's a good write up.
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003/02/electricfan/index.php

Blue Goose said:

Dayuuum, the normally congenial Doc gets abnormally bitchy about a potential bitchfest...

Click to expand...

pffffffffffft

UNRULEE said:

Having had an efan setup on the 79 for a while I can give you some info.


All you really need is a fan (or fans), a high amp relay, some wiring, and a thermostat to control the fan.

Here's a good write up.
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003/02/electricfan/index.php

Click to expand...

Now here is a question, I have no real good way to get an aftermarket t-stat in the truck now with the blower intake. Could a guy just switch it or set it up somehow to come on otherwise. I also don't have A/C anymore so I can't hook it to that..

lil_dq said:

Now here is a question, I have no real good way to get an aftermarket t-stat in the truck now with the blower intake. Could a guy just switch it or set it up somehow to come on otherwise. I also don't have A/C anymore so I can't hook it to that..

Click to expand...

You can just use a probe that goes into the rad (between the fins) to check engine temp. The temp sender doesn't have to actually be in a coolant passage. There are other types.

I will have to check into that...

I think i saw a picture of a small piece that had a temp sending unit in it. Was a small metal piece and the rad hose connected on both sides of it... I saw it fairly close to the radiator, with a short hose coming off the rad, conncected to the sendin unit, then another piece off the back to the block.. Make since?

I found the probe style on summit for like 26 bucks. Prolly order that.. I am thinking about getting two of the 14" efans from summit as well. They would cover 98% of my rad and are only 4" thick. I can get the whole setup for around 200. They only draw 8 amps and I think I would only need a realy at that point, right?

I am thinking about these...

Proform Parts 67014 - Proform Electric Fans
Flex-a-lite 31147 - Flex-a-lite Adjustable Electric Fan Controllers

I do believe you are right about that Doc.

From what I've heard around hear the best are the ones off the 2.3L T-Birds.

Ok swung past Oriely's and picked up two 14" fans and a switch kit. now would you go pusher or puller set up on the fans?

I've always understood a puller to be the best way of cooling.
http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/frequent-question.html

Here are some shots of the new e-fan on the rad. I will install tomorrow...

I know, I know, "you really need to clean out the mud!" LOL

Crap... I wish I'd been here earlier. Doc I'm a little concerned that those fans will not adequately cool your engine, especially when it's putting out some big ponies (and generating some big heat). For one they don't have any shroud at all, so you're only pulling air through a very small area on your radiator; from the pic it looks like maybe 50% coverage on the rad. Secondly, those fans are pretty dinky and I don't think they're gonna pull enough CFM. The Proform fan that you linked above only pulls 1650cfm which is not enough for a highly modified V8. Two fans might be adequate but you'd be just barely scraping by. Rumors about the taurus and t-bird fans (none that I've seen confirmed) say that they're putting out in excess of 3500-4000cfm, plus they've got a lot more radiator coverage.

I used a taurus fan on my truck for a while and it seemed to work okay but it made me nervous that the shroud coverage on the rad was lacking. Pic:







I also felt like it was pulling way too much power. With my 95amp alternator, flipping the switch to high-speed override would power cycle my stereo and nearly kill the truck, it was nuts. Now it's possible that I had a fan with a motor that was dragging or on it's way out, but I didn't like it and Rick recommended the t-bird fan for it's bigger shroud. So I grabbed one of those and it's a HUGE improvement. Pulls less power, flows more air (bigger diameter blades) and it's got more rad coverage. Pics:








Notice that the space above the fan is completely covered-- the shroud covers the whole rad from top-to-bottom and has slightly more coverage left-to-right. If it's not too late to return the fans then I'd do it and grab a t-bird fan from the junkyard. I believe it comes from 3.8L t-birds. The taurus fan comes from 3.8L taurus'.

In terms of fan control, I'm using the same thermostatic controller that you posted above (with the temp prob in the rad fins). It works surprisingly well-- I've had zero problems with it. If you need help with wiring I'm you're guy. I designed my own fan circuit (it's surprisingly complicated because I ensured circuit protection from every angle) and I've also rewired my fan several times after changing my preference about the way I wanted to operate it. I've finally found the sweet spot with my current setup:

*3-way switch on the dash (ON-OFF-ON)
**Top position = auto --> low speed engages with temp probe or if A/C is turned on
**Center position = OFF --> kill the fan and prevent it from coming on (broken fan or fording deep water)
**Bottom position = high speed override --> emergency situations only because high speed pulls major power and moves major air with this fan.



Here is the final circuit that I designed and used. It's a lot more complicated than yours will be because I had to wire in my A/C and it adds a LOT of complication if done correctly (protecting all the wiring and components). [note: I did not show fuses in the diagram because they were making my circuit act wacky in the simulation program, but note that it is VERY VERY important to fuse the hot supply wire(s) and mine is fused with a 40A fuse]






Let me know how you want it to operate and I'll design a safe circuit for you.

Thanks Chris, I am going to try this setup for now... it pulls ALOT of air across the fins for now. Also don't have the A/C condensor in front of the rad. to block wind. If something changes this summer then I may have to rethink it. Since I have no A/C do you think the T-stat and a manual switch would be sufficient?

Know where your cores have the most coverage and put your fans there.

I'm a bit worried you're not going to get as much cooling as you think. if I had been here I would have said "Don't mess around" and get what I got.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRM-19511/

Mine was for my model, but the setup is the same. It's plug and play where everything fits perfect.

Ryan

lil_dq said:

. Since I have no A/C do you think the T-stat and a manual switch would be sufficient?

Click to expand...

Yeah. Just promise me that you'll try as hard as possible to not flip the switch to off unless you have to. Can't tell you how many times I used to dothat and forgot about it and almost overheated my engine. I need to add some sort of red light that tells me when it's switched to off.

Lemme know if you want me to wire up a diagram for you.