Electric Radiator Fan Options

[Little Devil]

Has anyone fitted electric fans and ditched the fan clutch. I've fitted two fan clutches in recent years, each time it has been days after the warranty expires.
I've just come back from a trip and she ran warmer and the ROAR of the fan cutting in is not evident anymore.
Many thanks in advance if someone has hints on electric replacement option.

[BruceandBobbi]

Has anyone fitted electric fans and ditched the fan clutch. I've fitted two fan clutches in recent years, each time it has been days after the warranty expires.
I've just come back from a trip and she ran warmer and the ROAR of the fan cutting in is not evident anymore.
Many thanks in advance if someone has hints on electric replacement option.

Sorry can't answer your question. Interested in which brand of fan clutches did you fit?

[geopaj]

Sorry can't answer your question. Interested in which brand of fan clutches did you fit?

Yeah, me too. It sounds strange to me. Is there excessive play in the water pump bearings or something?

My NT has done over 340,000km and still on the original viscous fan clutch.

Generally, unless you are chasing ultimate power rather than reliably, it is not recommended to remove a mechanical fan and replace it with an electronic one. A factory designed mechanical fan in the factory designed shroud will nearly always provide more radiator airflow compared to an aftermarket electric fan. That’s also why trucks and 4wds have tended to stick with mechanical fans rather than going to electric ones.

[AndrewRe]

For what it is worth... I was on a trip recently with someone who had all sorts of issues with water crossings and hard wired fans. If you choose to go the fan route it'd be worth having an easy to access isolator. My friend ended up nursing his Prado back as fan went through radiator.

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[Little Devil]

Fan Clutch

Sorry can't answer your question. Interested in which brand of fan clutches did you fit?

Not sure of brand, will check shed over the weekend for the old one and box, seem to recall Dayco from Repco.

[old Jack]

Why not just replace the oil in the viscous fan?

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=43596

OJ.

[Little Devil]

Replace Oil

Thanks for the link, did this in the first instance, was not successful.

[AndrewRe]

Why not just replace the oil in the viscous fan?

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=43596

OJ.

Didn't know that was possible.

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[Swede50]

To replace the OE fan with electric is possible.
To make it reliable is another matter.
Most of the "Hot Rodders" use a OE fan set up from the wreckers of a vehicle that has electric fans from the factory.
Popular is EF -BA Falcon. Lots around and a dual fan in a shroud that is fairly easily able to be adapted to fit.
The problem comes with how to activate the fan.
A popular solution is a fan temp switch in one of the tanks... if possible to fit. Magna switches have been used I think.
Aftermarket in the hose switching is possible with mixed results (Davies Craig)
Getting the electrical side of thing correct is the battle. Large cables high and power relays
Another thing to consider is the current draw of these large fans
A 16" Commodore fan is 225 Watt
Also need to be able to turn the fan off for deep water crossings.
All in all ,,, too much trouble

[Paul NT]

About half the cars I've owned I've converted to electric fans, including an NG Exceed. Good points, quieter, improved fuel economy, and perhaps a little more power? Bad points, there's no way they suck as much air as a big viscous coupled fan, and my cooling was never as good, towing uphill on a hot day, just couldn't cope.

[Swede50]

About half the cars I've owned I've converted to electric fans, including an NG Exceed. Good points, quieter, improved fuel economy, and perhaps a little more power? Bad points, there's no way they suck as much air as a big viscous coupled fan, and my cooling was never as good, towing uphill on a hot day, just couldn't cope.

agree on all points
We did a V8 conversion in my fathers Volvo in the late 70's
Ended up with three electric fans and bonnet vents (2 x Sigma turbo) to keep it cool.
Getting the hot air past the engine is always a battle.

[erad]

I agree about the electric fans not being good enough. If you look at cars which have electric fans as standard, their radiators have a much larger area than those which have mechanically driven fans. If you try to use an electric fan on a radiator designed for a mechanical fan, typically it will work most of the time for sure, but when push comes to shove, then the electric fan won't do the job adequately. If you are doing 100 km/h all the time - no problems at all, but if you are climbing a steep ridge in low range, forget it.

On my old NL, when driving outback Queensland and it was hot, as I slowed down to go into a town, I could hear the viscous coupling on the fan cut in. As soon as I speeded up out of town, I could hear it cut out. This proved to me that the fan was working as it should - minimal drag for most of the time and cutting in only when needed. I removed the mechanical fan from my old Citroen and replaced it with an electric fan, but went back to original design because it simply didn't work properly at all times.

[Little Devil]

Sparebox


Thanks for the input everyone.
Have decided to replace the water pump and fan clutch!
Has anyone bought parts through SPARESBOX? If so what was their experience like?
Ta
Jeff

[BruceandBobbi]

Thanks for the input everyone.
Have decided to replace the water pump and fan clutch!
Has anyone bought parts through SPARESBOX? If so what was their experience like?
Ta
Jeff

Some here have had a problem fitting aftermarket pumps.

Whatever you do DON'T buy from Automotivesuperstore.

[FerdiNL]

On my previous Terrano I mounted a electrical fan from Monster Cooling.
Was designd for a big V8 so it was up for the job. But costwise a new viscous one was cheaper and next time I have problems with a viscous one I would just repair that one.