I want to replace my fan clutch with an electric fan. But i don't know if i will just be wasting money. Any thoughts?

 

Its never a bad idea so long as you are fully capable of wiring in a vital piece of the trucks cooling system. outta curiosity what are the specs on your truck?

 

There's lots of people on here who have done it... doesn't sound like a waste to me as long as you do it properly!

 

Any suggestions on what brand is best for electric fans?

1998 Ford Ranger XLT -Manual Transmission, rear wheel drive, V6 3.0L/128, SnugTop Truck Cap

 

I pulled my e-fan out of a Ford Taurus I believe. Wired it up for slow-speed only, never had a problem.

 

why mess with what works, i say. i have never heard of a car overheating with a mechanical fan, the electric fan is just gonna be a headache and the results are not gonna be that stellar. if it fails your gonna wish you stayed with the mechanical.

i just feel the cons are greater than the positives. if you were driving a turbo sports car, that would be a different story....

 

^ aha or unless you want better mileage and in todays world...mileage is king. do it. taurus's have dual fans i believe maybe im wrong but try to find a dual fan design and wire it up for always on...cuz there is always that one time you forget to turn it on...

 

I've run the Flex-a-lite e-fans for years. I went with them because it was bolt on applications each time. For the money it was worth it. I have yet to overheat and damage anything and it does an excellant job of cooling. I wired mine with the thermostat controlled option and a kill switch that would shut it off while in water. But the A/C over rides the kill switch. - anytime the A/C is on the fan is on....

If your looking to spend less the Taurus fans work great, not sure how much fabrication to mount one , but alot of people on here have done it. I also know people that have used BMW , Lexus , and Mercedes fans...

If you want to improve your mpg's , switch your thermostat for a higher setting and it will do more for your $$ than the e- fans will...

stock fan with 180 deg = 16 mpg avg
e fan with 180 deg = 17 mpg avg
stock fan with 210 deg = 18 mpg avg
e fan with 210 deg = 18 mpg avg

Less skinny pedal is the best option...

 

Any risk of damage from running 30* hotter?

 

Yes you will be wasting money, unless you need an electric fan for aother reason.

It adds to the Electrical Load of the vehicle which is close to max as it is, leave it to Ford.
It adds noise to the electrical lines, i.e. CBs, AM/FM Radios and amps.
AND if the Fan is not distributed over the whole radiator and allowed to run after the engine is turned off it will create hot spots that can affect the metal in the radiator causing breakdown of the metal.

I ran one because of the 5.0 in my ’88 Ranger but if I had a choice it would be a mechanical fan.
Even with noise filters on most of the components and a big one on the fan I got so much noise through my Amateur Radios I wanted to change but not too many choices, Explorer’s just got the V-8s !.
Next 5.0 swap will be a mechanical fan.

Why do you want to change over, gas savings isn’t that much ?

 

How do you change your thermostat settings? And if just changing the settings will do that then their is no need for an e fan right?

 

You just swap the stat out for a higher temp one.

 

Ive been running mine for 2yrs now...0 problems. Got a taurus fan (Single fan, dual speed) and wired it with dual 80A relays, temp switch and ON-OFF-ON toggle. Toggle works AUTO(temp switch)-OFF-HIGH(high only comes on at this position). It gets expensive when doing it right and thats the only way I would do it. I didnt get cheap autozone, 30 or 40A relays...I got BIG ones so theyd never fail. My temp switch is off a big rig...will outlast my ranger. Used thick ga wires with soldered/heat shrink'd connections. Noticed about a 1mpg increase but came at a VERY high cost.

Fan + new motor = $80
Relays (3) = $66
Breakers (2) = $10
Wiring = IDK because already had it
Temp switch= $30
Toggle = $5 (20A rating)
Misc = $25 (Foam tape to plug some gaps, bolts, metal straps to secure the bottom of the fan)

I probably went overboard with my setup, but its worked perfectly in southern california heat so far. Ive idled at 115F with my AC at full blast for an hour....0 problems

 

To do it right costs and best to do it the first time around…

I found my 190 stat ran up to 2-5+ before opening.
The 160 ran close to 180+ before opening.

Also, i sometime thing the electric fans reduce the amount of air getting through the radiator.

 

Off the subject, but that Mazda is freakin hot lookin !

 

Hey, how did this turn out ?

Did you do it yet ?

If not, why are you doing it ?

 

Ive been running one for a few weeks. 1993 topaz v6 fan. high is on temp, low on ac. wires myself. ive gone from 450 per tank to over 500. also my ac blows colder, i get heat in half the time, and the trucks acceleration got better. also, you save the waterpump bearings, and the engine idles smoother because its not spinning an unbalanced fan. my MPG went fron 17-18 in the city, to 22 mpg.

if you say they are a waste, you have never seen the difference for yourself. aks the people that have one, not the guys who read about them and form their own opinnions! total cost was $100 with fan and relays. my topaz fan only draws 15 amps.

and considering my tailgate light cost the same, i say thats not a bad upgrade.

 

I have one installed in my truck for two reasons. One, I do a lot of trail riding and what not so I want a fan that is on high while I am messing around to keep everything cool. Second, I have A/C so an electric fan is a good investment. I have it wired up to a switch in the cab on a relay. The reason being is it takes a fair bit for my truck to reach 205F range which is where I flip it on so it was easier to wire up this way. I have a 4.0 radiator in a 4 cylinder, so that is also a benefit.

Overall, engine does idle smoother and throttle response is better.

 

what about the serp belt, how do you measure for that and get the correct one? Also thinking about deleting the ac unit how would I measure if I deleted both? what could there be a correct routing of the belt to drive whats left? 95 ranger 2wd 2.3

 

U use the same belt! The mechanical fan unscrews off the water shaft. All U have to do is unscrew it. I don't think it's reversed threads.

 

you just take off the A/c belt..

 

3.0 is reverse thread.

i ran mine with 2 relays and a temp sensor

normaly everything is off. power goes into one relay, through it when off to the second relay. If the ac comes on, the second relay with power, sends it to the low speed of the fan and cycles according to the pump.

if everything is off, and power is to the second relay like above, and the temp gets too hot (temp sensor) the first relay is activated and takes the power away from the second relay(low) and put power to fan high.

now if the ac is on with relay 2 (low) activated by the ac pump, and it gets too hot, the temp sensor turns on, the first relay(high) removes power from the low speed relay, and send it to high of the fan. when the temp goes down it returns power to the second relay to cycle on low speed with the ac.


with this, you can never double power the fan and blow it.
its not always on
its temp is adjustable (if you want it always on turn the temp to very low)
cycles with the ac pump on low
cools on high

engine warms up faster
smooth idle
better throttle response
better acceleration
better MPG in the city
Engine runs at a better temp that i can now control
can be done for about $100
saves me about $20 in gas per month
Great reason to upgrade your alternator to run a winch, stereo or something like that.
truck doesn't howl like a plane taking off when you start it on a cold day.

cons:
wiring can fail if you dont do it correct.

My E fan is setup to run with the factory fan shroud = no hot spots, amazing cooling.




I carry my stock clutch fan in the summer in my rescue pack, so if it does blow i have backup. once theres snow, my E fan comes on maybe once every 15 minutes so the clutch fan is not necessary.

 

I have an 09 that has a fan for the ac
Can I use it for a primary cooling fan?
Anyone done it?

 

NO. You need the Clutch fan and the electric....Unless you run the stock electric just for the AC and a seperate for the engine

 

Can anyone comment on if there would be any significant power or mpg difference using a setup like this on a Lima 2.3? (I see you have a 4.0 at least). It would be nice to wire it to the thermostat and gain some space under the hood at the same time.