Electric cooling fans

86Scotty · 08-05-2015, 06:15 AM

I haven't found much on this so far, mostly just threads on cooling fans for people and not engines. I want to get my van to run a little cooler. I'm considering hood vents but also considering adding an electric fan up front. Has anyone done this?
I realize there are lots of choices with new fans out there but my plan is to experiment with what's available at the Pick N Pull yards. I'm thinking if I can find an electric fan, or maybe a double off a late model V8 it will have the best CFM, and I'd like to add it to the front of my radiator/condensor/tranny cooler as an auxiliary fan, not bypassing the mechanical. I'd like to wire it to a dash switch through a relay for manual operation, such as when I'm idling for awhile and want to keep the AC efficiently cooling or when I'm wheeling and going really slow. The 460 builds a lot of heat at low speeds and I think the diesels do to.

The idea here is to find an pretty common car that has a strong electric fan, so they would be easy to find and mount in the available space in a Ford van. It seems like I've read somewhere that the Taurus fan is a common one for modding in another car, but I'm not sure where I read that.

Any advice appreciated.

larrie · 08-05-2015, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I'd like to add it to the front of my radiator/condensor/tranny cooler as an auxiliary fan, not bypassing the mechanical.

There may be some issues with mounting the additional fan on the front to the coolers. One being the rotational direction of he new fans. When mounted in front of the existing fan it need it need to rotate the same direction as the existing fan. Otherwise it will be spinning backward when you try to start it which may cause it to fail. These types of fans do not develope much static pressure (the force required to move the air). If you take a fan from a two row radiator and put it on a four row unit it may not have enough power/force to push the air through it or the air flow may be greatly reduced.

An alternative may be to replace the existing fan with one from a Ford with a larger engine or swap in a newer radiator/fan combination from newer model.

mikracer · 08-05-2015, 09:34 AM

Aftermarket fans can be wired to pull or push the air. Not sure if the factory ones can do that. If you're mounting the fan in front of the radiator, you would need it to push.

carringb · 08-05-2015, 10:16 AM

I've also read that Ford Taurus fans are a good fit for Ford diesel pickups.

Have you ever replaced the radiator? If its working well and not plugged up, it should be sufficient. But they do lose efficiency with age.

Also, can you hear your fan coming on? Should sound like a Freightliner while climbing, if the fan clutch is working right.

carringb · 08-05-2015, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larrie

An alternative may be to replace the existing fan with one from a Ford with a larger engine

Ford never made a motor bigger than the 7.5L he has now

jwintersteller · 08-05-2015, 10:33 AM

I have also looked into doing something similar. I was looking at out of the box fans designed specifically for this. I talked to the guys at Bullet Proof Diesel about it. They had similar concerns to larrie about actually blocking air flow during normal driving conditions. They have come up with an adapter to use a mechanical fan clutch from the 7.3 engine. Some others on this forum have done this and are very happy with the results. http://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/category_s/54.htm
I am always trying to get my van to run cooler but when talking with the guys at BPD, they told me that my temps were well within tolerance. My worst case scenario is pulling my boat up Chiriaco Summit with air temps at 110+. In that case my ECT are around 225, my EOT around 235. Always seamed really high to me but BPD said I had another 20 degrees before things started to get ugly.

If you do go foreword with this, I defiantly recommend hood vents. If you try to push more air through the radiator into a crowded engine compartment, the air will have nowhere to go. My vents have really made my stock fan work more efficient.
Also if you go with an electric fan, consider installing a DC Power alternator, if you haven't already installed one. Those fans need a lot of amps and if you plan on running it at idle, I doubt the stock alternator will do the job. https://www.dcpowerinc.com/fit/Ford~E-3 ... 70-xp.html

I'll be interested in what you come up with. Even though my temps are within tolerance, I'm always looking to keep them cooler.

Cheers,
John

carringb · 08-05-2015, 12:11 PM

If you look at the last page of this:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...tml/Q179R1.pdf

You can see the electric fan configuration for the Gulf Coast ambulance package

**BroncoHauler** · 08-05-2015, 02:07 PM

I recently went through a somewhat major evolution to improve cooling on my 7.3L Excursion. Replaced the oil/water cooler, flushed the cooling system, replaced factory radiator with aftermarket aluminum radiator, and replaced the fan clutch.

First major trip through the desert in 100+ degree heat, I watched the engine and oil coolant temps slowly climb and I started to worry that I missed something. Then I heard the fan kick in and temps went right back down.

Thinking back, I'm not sure I ever heard the fan kick in since I bought the Excursion 2-3 years ago. All in all, I'm happy with all the replacements I made just do to ignorance of their age and prior service, but the fan clutch made a noticeable difference.

Herb

JackTuppVan · 08-05-2015, 04:37 PM

86Scotty... The most sought after junkyard E-fan is the Lincoln Mark VII it’s a 2 speed fan having 2500 CFM on low speed and 4500 CFM on high. The Mercury Cougar and the Taurus are a very close second and are a lot easier to find .these are all 2 speed single fans with built in shroud . Ford Contours , Windstars , and Dodge Intrepids are also good if you are looking for a dual setup . Lots of information can be found on the web concerning E-fan swaps. My Brother is using a Taurus E-fan in a fox Mustang with a stroked 460 , and it works great .I think he used an aftermarket fan controller. You may also need to upgrade your alternator to a higher amp unit . Rutledge pike Pull-a-Part in Knoxville is a good place to look. Here is a list of donor vehicles. ... Lincoln Mark VIII … 88-95 Taurus or Sable 3.8L …94-96 Cougar 3.8L … 88-94 Lincoln Continental …. 94+ Mustang V6
(DUAL FANS ) Ford Contour - Ford Windstar/Mercury Villager - Dodge Intrepid

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003 ... /index.php

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2006/10/Mark8Fan/

86Scotty · 08-05-2015, 05:40 PM

Thanks a lot Jack, and everyone else. I have replaced my fan clutch, and water pump, HUGE OEM 460 radiator, all hoses, thermostat, etc. All of that is good and I'm not looking to replace the mechanical fan. I repeat, NOT replacing the mechanical fan. I just want to add a cheap electric one I can control to push some more air through the aux tranny cooler, condenser and radiator. So I need pushing fan on the front side, meaning I may have to go with an aftermarket reversible. Not sure yet. It looks like there is lots of room on the Ford vans between the grill and radiator.
My mechanical fan is working properly, by the way. I hear it lock on full tilt occasionally. I'm simply wanting to maximize cooling in a vehicle with a huge engine stuffed in to a tight space, and keep everything else cooler as well, especially at low speeds. My 460 gets pretty damn hot, and these motors suffer from lots of the effects of heat since they are older technology. My starter is starting to go at just 40k miles, which is one of the problems with 460s from heat. It drags when hot so I just bought a spare to carry. Also, exhaust manifolds tend to overheat and crack on these motors. Also, vapor lock issues that I may or may not have had with all my trouble on my last trip. I think vents may be a better first option than the fan, but I figured a fan would be maybe $10 at a salvage yard so I was thinking of a cheap experiment. I know the diesel guys also have a lot of trouble keeping their vans cool and I am hoping to figure out something that works for others too.

Things I'm thinking of:
electric fan in FRONT of radiator, on a switch
mechanical fan still in place
thermal wrap from manifolds to cat
possibly thermal wrap the starter itself. Could it hurt?
thermal wrap fuel lines. I already did this in a parking lot on my trip, but I plan to do a more thorough job of it soon to make sure they aren't going to vapor lock
hood vents
high flow catalytic converter
A real temperature guage on my pillar pod, I already have tranny temp and never have gone above about 210.