electric fan conversion kit questions | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

electric fan conversion kit questions

the_don

Well-Known Member
Joined
July 29, 2014
Messages
220
Reaction score
1
City, State
park city, ut
Year, Model & Trim Level
'93 exploder limited 5spd
so with my fan hub gone bad , and my fan blades cracked like the salt flats, Ive been thinking about dropping in an electric fan, ive been reading up on the Taurus fan installs and then i came across a kit from lmc part# 29-4766 http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fex/full.aspx?Page=69
and was wonder if anyone has any experience with these?
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Thanks for the question - I would also like an opinion. Specifically I would like to know if the often-promised increase in fuel mileage from the lack of a 'mechanical' fan is real or an empty promise.
 






Electric fan MAY give you an increase in mileage and performance but it depends on when/where/how you drive...

Mechanical fans that use a fan clutch reduce the speed at which they spin as the temperature of the coolant (air coming off the back of the radiator) drops. On Hayden thermo fan clutches that happens at around 170F. When the temp drops below 170F or so fan clutch allows the fan to spin slower. That makes the fan pull less air across the radiator AND reduces the load on the engine. The key here is "reduce", it doesn't stop spinning. Depending on which fan clutch you get it will still spin 20% to 30% of the shaft speed.

An electric fan, when not needed, is putting 0 load on the charging system which means 0 load on the engine.

When you are heading down the road at 45mph or so (typically) the air coming in the radiator is more than enough and the fan isn't needed. Once the coolant cools enough the electric fan will turn off and a mechanical fan will slow down... That means while your at a speed that doesn't need the fan the electric fan will give you better mileage. How much better mileage depends on the fan/fan clutch combo you are comparing it to.

Around Town is a different story.. Converting mechanical power (engine turning the alternator) to electrical power (alternator to battery) back to mechanical (electric fan) is less efficient than a mechanical fan. That means you are actually using more power to run the electric fan as it is running than the mechanical.

As for responsiveness.. I can say, with my van that is running a somewhat large motor (7.5L, 460 CI), the motor is more responsive with the Mark VIII electric fan than it was with the mechanical fan and Hayden severe duty clutch. Basically, the rpms move more freely. On top of that, you don't hear the mechanical fan noise every time I stepped on the throttle.

Personally, I like to run my electric fan controller on the output of the radiator (near it, at least). When the coolant coming out is in the upper 160F range the fan turns on. This way the fan is running based on the coolant temp which helps keep the coolant temp somewhat stable instead of waiting for the engine temp to rise and end up trying to cool hotter coolant (bigger temp swings).. I'm using a Hayden adjustable (bulb style) fan controller to switch a big relay. It is something I can find pretty easy if it does die.

As to that LMC kit. I doubt that would work. Rick (admin here) is one of the people I've seen try using even the Black Magic fan and even that fan had issues keeping his 4.0 cool in Arizona desert heat and that LMC fan doesn't look very good. The Mark VIII and Taurus (3.8 motor, not the 3.0) fan's are pretty thick and I don't know of anyone who got those fans to fit in the 1st gen explorer yet.

As to, is it worth it.. Well it depends.. A mechanical fan is simpler and while fan clutches ear out over time they last a long time. A electric fan can help but depends on the kind of fan and controller you get you can put quite a load (startup current) on the charging system if you can't use a PWM controller (can't on the higher draw fans).

For reference, the Mark VIII fan I'm using on my Van has a startup current of upwards of 60 amps and continuous draw of 30 amps. Here is a video of when I tested that.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJFzAMsIlc . Even with that much draw, even my 1g Ford large case alternator (only 90 amp, and low amp at idle) has no issues keeping things charged, although while stopped at a light the lights dim when the fan turns on.

Hopefully that makes sense...
~Mark
 






How about obtaining an engine oil cooler to help cool the engine down. It helps a lot and sometimes it'll be enough to not require a mod to your fan set up. That said, I did both a Hayden e-fan, a mid sized pusher, and engine oil cooler and dual remote filter set up. I never get hot, though I don't live in the Southwest, but trail driving at slow speeds is not an issue even on the hottest days I seen (95 degrees).
 












I've used about 3 cheap fans and none kept me cool but the Taurus fan..if I remember the stock fan is rated around 1,800-2,000 cfms..personally I see that as underrated, I would say first gens need around 2,000-2,500 cfms especially if its auto and you wheel hard...also depending on what radiator you run, you can step up to a 3 core and need less cfms but the bad part is you have wayyy less room for a fan.
 






There's also talk about narrower fans from CLK etc... But no off-the-shelf aftermarket product that works? I woner if I should pick my battles and just get a new fan to replace the cracking one and new clutch rather than mess around with electric, as tempting as it sounds O_O
 






so i just went out and measured and with a 2 core stock auto-trans radiator, i have 3.5" from face of the radiator to the outer most part of the water pump threads. going off of what jd4242 is saying about 2000-2500cfm, i come to a flex-a-lite 118 lowboy http://www.summitracing.com/parts/flx-118/overview/
at 3.18" think and 16.5 high and 16" wide it will fit in the auto radiator, thin enough to clear the water pump and push enough air to keep things cool, right?
 






It sounds like it will physically fit, but I don't know if it's going to move enough air to keep things cool.

I've seen a few people even try the black magic fan which is 3000cfm+ and it wasn't keeping vehicles cool when wheeling. Granted, these people were in hot climates BUT the factory mechanical fan is able to keep a 1st gen cool enough.

I've been wheeling with the a/c on in 105F+ weather and while things got warm the motor never got too hot.

From what I gather, CFM ratins is like wattage ratings for stereos. There are ways to manipulate things to get better numbers.

I've also seen someone on here try a chevy HHR fan (I think it was actually jd4242) which pull quite a bit of CFM but it wasn't keeping the explorer cool enough. I don't know if it was due to how it was installed "space contraints" or if it was really due to not enough CFM..

~Mark
 






I agree..my statement of it being under rated was for stock fans..I think the stock fan moves around 2,000-2,500 ...for a electric fan I would look no less than 3,000 cfms, dont ask me why it takes more for a electric but its probably because people OVER rate electric fans...

Fyi it was me that did the HHR and it couldnt keep cool BUT i gave it to my buddy with a sohc and it keeps it perfectly cool..
 






Back
Top