5.0 swap with an electric fan?

[seth247]

have any of you who have swapped a v8 into your first gens managed to use an electric radiator fan?

My swap manual from MRE says its next to impossible because of thebwater pump.

What about with a shorty water pump?

Electric water pump?

Thanks guys.

 

[410Fortune]

it says its impossible because they are using a V8 with the older style front dress.
If you use a Mustang or Explorer front serpentine belt and accessories you will have enough room to run electric fans or the stock fan/clutch in your explorer

Your best bet is to either use a conversion radiator or hack up your radiator support and move the radiator forward.

With the Gen I ex you need to move the radiator forward to run a puller fan behind it with the V8

every v8 converison is different also, some people move the drivetrain back to gete a bit more cooling clearance
the 5.0L with electric fan has been done many many ways and times.
I prefer the factory fan/clutch with my V8 for towing and slow low range 4x4ing

I may convert to a good electric fan setup some day in the BII, but I always worry about those fans drawing so many amps and if they stop running at the wrong time you could be in big trouble.

 

[seth247]

cool thanks fortune. Yeah I'll be buying the conversion radiator that tucks into the front.

And I agree with you on the reliability issues and the amp draw. But I freakin hate the annoying load roar that comes from the fan on the 4.0 cause I really like to hear the engine when I'm driving. And I'd like to avoid the power drain they cause.

I might just carry the clutch fan in the back and if I get in a bad bind I could swap em out. Be ALOT of trouble though.

Thanks again man I can't wait to build a 347 to drop in here.

 

[CDW6212R]

I'd wait on the fan if you could for a while, you will not gain any space that way for a 302.

The Explorer water pump is shorter than the Mustang pump. Don't use any Mustang front dress, including the 94/95(SN95) stuff. I have compared the Mustang WP to the Explorer WP, I wanted to select one of the three SN95 Mustang pumps.

The Mustang pump is longer, while the Explorer pump has more backspacing of it. The WP pulleys do not swap, the farthest forward part is the bolts or center shaft of the WP. The Mustang pulley bolt heads stick out further forward than the Explorer WP shaft. I may try to cut 1/4" off of my stock Explorer WP, depending if it looks possible.

To use an electric fan it is very wise to use a progressive controller, the amperage draw is very low to start. Most fans will pull 30-50 amps or more to start each time. I have a controller on my V6 fan that starts extremely gently, and quietly. I haven't worked out the 302 E-fan yet, hopefully soon. Regards,

 

[seth247]

yeah thanks don, I'll be using the clutch fan when I drop it in probly just to make that phase of the install simple-er. And to avoid causing complications. Then I'll try out a black magic fan later.

I wonder if any of the after market clutch fans like the flex-a-lites or whatever are designed to be quieter.

On a side note, I thought all the sn-95 motors were the 3 valve 4.6's. Did they put 5.0's in em at the beginning?

 

[CDW6212R]

The SN95 just refers to those 94 and 95's, they had a 302 and were much shorter at the belt than older V8's. The belt location is basically identical to the Explorer, but the portion ahead of the belt extends a little farther than the Explorer 302. The 4.6 began in 1996 Mustangs.

 

[seth247]

oh ok. I did not know that. I thought sn95 just referred to the bodystyle after the foxbodies.

I used to have a 91' foxbody. 4 banger. Convertible. Wish it was that thing I Was swapin a v8 into. Not that I dont love my ex.

Crashed it into a minivan.

Frikin minivans.

 

[CDW6212R]

It could mean the 94-98's, but from how they speak of them on the Corral site, they clump the 94/95 together or apart from the 96+ models. I think it's easier that way because of the engine change. Most of the suspension and drivetrain stuff can swap from 1994 to 2004. Night,

 

[seth247]

Oh ok I gotcha.

Was reading my MRE book again and it actually says that there isn't even room for a clutch fan. Says you have to use a flex fan.

What's a flex fan?

 

[410Fortune]

I have a stock 98 5.0L fan and clutch in my BII
AS long as the radiator is mounted inside the rad support (or moved forward however you choose) you will haev plenty of room for hoses and a clutch and fan, heck even AC and large trans coolers....next I am fitting a winch in front of all this

Your manual is out dated, garage fab has taken over...
if you get the 5.0L drivetrain into your truck the cooling system is not hard to tackle and you have several choices. I chose a super expensive custom aluminum radiator that takes up and much room as I could make in my radiator support. I wanted to avoid hacking up my 1988 radiator support..... now my $500 radiator needs to be replaced and I wish I would have just cut up my radiator support and stuck with a $135 stock radiator......

thats in a BII, the Explorer has a bit more room

 

[CDW6212R]

That looks great Jamie, very clean in two ways. How close in size is the old Explorer radiator to the two later 95-01 types? The V8 radiator is a little shorter than the V6 because it does set forward and down compared to the V6 versions. I had thought that they were the same, until I looked at my V8 to add a trans cooler. The V8 AC condenser mounts to the radiator, while the V6 part mounts to a nice separate bracket.

 

[410Fortune]

I tried to make both the OHV 4.0L 91-94 auto radiator and the 96 5.0L auto radaitor work in my conversion. There is just no room in the BII / Gen I Explorer, possibly with a body lift otherwise you hit frame rails.

I cut the openings in my stock radiator support wider by about 3" per side, then ordered an off the shelf Ron Davis Nascar Ford 2 core tig welded aluminum unit with custom side mounts tig welded on.
I made room for it and mounted it using rubber mounts. It still twisted too much and now it leaks internally on both side tanks (header leak).

I should have cut the radiator support, used my old OHV 4.0L radiator and 88 fan shroud and call it done.... like Rookies truck.
the rad support is gonna get chopped up anyway when I do my cage... I just have a hard time cutting up sheet metal on my beloved BII... ouch! but its time I do....

 

[CDW6212R]

I loved the size of my 99 radiator in my SOHC when I was deciding on which radiator support to use. The newer radiator wasn't going into the old support at all(too tall mainly), so I elected to use the whole 99 front clip. I wanted the 99 radiator and the 93 front body(entire body), but I had to concede that the 95-01 front clip was easier to deal with.

 

[seth247]

Wait so a first gen radiator can handle cooling the 5.0?

I keep forgeting that my MRE book is for a bronco/ranger conversion. So there will obviously be differences.

It said the stock rad couldn't do it but I think he must have been talking about the one for the bronco engine. 2.3l(I think) wasn't it?

 

[CDW6212R]

The radiator is very important, and so is the fan. If either are low in ability than the engine is likely to overheat. Select a fan with a good matching shroud to the radiator, there are obviously lots of good choices. Avoid the small fans with no shroud and/or poor fitment to the radiator.

I would trust the 4WD guys about the radiators being good enough for a V8. If they tell you that they will work, than trust that. Of course you would like a more modern unit, larger etc, but the space available determines a lot of that.

 

[seth247]

yeah I was just wondering. I wouldnt use my stock rad anyway. Its leaking badly at both of the stupid plastic reservoirs that somebody at ford had the bright idea to stick on each end.