OEM Fan Alternatives?

[Afrojoe]

Hello fellow X owners. After some research and a few mind changing finds, I have come to ask a for the knowledge of the elders. My factory clutch driven fan is cracked between blades like almost all of our plastic fans are. My clutch is fine so I can reuse that. But I was looking for non plastic alternatives. I don't want to deal with cracked plastic fans and like the metal fan aesthetic better. However I don't want to purchase an Electric fan because of the high cost and the fact that I'll be doing some offroading. So I was looking at flex fans, but they aren't ideal for low speed high rpm situations and can break at the rivets causing potentially dangerous situations. I also read that they're not good options for water crossings. The only other option I've found is a metal fan from a Gen 2 5.0 explorer but I've read that they create clearance issues in the serpentine and accesories (at least in Gen 1s) which is a danger I'd like to avoid. I have a Gen 2 98 OHV so would the V8 fan have the same clearance issues? Any other metal non-flex fan options out there? Any help is appreciated guys. I'd like to reuse my clutch I'm just having a hard time finding a good fan that I know will fit instead of buying 40 dollars of metal I can't use lol.

 

[Afrojoe]

No one with definitive info? I'm sure the plastic can last a fair while longer, I just want to replace it as to avoid any issue.

 

[Rhett]

No definitive info from me, but I can post what I know about OHV fans, because I'm on my third fan. There is no cheap option for a metal fan for the OHV that I know of. If you find one, post it up.

My best advice is to try a 5.0 metal fan from a junkyard, and at worst you are out $40 as you say, and could then e-bay that fan. Otherwise you would have to either experiment with metal fans from other vehicles.

I read where Ford changed the plastic material they used in the later fans, and that they hold up much better than the earlier fans. This might be borne out by the latest plastic fan in MY truck, which has held up well for the last 10 years (no cracks). The previous fans it had, cracked after just a few years. If you can still buy a fan thru Ford, it ain't cheap. I think I paid $80 or maybe even $120...I can't remember, except that it was (I think) exorbitant.

 

[Afrojoe]

I might go pull a 5.0 fan from my local Pull a Part. They have a 30 day return policy so worst case I could probably take it back. Hmmm. I wonder if you could put a clutch on a flex fan to stop it from flattening out as often. I'll let you know when I get around to trying something.

 

[SWIGIN]

My 5.0 fan is plastic, what years had metal fans?

 

[Rhett]

I don't know of any year 2nd gen that had a metal fan. I was thinking more of old Lincoln MkVII's and SuperCoupes had metal fans with 5.0's but I could be mistaken. It's been a long time since I've seen one of those.

Does your 79 Bronco have a 302 or 351? Does it have a metal fan?

 

[SWIGIN]

in 79 you could only get a 351m or 400, it had the 400 but has a built 460 now and they were all metal back then that I'v seen.

 

[SoHK_alumni]

My 5.0 fan is plastic, what years had metal fans?

The '96 and early '97 Expo 5.0's got the metal fan. Think the fan changed with the change to the GT40P heads. Heavier than the nylon and to my ears, noisier but essentially indestructible.

 

[Afrojoe]

I'm okay with heavier. The stock OHV isn't exactly a race pony anyways lol

 

[Afrojoe]

While I have you guys here. Suddenly in the last two days my Z has developed a temperature fluctuation. On the way home today she wouldn't go below 200 and got up to about 233 at points. I drove lightly because of it but it usually stayed between 215-226. Way higher than the constant 194 it use to stay at. When parked at idle it'll constantly climb until I turn her. Fan clutch issue? My water pump decided it doesn't want to cool consistently? Thoughts on it? I'm going to try and make sure there's no air in the lines in a bit once she cools down. Any info would be great and save me some digging. Oh yeah. What temperature do you think is blown head gasket territory? Or just which point is dangerous?

 

[SWIGIN]

I'd start with a new thermostat, yours might be stuck shut or partially open.

 

[Afrojoe]

I'll probably try that. I bought the type that's "supposed" to fail in the open position but being so cheap to fix it'd be hard not to do.