It must be possible for us to get our old 80 series to cool adequately. I will definitely pursue some of the ideas above and report what I find.
I am reasonably sure we aren't the only ones on Mud who struggle with the air conditioner issues in the 80 series. It would be nice to have a replicable solution everyone can use.
I do not know if the all electric system is any good for your Texas temps? I have seen 50c (122F) here is Spain, and the electric fan never goes past the first speed for engine temps. I also have it wired so the fans second speed comes on with the AC, it is ridiculously cold, I have to blend in some heat to stop passengers complaining. I have mentioned this many times but it seems there is an 'anti electric' bias on MUD?
You can change the fluid in the clutch, and yes this will drive the fan harder at idle, and unless it uncouples completely when at speed , then the engine will continue to drive it even when going along the highway, in effect throwing fuel away. Yes the alternator see's the load and this uses fuel in the same way the VC unit does but, the amps are drawn at the time the fan is on, when it switches off then it is off. There is no parasitic drag whatsoever, the VC system cannot claim that.
The main complaint is running hot/poor AC at idle or when wheeling, i.e. engine workload high/engine speed slow/vehicle speed slow. An electric fan does not give a toss what speed you (or the engine) are doing, or what the workload is, it simply comes on. If your alternator is up to snuff then it will not be affected by idling, it simply cools the system and the thermostat does the work it is supposed to do i.e. control engine temperatures.
If people insist on keeping the stock fan BLADES, then someone should develop a system that matches the AC compressor clutch, a simple temperature switch activates the clutch and the fan is driven at engine speed, yes you 'almost' have that with the VC but, you need to wait for it to engage, with an electric system it will engage at a set temp, a temp set by you. If I had the time I would put something together, it is not rocket science.
More and more modern vehicles are going all electric, why? Because it is simply more efficient, is there a downside? The honest answer is yes, the system requires more components, this means the possibility of failure is higher but, I did the sums, I made sure that all the components are more than up to the job, the fan is huge and OE (NOT A CHEAP AFTERMAKET OFFERING), and the alternator output was increased. Having worked on cars for years the most common failure is the temperature switches, I simply fitted one for each fan speed, in effect a back up. If both fail.........oh come on, then just wire the fan direct to the battery job and drive home.
Note: Many aftermarket fans are crap, there is so much hype out there it is scary. You have to sift through carefully manipulated figures and will often see through the cheap fan world BS. Go OE or spend decent money on the fan/s. Again fan control, some of the cheap fan controllers are just that...cheap! They will melt at the first sign of heavy use.
You will often see the question, which radiator is best? 10 will say Koyo, 8 for another brand, and 3 offering an alternative cheap brand, guess what? Yes, the OP will often go cheap, I mean.....it seems to work ok right? A couple of years down the line and they are back with overheating issues, you get what you pay for.
If you are thinking about cost, then stop reading, suffer the temps and wait for cooler months of the year to use your car.
Failing that, look through my thread, (link in sig), and stay cool.
regards
Dave
