Fan To Radiator Clearance Issue (1 Viewer)

[cruiserkreutz]

Swaping a 2F out of a 1981 FJ60 into my 1967 FJ45. I am test fitting the radiator and have ran into clearance issues. Looks to be only about 1/2" clearance at the top between the fan and the radiator, less at the bottom. I have the radiator slid as far forward as I can in the mounting slots.

After doing some research, I was fairly certain I bought the correct water pump and clutch fan for this swap, apparently not. What did I do wrong? Yes, I have searched. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Justin

 

[DesertFJ40]

I just finished doing this on my 71 yesterday . The holes on the chassis for the earlier years seem to be more forward than the later Fj40s made to fit a fan clutch.

There are two options that you could do:

(what I did) I got a later year (73+) radiator support frame and cut off the bolts on the bottom. I then drilled some new holes, about a quarter inch back, on the bottom of the 73+ radiator mount to allow it to move into the correct position for fan/radiator clearance.


The other thing you could do is lengthen the mounting holes in the chassis far enough toward the grill so you could move the radiator support frame.

If you are going to use your old radiator support frame, it will not work (unless you make some alterations to it). The cross bar reinforcement will hit the grill and the bottom of the support frame will hit the chassis. The 73+ support frame has the bottom corners cut to an angle to clear the chassis and the thickness of the reinforcement bar it thinned out so it does not hit the grill.

It's hard to visualize with my poor explanation, but I can take pictures when I get home to give you an idea.

 

[cruiserkreutz]

@DesertFJ40 How far will the radiator be from the fan using the '73+ radiator support mount?

 

[landcrusher909]

I had the same issues. I got rid of the fan clutch and just just a spacer. Gave me plenty of clearance

 

[cruiserkreutz]

I had the same issues. I got rid of the fan clutch and just just a spacer. Gave me plenty of clearance

I have an extra spacer and fan that I bought from @65swb45. I tried to mount them on this water pump, but the bolt holes don't match up.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I had the same issues. I got rid of the fan clutch and just just a spacer. Gave me plenty of clearance

That's the route I went also, took some trial and error to get it all worked out.

 

[DesertFJ40]

With the 73+ support mount, it will sit in the same spot because the holes in your chassis will stay the same. That's where you will need to drill out new holes on the 73+ support mount and add new bolts so you could push it further back to where it is suppose to be. I'm not exactly sure on the distance the radiator is to the fan, but I would say about an 1-inch or 1-1/4? Not 100% sure.... However, it sits almost exact to the distance that my dad's 1978 stock radiator/fan sits.... If I drilled the holes a tad further back, it would have been perfect.

Other than that, Im quite pleased. No more direct drive fan on my Fj40.... Of course, I can revert back to it whenever since I did not do any permanent alterations.

So you need to decide whether you want to run a fan clutch or direct drive fan. I got tired of the noise of the direct drive fan thus I switched to a fan clutch.... I will be able to take photos for you tomorrow to give you better visualization of what I'm talking about.


By the way, if you want to use the spacer, you will need a direct drive water pump pulley.

 

[Steamer]

Something to keep in mind also is how far your fan will be into the shroud. Flex-A-Lite says that half in and half out is ideal. I’ve heard that before but didn’t think it was all that important until a year ago I altered my frame & shroud to accommodate a new Champion aluminum 4 row. When done, my fan was almost all the way into the shroud. I didn’t think it would be a big deal but right off I could tell it wasn’t moving as much air. Engine temps have been 10 to 15 degrees hotter. I’m just now correcting it and making a custom frame & shroud and the fan for sure will be half-way in. "Flex-a-Lite"

 

[cruiserkreutz]

That's the route I went also, took some trial and error to get it all worked out.

I tried this last night, no worky. The bolt holes do not match on the water pump to the spacer. I'm guessing the pattern changed on the newer water pump when the oil cooler fitting was added. I did the switch from a metal fan to plastic with the spacer on my 1969 FJ40 and it worked wonderfully.

 

[Jdc1]

The easiest and cheapest way would be to slot the holes on the frame. Another option is to use a later 1970s fj55 pump and a clutchless plastic fan.

 

[cruiserkreutz]

The easiest and cheapest way would be to slot the holes on the frame. Another option is to use a later 1970s fj55 pump and a clutchless plastic fan.

If I hadn't already spent quite a bit of money on a new OEM water pump and clutch fan, I might explore this option.

 

[cruiserkreutz]

With the 73+ support mount, it will sit in the same spot because the holes in your chassis will stay the same. That's where you will need to drill out new holes on the 73+ support mount and add new bolts so you could push it further back to where it is suppose to be. I'm not exactly sure on the distance the radiator is to the fan, but I would say about an 1-inch or 1-1/4? Not 100% sure.... However, it sits almost exact to the distance that my dad's 1978 stock radiator/fan sits.... If I drilled the holes a tad further back, it would have been perfect.

Other than that, Im quite pleased. No more direct drive fan on my Fj40.... Of course, I can revert back to it whenever since I did not do any permanent alterations.

So you need to decide whether you want to run a fan clutch or direct drive fan. I got tired of the noise of the direct drive fan thus I switched to a fan clutch.... I will be able to take photos for you tomorrow to give you better visualization of what I'm talking about.


By the way, if you want to use the spacer, you will need a direct drive water pump pulley.

When you drilled new mounting holes in the radiator support and used bolts, did you check for clearance between the bolt heads and the bottom of the radiator? Looks like there is not much room in there.

 

[Steamer]

How about carriage bolts? And tack weld or braze the heads in place.

 

[Steamer]

Or, just square out the holes with a file. I'm actually installing bolts in my custom frame just now. I'll probably braze mine in as well.

 

[cruiserkreutz]

Or, just square out the holes with a file. I'm actually installing bolts in my custom frame just now. I'll probably braze mine in as well.

View attachment 2135622

Nice work! I like the carriage bolt idea, thanks.

 

[Mrpasmith]

How much clearance should there be between the fan and radiator?

 

[DesertFJ40]

x2 on the carriage bolt. I was not able to find a Metric sized carriage bolt at my local ACE hardware, so I went ahead and used a 7/16th standard size. It fit nicely into the frame.

As for checking clearance between the bolts and the radiator, no I did not check clearance. I did, however, take a grinder and thinned out the top of the bolt to resemble the flat top of the OEM toyota bolts. Unsure how the carriage bolt fit before.



Down below is my original radiator support. its from a 1971 fj40. Notice how the bottom corners are curved. These curved parts and the current mounting holes (drilled into the chassis) are whats preventing you from sliding it any further toward the grill.

Down below is a 73+ radiator support. Notice how it it is cut at an angle VS the rounded corners of the earlier year. This angle will allow you to slide the radiator support further toward the grill once you drill out new holes into the support. Without the cut angle, it would hit against the front of the chassis with the rounded corner.

You can either grind down your early radiator support corners to have the cut angles on both sides to resemble a 73+. Or, you can source out a 73+ support on ebay or Ih8mud.

once you have the correct angle for the radiator support, cut off the existing bolts and drill out some new ones about a 1/2-inch further. I think I did mine about 1/4inch and its still a bit too close to the fan....however its not very far off. Make sure to measure 3 times before just to make sure you get the clearance that you want.


here is how my fan relates to the fan shroud. it's around 3/4 of the way into the shroud vs the "desired" mid-point.

clearance between my fan and radiator. In my father's 78 fj40 (stock radiator setup), i'm able to stick half of my hand into the gap of the radiator/fan. In my set up, im only able to slide my hand up to my "punching knuckles". Just to give you an idea of how much more clearance I needed to get it "just right."

 

[DesertFJ40]

As for running with a direct drive fan on your 2f engine. I believe you can still use the 2f water pump but you will need to get a new water pump pulley. A 2F clutchless water pump pulley to be exact. I don't think that you will be able to use the pulley from a 1F engine since the holes are drilled differently to mount onto the water pump. Not 100% on the exact swap-out , but I can take pictures of my old direct drive pulley and current fan clutch pulley to give you an idea on their differences.


PS....You might also need to get a newer fan shroud if you don't have one already. The older style boxy kind will not clear the fan.

 

[DSRTRDR]

I am not aware that a red hub fan clutch would be appropriate for a 2F - doesn't mean it couldn't work just fine

what application is that fan clutch specified for ?

 

[cruiserkreutz]

I am not aware that a red hub fan clutch would be appropriate for a 2F - doesn't meant it couldn't work just fine

what application is that fan clutch specified for ?

This is the one I purchased;

Fan Clutch, 77-90 FJ40 55 60 62, AISIN