FJ60 Dual Electric Fans

[Elbert]

 

[Elbert]

for the V8 swap people the above two pics work well. Are there alternative solutions...maybe. By the way, I've had dual electric fans (v6 ford, I've had large single SPAL fan..) none of which cooled better than the two items above in the FJ60 with AC/ with V8 and in real world situations, in 4wd, offroad and on-road. If you have a stock setup on the FJ60 you'll be fine with stock engine. The above fan clutch and fan are married to 4 core stock type FJ60 radiator with custom fan shroud. I've had a Ron Davis radiator and tried other solutions. The raw facts are this...you only have x amount of radiator core and its limited in the FJ60 grill area. To drive electric fans you need a high output alternator and the related wiring/relays/controllers that make sense. Everything I'm saying this from experience and demonstrated performance...I'm not speaking from hypothetical. It would be great if you could transplant a radiator of the same physical size as similar to a 3/4 ton truck, then match the cooling components to that. I'm just trying to save you some time and aggravation. Yeah I have a 140 amp Alt also, while not the largest its one of the highest rated (amp wise) GM alternators for the year range of the 5.7 engine I use. The GM fan clutch and FAN are a bolt on direct solution to your cooling problems if you are running a GM V8 (5.7 ) or other GM V8 setup for fan clutch. IN my view the real issue is the size of the radiator core (width and height) for the most part and the size of the grill area on the FJ60 vs the vehicle and engine in question.this

I drive a car every day that has a electric fan and it works well, its toyota 4cyl and I've had a number of cars in recent times...all electric fan cooled. I've not seen , nor have I experienced in real world environment where on the FJ60 with V8, in all situations where so far a good electric fan solution was adequate...have not. So those that have and who are running A/C and have a winch and running off-road and in real world ...it would be great to get that feedback. My truck runs around 195F to 210-215 under load, Its not boiled over or overheated. I think in general cooling a v8 swap FJ60 is really marginal at best, but thats my view. I think the SPAL product line of fans is about the best in aftermarket cooling with electric fans, so if ...so inclined thats the product I would run.

Did the OP ever follow up to this post?

 

[brownbear]

Did the OP ever follow up to this post?

He did a few times.

 

[Elbert]

would like to see follow up on real world experience. I see his comments but don't see where he followed up with feedback after install and whats his use/experience. I know this thread is generally old at this point. FYI...I ran a 90' s era gm pickup with 5.7 on dual spal 16 inch fans with 3/4 ton radiator for a while years ago, when I was screwing around with electric fans. One fan would generally cool the truck ok, two fans going it would run super cool under manual control and auto control. I got tired of hearing the fans, even though they worked great and performed great too. Super drain on electrical system too. I'm saying this, because that truck had a large radiator and was designed from the ground up for V8 and towing...etc. If you could put two 16 inch spal fans on the radiator then I suspect cooling problems would be over (fj60) but the core of the radiator is too small for that, Yea the SPAL products made some noise, but moving air makes some noise, like you hear when the fan clutch engages and the fan pulls air.

 

[workingdog]

Give me 3 to 6 months. I'm going to install on my 60 when I get through my current projects.

 

[The Phoenician]

The fans are loud, but I cant hear them over the diesel when inside the cab. They suck a lot of juice, hence the need for a better alternator. They do move a lot of air and generally cool down the truck quickly unless I'm towing.

 

[brownbear]

I've owned modern vehicles with electric fans. I only really hear them when I park and the fan is still running. They run even if the ignition is off. I've never heard them will driving.
I once took off the fan clutch on V8 car and used a solid stem to the fan. That was noisy.

I'd consider running electric fans on my diesel BJ60 for better cooling. But my biggest hurdle is the alternator. It's too small for even extra running lights at night, with the seat heaters on... Also it's my vacuum pump too.

 

[Shes Mad]

I’ve been running them for a while. They are not quiet, but they cool! I haven’t had any problem with the alternator not keeping up. No idea what size my alternator. It’s just a stock 2002 Chevy pick up alternator.

I updated the ECC for first fan to come on at 201 and off at 195. Originally fan one was set to come on at 195 and off at 190 end it never shut off. Fan 2 is on at 205 off at 200. I don’t think I’ve ever heard fan 2 come on . Fan 1 only comes on when I stop or idle. My 5.3 runs 192 to 194 driving . I’ve never really tested it towing or climbing. It doesn’t really get that hot in Minnesota for long periods like it does in the south.

 

[Shes Mad]

Thought I would give another update. Today I drove 350 miles. First 200, it was about 85, and it stayed at 192-196. last 150 in 96 degree heat, 110 heat index with the AC on. On the hwy at 75, it ran a pretty consistent 199-205. Second fan comes on at 205. Stopped in traffic, it went up to 210. Not sure if it would have kept climbing or not, as traffic started to move. I'm not confident they would have kept up in the extreme heat today with extended idling with the AC on. May need to upgrade the radiator, as it is stock and old. I would have turned the AC off and suffered if it climbed any higher

 

[The Phoenician]

See if this will fit. Rated up to 800 hp.

Holds about 4 gallons. Made by northern

 

[TroutFJ]

I've been running mine now for a couple of months. The temps in Denver the last week or so have been approaching 100 and even climbing up I70 (I live 3000ft higher than denver) my temps have never gotten above 200. I'm not running ac yet though so that could change once I get it up and running. I had to go with a lower profile fan setup so I could make the turn on my ramjet intake to connect to my snorkel. All things considered so far I like their performance. I also only have an 80 amp alternator and the drain doesn't seem to be affecting things as of yet. I did swap the radiator out to an aluminum one as well so that's probably helping things out

 

[cruisermatt]

Thought I would give another update. Today I drove 350 miles. First 200, it was about 85, and it stayed at 192-196. last 150 in 96 degree heat, 110 heat index with the AC on. On the hwy at 75, it ran a pretty consistent 199-205. Second fan comes on at 205. Stopped in traffic, it went up to 210. Not sure if it would have kept climbing or not, as traffic started to move. I'm not confident they would have kept up in the extreme heat today with extended idling with the AC on. May need to upgrade the radiator, as it is stock and old. I would have turned the AC off and suffered if it climbed any higher

What thermostat do you have?
You know 200-220 is the normal operating temperature for these motors right? Sounds like your system is working fine.

 

[RredFJ40]

Lm7, new stock replacement radiator, Ford Contour v6 dual electric fans, no ac yet. No cooling issues unless I forget to fully tighten power lugs, doh! It rarely hits 100 here.

 

[cruisermatt]

I was originally going to use the Derale fans on my swap but when the time came to purchase I got a great deal on a new Contour unit, and it's been working great for me too with a 20 year old stock radiator. I put a condenser in front of my setup a few months ago and have been daily driving throughout the 100 degree Florida summer with no change. I think most electric fan naysayers either aren't setting them up correctly or are underestimating the correct operating temperature for these engines. That being said the mechanical fans are a great option too, especially if you like loosing power and making it harder to work on the front of your motor because there's a big fan and fan shroud in the way,

 

[workingdog]

Thank you @cruisermatt. Where did people believe that their engines needed be under 200 and 210 was an issue?

 

[cruisermatt]

Thank you @cruisermatt. Where did people believe that their engines needed be under 200 and 210 was an issue?

It’s just from people coming from older engines like 2F/SBC. I was also initially under the impression these had to run at 180-190 as well before I did any research. I initially set mine to come on at 160 and 170 and they just spun all the time, turns out i have a 190 degree thermostat. Re-programed my PCM to kick my fans on at 200 and 205 and in my normal driving it just stays around 195-200.

For reference the factory electric fans in the C5 Corvette are programmed to come on at 225 and 235 respectively.
It should also be noted that if you’re running the engine colder then it was designed to it’s probably running inefficiently.

I should also mention the other day in some sloppy mud trails in about 90-degree super humid weather I bounced my 5.3 off the limiter for about 3 minutes straight getting up a climb, got up it and looked down my dash to see 250-degree on my water temp gauge it boiled over a little bit but the temp came back down pretty quickly. It takes a LOT to hurt oneof these motors especially if they’re stock.

 

[Shes Mad]

Well, I did not know the op temp of the LS motor. Cruisermatt pegged it. Old thinking. Sometimes too much information like the digital readout from the PCM can be your downfall.

 

[Nshahbic]

Hi

Where I can order same please?

 

[Jaygdub]

Will this dual fan setup bolt directly to this champion aluminum radiator that im running in my 87 fj60??

 

[Roger Martiinez]

Will this dual fan setup bolt directly to this champion aluminum radiator that im running in my 87 fj60??

I've gone this route and I am very pleased with the fans. I used another aluminum radiator, but no problems with fit. My fJ60 runs cool, but I did upgrade my alternator. The fans draw a lot of power.