Taurus Electric Fan in FJ80 clearance issues?

[CrawlerReady]

So a few months back I purchased a '92 FJ80 of my GF's parents that had been in a front end collision back in late '06. It has been sitting since and I decided it deserved to be revived and brought back to life. Put on a new hood, radiator, and a few other misc. parts and I'll be building a new front bumper for this.

In the accident the fan blades were broken when they collided with the radiator. So rather than replace the fan clutch and fan, I figured I would do what I did on my Jeep and through in the 3.8L Ford Taurus fan as it pulls a hell of a lot of air and cools the engine better at low speeds.

I have however run into an issue. It seems that the Taurus fan from the front of the shroud to the back of the fan motor is about 4.75" and I only have about 4" to work with between the radiator and the pulleys/belts.

My question is has anyone ran the Taurus fan on their 80 series? I've got the 3FE engine. I searched but every thread was in the 55 or 60 series forum. If the Taurus fan does fit, any write-ups with pics? I may need to pull the front end out more or something to get the radiator further from the pulleys, not sure though.

If the Taurus fan won't work, what electric fan do you 80 owners go with when swapping out the manual fan?

Thanks guys.

 

[jonheld]

I realize this doesn't answer your question, but the stock setup in a 3FE works EXTREMELY well to cool the motor. Everyone that I've heard of with an electric fan winds up running hot or converting back to stock.

 

[RockJock82]

I believe the stock fan setup is adequate in meeting the cooling needs for the motor but on the other hand I am positive that the Taurus fan pulls more air than the OEM fan.

 

[CrawlerReady]

I realize this doesn't answer your question, but the stock setup in a 3FE works EXTREMELY well to cool the motor. Everyone that I've heard of with an electric fan winds up running hot or converting back to stock.

I'm not worried about cooling so much as it was MUCH cheaper for me to use a spare Taurus fan I had laying around than go source the fan and fan clutch and pay ~$90 for the parts.

I believe the stock fan setup is adequate in meeting the cooling needs for the motor but on the other hand I am positive that the Taurus fan pulls more air than the OEM fan.

Yeah, I'm certain of this as well.

 

[Tools R Us]

I realize this doesn't answer your question, but the stock setup in a 3FE works EXTREMELY well to cool the motor. Everyone that I've heard of with an electric fan winds up running hot or converting back to stock.

X2, the stock setup is very well designed/matched to the need. It can be made to have more power than any commonly available electric. An electric may work, but a tuned stock setup will be more reliable and deliver more cooling capacity in this application.

 

[Tools R Us]

... I am positive that the Taurus fan pulls more air than the OEM fan.

Nope, with a decent clutch, the stock setup will smoke a taurus, it's not even a contest.

 

[freshspecbluegt]

90 bucks seems cheap to not have to dink around moving the radiator, adjusting the fan shroud and wiring the fan when you cvan throw in something that you know will work first time out. But your hourly may be different than mine. best of luck

 

[CrawlerReady]

How the hell do you "tune" a mechanical fan? Smaller pulley? A Taurus fan pulls 4000cfm's on the high setting. Does a mechanical fan really pull near that much?

I do appreciate the input, I was just hoping to avoid spending that $90 on a stock setup. I haven't even been able to source a stock fan blade anyways.

 

[CrawlerReady]

90 bucks seems cheap to not have to dink around moving the radiator, adjusting the fan shroud and wiring the fan when you cvan throw in something that you know will work first time out. But your hourly may be different than mine. best of luck

This was my main question, I already had to move the radiator because of the front of collision it was in. So I was thinking maybe there is supposed to be more room between the radiator and the pulleys? How close does your stock fan come to your radiator?

 

[freshspecbluegt]

the fan clutch is tuned by adjusting the temp at which the the clutch opens and changing the weight of the oil in the clutch. ToolsRus and Landtank have written quite a bit about this. Most of it is in reference to the 1FZ but it probably still applies to the 3fe.
There is not much clearance between the fan and the radiator, an inch or two maybe? its pretty tight.

 

[Tools R Us]

How the hell do you "tune" a mechanical fan? Smaller pulley?

Easy, by changing the viscosity of the fluid in the stock clutch, they can be made as powerful as needed, until you smoke the belts! The thermostat valve can be adjusted to control when it comes on, but the stock setting is often very close to ideal.

A Taurus fan pulls 4000cfm's on the high setting. Does a mechanical fan really pull near that much?. ...

Yes, easily. CFM is a BS number for this application, the one quoted is open air and it's more about the restriction that it has to pull through, power of the fan. The '80 setup is pretty restrictive, so needs a powerful fan setup to pull good airflow numbers.

 

[CrawlerReady]

Hmmm alright, well I'll look for a stock blade now to see what I can find. If anyone knows of a good source let me know, haven't been able to find much....unless the blade/clutch for the 1FZFE motor fits this one, but I don't believe so from what I've read.

Good to know that the stock fan on these is good though. On my '95 Grand Cherokee it just isn't up to the task and the Taurus fan was the best thing I've done to keep it cooler.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[Tools R Us]

Hmmm alright, well I'll look for a stock blade now to see what I can find. If anyone knows of a good source let me know, haven't been able to find much....unless the blade/clutch for the 1FZFE motor fits this one, but I don't believe so from what I've read.

Nope, the 1FZ setup is longer/deeper, wont work. IIRC the FJ60/62 fans will work for the FJ80, not sure about the clutch?

Good to know that the stock fan on these is good though. On my '95 Grand Cherokee it just isn't up to the task and the Taurus fan was the best thing I've done to keep it cooler.

Thanks for the help guys

An electric can be a good option, if the system is properly designed for it. The '80 has a relatively deep/thick stack of coolers with a relatively small surface area, so needs a powerful fan for good cooling. Mine also operates in the SW desert, IMHO a solid, reliable, cooling system that I can count on is priority #1 and a mechanical setup delivers.

 

[Tools R Us]

Have you talked to Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters, he may have a spare?

 

[jonheld]

I believe the stock fan setup is adequate in meeting the cooling needs for the motor but on the other hand I am positive that the Taurus fan pulls more air than the OEM fan.

This is an irrelevant statement. The stock setup is a tuned system. A thermostatically controlled clutch, proper blade length and pitch, with a matched fan shroud.
Last month I pulled my loaded 80, pulling a trailer, with the AC on across Kansas. Ambient was 98F to 102F. She never blinked and I could hear the clutch cycling on and off as needed.
I would say that is slightly more than "adequate".

 

[CrawlerReady]

Have you talked to Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters, he may have a spare?

Not yet. I'll give him a call since I live just around the corner from him.

Thanks