The diary of Oddie... bigger..better..stronger (4 Viewers)

[djinn]

Considering fan setup. I will be running AC. Thoughts on mechanical versus electric fans? For mechanical, seems swapping to the 6bt hub and fan is an option.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

Mechanical, reliable

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Electric = way better packaging so that you can fit an intercooler down the line.

Just as reliable.

 

[davegonz]

Yeah, both 4bt trucks I've owned had electric fans. The last one had a dual SPAL fan setup with integrated shroud. Worked great and was dependable.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Yeah, both 4bt trucks I've owned had electric fans. The last one had a dual SPAL fan setup with integrated shroud. Worked great and was dependable.

The SPALs were the ones who shorted and caused fires, right? I've got the V6 Contour Fan with a Flex-A-Lite controller. Wired it up and haven't touched it since it was installed two years ago. She only turns on when needed, which is only during the warm months.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

See, mechanical won't catch fire. Lol

 

[davegonz]

It's ok, it's diesel not gas.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

See, mechanical won't catch fire. Lol

Valid point

However, when I go through a water crossing, I can turn off my electric fan so that the blades don't get pulled into the radiator. Also, without a mechanical fan, changing belts, and other front of the motor maintenance, is a breeze!

 

[CruisinFJ60]

Serpentine belts are easy to change, and I've been in water over my hood a few times and never once a fan pulled into my radiator. I seen a guy forget his electrics were on and it pull the electric fan into his radiator and ruin it. But the clutch in a mechanical will disengage as it hits the cool water and all but stop spinning, never have to remember anything.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

But the clutch in a mechanical will disengage as it hits the cool water and all but stop spinning, never have to remember anything.

*in theory* I've seen a number of factory LC radiators tore up due to the fan attempting to take up the same space as the radiator, from either water crossings or motor mounts failing. With water crossings, the water doesn't have to be up above the hood for it to matter.

s***, my own original radiator had a scar from the fan. If a motor mount fails with an electric fan, the radiator won't care one bit. Chain the motor back down and keep on keepin' on.


There are many ways to skin a cat, and the "right way" will come down to personal preference

 

[CruisinFJ60]

I understand it doesn't need to be over the hood. Just saying that in even the deepest water with highest risk it has never ever been an issue, ever (for me and others I wheel with)

Motor mounts on the other hand... fan will get into the shroud and do damage. But same still applies, chain it down and wheel on.

But he is running massive motor mounts and hardly even drives it around the yard.

My sbc is gonna have the stock mechanical fan when it goes in. Why mess up a good thing and add more failure points, had to mess with a lot of electrical crap on the trails. Seen many many electric fans stop working and over heat the engine after a fuse, wire, relay or even the fan burnt up on people.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I've seen a lot of mechanical fans fail, causing overcooling and / or overheating.

When done incorrectly, sure, you're going to have electrical problems. When done correctly, electronic fan systems can work for years, if not decades, without issue. If this were false, then why would SO MANY cars these days, if not ALL cars, come with electric fans?

Like I said, personal preference man!

 

[CruisinFJ60]

Valid point as well.



I like my basics in that department

 

[djinn]

Looks like I need to update my alert settings. I missed the whole party earlier Thanks for all the feedback! I kinda lean towards electric. Granted they don't look like they would last nearly as long but I guess they do. Like those with electric fans mention, they don't get ran hard so should last a long time and suffice. My biggest worry is that I'll be hooking AC up and want it cool. And absolutely.. it is nice to have all that space in the front, would suck to lose it. Finding a good deal on a mechanical setup from a dodge seems hard and then I would have to clear the fan since my upper radiator hose angles in a bit. Much easier to score a used mark iv or taurus fan and a volvo controller, or similar.

 

[djinn]

So back finally back on this horse. Man time flies!! She needs to get ready for the road. Electric fan it is. I ordered a volvo 2 speed fan controller and Taurus fan (from a 95'). And somehow hid the darn volvo controller from myself. I'm good at that! So hit the salvage yard and yanked one for $12. so I've got a spare.. somewhere around here now. Since I'm using the 94-98 ram tstat housing, it is tapped for 1/4npt. I had put a brass plug in there and seriously was a pain to get it back out. Took the torch and vice grips and daily pb soaks. Using the BMW dual temp switch (91 / 99* C (180/195*F) dual temp switch Part #61311378073) and needed to get a bump up over the upper water neck shoulder without grinding. So glad I didn't tap the housing So went ahead and used a 1/4npt coupling and taped it to M14x1.5. It won't win any beauty contests but ready to wire up the volvo relay tomorrow.

PS: Thanks CruisinFJ60 and Davegonz for making feel bad for leaving this all alone for so long

 

[C71B0C]

Thank you for the update.

Time since last post:
Result: 1114 days
Or 3 years, 18 days excluding the end date
Alternative time units
1114 days can be converted to one of these units:

• 96,249,600 seconds
• 1,604,160 minutes
• 26,736 hours
• 159 weeks and 1 day

 

[djinn]

The volvo fan controller I got from the junkyard was crap. Low didn't work. But, like anytime you get something to replace what you can't find.. you find it So Took that one back and ended up finding my original one. Wired it in with a 30a fuse and circuit breaker. Also used the inline 30a to the fan. Took 51 minutes with it idling with it 86deg F outside before the fan turned on. And didn't stay on more than a minute. The dang thing takes forever to build up heat.

Taurus fan with a little dremel action to bolt up in the cruiser's fan shoud:

Using a BMW 91c/99c sensor

 

[djinn]

Also, got the controller mounted and slightly cleaned up the wiring. Needed a skinny air filter and just replaced my rzr's air filter with a better one and sure enough the filter (old one) fits perfect. Has a 3" inlet and fits the space well.

 

[djinn]

Picked up some 4runner wipers for a spendy $6 when I took the controller back to the junkyard to return.. I know some people go for 2x driver arms. These cover pretty good. Even got the caps with.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Nice work Glad to see Oddie still kicking.