| Author | Message | ||
     Alan Greening (Alan_g) Member Username: Alan_g Post Number: 65 Registered: 04-2003 |
About two years ago I removed the viscous fan from my Disco, and it has performed faultlessly, however, the kit from the manufacturer used cable-tie style ratchet clips that fixed the fan by passing through the radiator matrix with little foam pads between the fan and matrix to seat it on the rad. Wind forward a while and the foam pads have lost half of their thicknes and the fan has about half an inch of movement against the radiator. This vibrates away over the months, and the straps passing through the radiator have worn a hole in the rad and it leaks. I've gt a new radiator and welded a couple of bars to the top and bottom of it, and bolted the fan to that. | ||
| thom mathie (Muskyman) Senior Member Username: Muskyman Post Number: 351 Registered: 11-2002 |
yes this is a common problem with aftermarket electric fans. I have used 3/16 bolts and rubber faucet seals to attach right thru a rad for years and years without any problem on a number of trail trucks . the problem starts when the fan becomes loose, then the weight of the fan tears up the rad. this is what it looks like  | ||
| thom mathie (Muskyman) Senior Member Username: Muskyman Post Number: 353 Registered: 11-2002 |
forgot to add the reason why i would not reccomend mounting it as decribed above is for effiency. most electric fans have there own shroud around them that needs to be flush to the rad. unless it is tight to the rad the fans lose almost all of there CFM rating. flexalite in the directions say that even 1/4" can reduce the rating by 75%. the fan needs to pull air through the rad not across the front of it  | ||
| Alan Greening (Alan_g) Member Username: Alan_g Post Number: 66 Registered: 04-2003 |
Thom, Thanks for your comments, do you mean that the fan rating is reduced to 75% or by 75% to 25%? When I spoke to Kenlowe, they told me that a small gap would have negligible effect on the cooling. Alan | ||
| Sergei Rodionov (Uzbad) Member Username: Uzbad Post Number: 120 Registered: 08-2003 |
Alan and Thom - what brand/size/kind of fans you used? I am on the market for fan... | ||
| Alan Greening (Alan_g) Member Username: Alan_g Post Number: 67 Registered: 04-2003 |
Sergei, I've got a 16" Kenlowe fan on my 200TDi. It's only ever come on during off-road sessions or while stuck in traffic on a hot day. Alan | ||
| thom mathie (Muskyman) Senior Member Username: Muskyman Post Number: 375 Registered: 11-2002 |
Alen flexalite says that even a small gap will severely reduce the fans rating so if the fan is rated at 2000cfm and it goes down by 75%then you end up with a fan that moves 500cfm this is just like when people pull the shroud off there car and get over heating problems. the shroud is there to direct the air. in the case of electrics the gap allows air to go across the radiator instead of through it. | ||
| Alan Greening (Alan_g) Member Username: Alan_g Post Number: 69 Registered: 04-2003 |
Thanks Thom, Looks like I'll be doing a few mods to my rad fan set up, I think I'll be able to shroud the fan in on the corners where the rails and fan don't cover easier than getting the fan closer. | ||
| Sergei Rodionov (Uzbad) Member Username: Uzbad Post Number: 123 Registered: 08-2003 |
thanks! Well i looked over few techy bits and it looks like in order to efficiently cool petrol 8 cylinder small cubics electric fan should pull through at least 5000 CFM.. (diesel need a bit less) Unfortunately Kenlowe fans arent sold around our parts (they got twin design that pulls 6K..darn!) and all stuff that getting sold in US barely makes it to 5K and then its some hideously HUGE twin fans, which simply wont fit into Disco.. Looks like my idea is bound to fail, as i am living in place where not only temperatures going up and down in pretty good range, but also i have to do lots of mountain driving (well, living at 7K feet does that trick), so seems like i am back to buying OE blades.. *sighs* | ||
| Lee R. Byrd (Mobile) New Member Username: Mobile Post Number: 32 Registered: 07-2003 |
For fans you can call Summitt Racing, or Jegs or go to their websites. I just went to the junk yard with measurements of my radiator and various clearances to the radiator and found some fans to fit my needs. I then had a sheetmetal shop make a bracket that attaches to and covered the entire radiator. I cut holes in the sheetmetal for the fans to pull air through and mounted the fans to the sheetmetal. I used foam window sealer to make sure the sheetmetal had minimal gaps with the radiator. I also sealed the fans to the sheetmetal with silicone sealer and bolts. This setup with a 160F degree theremostat keeps my 400+ horsepower Jeep cool even when it is over 100F degrees. | ||
| Randall Smith (Mr_smith) Member Username: Mr_smith Post Number: 89 Registered: 04-2003 |
I have had the Flexilite p.n. FLX-220, or FLX210 on my RR for years. There have been absolutely no trouble with overheating even though this is the only fan on the truck. It only comes on for a max of 60 seconds if I am stuck in traffic or at a drive thru window line. This Flexilite 220 or 210 model doees not require any mounting hardware at all. They are designed to fit the size radiator core which we have, which is a standard size. There are a lot of variations in raditors, but the size of our core is not unusual. All that was required to mount it to the radiator is too bend back a metal strip which is along the top of the raditor and use a mallot to tap the strip down against the shroud. The whole perimeter is nicely gasketed, and the fans are still in place after years of use. If I am on an off-pavement adventure, I can turn these fans on/off whenever I want. Just unplug the elec lead from the AC compressor, and use the AC switch to turn the fans on if you wish. There is a long list of reasons to use elec fans only. Almost every car you see is set up with one or two puller fans which only come on when needed. However if you do extreme towing etc, then you need extra airflow that a belt driven fan plus two pusher fans would provide. Randall | ||
| Sergei Rodionov (Uzbad) Member Username: Uzbad Post Number: 128 Registered: 08-2003 |
Hmm, thanks Randall. I looked that part up - it pulls only 2500 CFM tops.. And you saying its enough? Right now i ducked and manufactured "poor man hack" from flex-a-lite mechanical 17" fan, 3 8x1.25 bolts and made spacer out of like 4" thick rubber thingy (yeah, we russians are fiendishly sneaky folkz when it comes to get something going with no correct parts laying about ) that actually sold in plumbing section of ACE Hardware It all works, altough i had to drill new pattern in fan. No overheating , acceleration got more funny (now it has to spin fan), engine actually cools down faster - i can put hand on top of plenum and not scream from burns after 20 mins drive. All runs for like 50$, and i had all parts laying about, but bolts. I will research more into electric, as i am not very happy with noise level from current solution. Need to find money to burn on it first anyway | ||
| Peter Matusov (Pmatusov) Senior Member Username: Pmatusov Post Number: 1095 Registered: 09-2002 |
BME (89 RR) - a 16", 1975cfm-rated puller electric fan couldn't even get close to the engine-driven fan with unbroken shroud and good clutch. BME (jeep experience) - 19" flex-a-lite worked as if it wasn't there. (very quiet, and no cooling action whatsoever). But that was a bigger engine with cast iron block and heads. FWIW - in both cases I've been warned that short-cut solutions will not work. Both flex-a-lite and 16" electric are up for grabs. | ||
| Sergei Rodionov (Uzbad) Member Username: Uzbad Post Number: 134 Registered: 08-2003 |
Well i ducked.. Flexalite 17" decided to go south this morning (as in - going off center, vibration and overall crappy performance), luckily i was close to home. So i went off to CheckersAuto, got meself one of them electrical fans with thermo regulation. Few hours later, one piece of plywood and some wiring - its on the truck We shall see how it performs. |
