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3.0 Electric Fan Conversion


PimpRanger

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I am trying to up my power & mileage from my slower than everyone else's 2000 Ranger 3.0 V6. Im trying to decide if I should swap out the fan for an electric one. I have read alot so far, but have had little luck finding the most popular, practical & cost effective way to do this. Can anyone assist with some info? I work on all my own vehicles and can probably do the work myself with a point in the right direction. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 


red_98

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Get a tauraus e-fan and housing from the junk yard and try to get the relays as well. Then make up some basic bracketry and wire it up. You can either get a temp switch or just put it on a switch. Mine is wired up through a temp switch with the optional overide switch for when i am wheeling it hard. I can leave it on or let it do the work itself. It is all up to you on how you want to do it. Hope this helps you. Britton
 

McCormack

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Do a search and you'll find a bunch of e-fan stuff posted on the various Ranger boards.
 

ForOffRoadDriving

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Bob Ayers

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If your fan clutch is working properly, there is absolutely no advantage to an e-fan. Only less cooling capacity, and lower reliability due to all the components needed for an e-fan setup:


Cooling Capacity:

By far, the most common misconception is that the electric fan cools better then the stock. People see the high CFM numbers in the catalogues (for example, the Black Magic is advertised as pulling 2,800 CFM, and the Perma Cool "finger chopper" is advertised at 2,950 CFM) and are impressed. The truth is that no one actually knows the CFM rating of the stock fan. It has simply never been measured by anyone in the aftermarket and listed. All we do know is that it is rated at "a lot", more times than not it will exceed 4000 CFM. And to be honest, who cares how much air the stock fan moves? It is more then adaquate as long as it's clutch and the rest of the cooling system is in good shape. The steeply raked blades of the stock fan move quite a lot of air, even if it turns slower then an aftermarket electric unit. Experience has shown that when in good shape, the stock fan is even easily capable of handling a 400HP engine. How much power do you make?


Efficiency:

Of course, you're not necessarily after better cooling. You've seen those TV commercials or catalogue ads that promise "Up to 17 free HP!" by converting to an electric fan. Well, that's simply not true. There will be a horsepower gain for sure, on the order of 0.5 - 5HP, with 17 H.P. reserved for big V-8s using 40 lb fans at 6000 rpms. But remember that the electric power to run the fan must come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the alternator. Electric fans draw quite a lot of current. Most pull surges of 35A or more to start up, then run at 8A-10A. This puts extra load on the alternator. Ever pedaled a bicycle with a generator powered light? If so, then you will know that as the electrical load on a generator/alternator increases, the generator/alternator becomes harder to turn. Suddenly, all that "free" HP you just freed up is once again being used. This time, though, it is being used to turn the alternator. There is also an inefficiency in the whole system. We are converting mechanical energy, to electrical energy, to mechanical again to run the fan. This very inefficient, much less then just driving the fan directly via the mechanical energy of the rotating shaft


Reliability:

Lastly, there is the question of reliability. The stock clutch fan can have two failure modes: the clutch will fail, or the fan will physically break. The electric fan introduces many more failure points: fuse, all wiring connections, physical failure of the fan, failure of the motor, failure of the thermostat
 

McCormack

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The advantages of e-fans is that they hardly ever run and thus aren't drawing any power from the engine, whereas mechanical fans with clutches still turn even if cooling isn't needed, and if they're turning then they're drawing power from the engine. All the time.

E-fans are much quieter than mechanical fans.

Mechanical fans are mounted on the water pump and put a lot of strain on the pump's bearings, possibly leading to premature water pump failure.

E-fan technology is mature technology and they're just as reliable as mechanical fans... I mean you don't see the roadside littered with vehicles with failed e-fans, do you? And besides, if a mechanical fan fails it can go through the radiator, which will really strand you, whereas if an e-fan fails you can still get home.

And besides, it's fun to play around with and modify our vehicles... so what's the harm?
 

Bob Ayers

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E-fan technology is mature technology and they're just as reliable as mechanical fans... I mean you don't see the roadside littered with vehicles with failed e-fans, do you? And besides, if a mechanical fan fails it can go through the radiator, which will really strand you, whereas if an e-fan fails you can still get home.

Totally WRONG!!!!! See if you can find articles like these on mechanical fans!!

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/troubleshooting/l/aa032903g.htm


http://www.caradvice.com.au/1733/volvo-xc90-and-xc70-electric-cooling-fan-recall/


http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_central/automotive/1272431.html?page=2



http://edgemotorworks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=55
 

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Bob, have you ever done an electric fan conversion? I put a taurus fan on my truck and gained around 2 miles to a gallon. Also a noticeable improvement to low end power, which is desperately needed on 3.0s. I think this argument is just like the body lift debate. If e-fans do not hold any improvements, why does everyone run them on the race cars why wouldn't they run a mechanical one. I also know this for fact, when I am on a trail at a low rate of speed my truck stays at a cooler temp than it did with the mechanical fan.
 

rockwerks

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Bob, have you ever done an electric fan conversion? I put a taurus fan on my truck and gained around 2 miles to a gallon. Also a noticeable improvement to low end power, which is desperately needed on 3.0s. I think this argument is just like the body lift debate. If e-fans do not hold any improvements, why does everyone run them on the race cars why wouldn't they run a mechanical one. I also know this for fact, when I am on a trail at a low rate of speed my truck stays at a cooler temp than it did with the mechanical fan.
I have done extensive testing on efan setups and BOB is 100% correct.

The only benefit is because you made small changes to your driving habits for a short period

If you are running a cooler on the trail it is because your stock system was faulty. The strain that of running the electric fans part time puts on the alternator makes up for the running the fan clutch all the time.

We did real world testing in XJ's and many different forms of electric fan setups, spent many hundreds of dollars all to find out that the stock setup properly maintained did the best overall job. And comparing a drag car to your street rig is like comparing a ferrari and a VW bug. The setups are designed for totally different set circumstances
 
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triumphrider-1

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We did real world testing in XJ's and many different forms of electric fan setups, spent many hundreds of dollars all to find out that the stock setup properly maintained did the best overall job.
Just the mechanical fan on my buddies is no where near enough to keep that turd cool.
 

rockwerks

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Bob Ayers

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Bob, have you ever done an electric fan conversion? I put a taurus fan on my truck and gained around 2 miles to a gallon. Also a noticeable improvement to low end power, which is desperately needed on 3.0s. I think this argument is just like the body lift debate. If e-fans do not hold any improvements, why does everyone run them on the race cars why wouldn't they run a mechanical one. I also know this for fact, when I am on a trail at a low rate of speed my truck stays at a cooler temp than it did with the mechanical fan.

When is the last time you saw any of the following:

1) A race car running AC

2) A race car towing?

3) A race car running 100K+ miles?

No, I have never put an e-fan on any of my vehicles, because I know they are inferior to the OEM mechanical fan/clutch assembly. The same reason I've never installed a Tornado, used Splitfire spark plugs , or a K&N air filter on my vehicles! Both of my Mercedes
came from the factory with both, mechanical fan/clutch & e-fan.
 
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Rearanger

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The advantages of e-fans is that they hardly ever run and thus aren't drawing any power from the engine
Agreed. My E-fan on my FWD Camry hardly ever runs.


whereas mechanical fans with clutches still turn even if cooling isn't needed, and if they're turning then they're drawing power from the engine. All the time.
When the fluid clutch is mostly disengaged I doubt you could measure the power draw.

E-fans are much quieter than mechanical fans.
Only when they're not running, yet I never hear my mechanical fan over engine noise. The lack of fan rake means when they do run they run at very high rpm and are very noisy.

Mechanical fans are mounted on the water pump and put a lot of strain on the pump's bearings, possibly leading to premature water pump failure.
I'm betting pump bearing failure is more due to over tightened fan belt.

E-fan technology is mature technology and they're just as reliable as mechanical fans...
Not sure about the "just as", all you have to do is go on FWD auto web sites and see all the Qs about cooling fans.

And besides, it's fun to play around with and modify our vehicles...
This has more to do with it but I've grown up about mods that are done seat of the pants but offer no measurable improvement. I do think that slow moving rock crawling type vehicles probably need an electric fan to compensate for high load/temps and low air flow.
 

Bob Ayers

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Agreed. My E-fan on my FWD Camry hardly ever runs.




When the fluid clutch is mostly disengaged I doubt you could measure the power draw.



Only when they're not running, yet I never hear my mechanical fan over engine noise. The lack of fan rake means when they do run they run at very high rpm and are very noisy.



I'm betting pump bearing failure is more due to over tightened fan belt.



Not sure about the "just as", all you have to do is go on FWD auto web sites and see all the Qs about cooling fans.



This has more to do with it but I've grown up about mods that are done seat of the pants but offer no measurable improvement. I do think that slow moving rock crawling type vehicles probably need an electric fan to compensate for high load/temps and low air flow.


+1

Another consideration, FWD vehicles that HAVE to use an e-fan have larger capacity radiators, to compensate for the lower air flow from the e-fan.
 

06RangerXLT

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+1

Another consideration, FWD vehicles that HAVE to use an e-fan have larger capacity radiators, to compensate for the lower air flow from the e-fan.
you really have no idea what the hell your talking about. have you ever looked at the size of a ranger radiator?

if your just going to talk out of your ass, go somewhere else. i dont care if your a premium member or a ****in Mod. you have no clue what your saying.

stop giving bad advise to people who are honestly asking to find out the truth, not what some idiot (YOU) thinks about them. until you even put one in your truck, and it fails, you can **** right off.

every dam e fan thread has you pulling facts youve gathered out of your ass. get a wrench and go find out how shit works for your self.

God, jackasses annoy me. :annoyed:


:icon_rofl:
 

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