Improving Engine Cooling

[cbxer55]

Pretty easy to add a relay to activate an e-fan when AC Compressor get 12volts

And I agree, E-fan is a win-win, on any engine

Until they don't work. I've had two fail on me in the years I've been driving. Not factory, but after-market add-ons. One while I was out driving, and the vehicle started over-heating at long stop lights. Had to shut it off until green to get it home. Put one on my Lightning last year, and the first time it came on, it went up in smoke. I mean, smoked out my garage. Thought it was on fire.

Never again! Factory like my Mustang, fine. Add-on, NEVER! Many guys driving Lightnings echo that sentiment. There's more stock clutch fans on Lightnings than there are sparky fans. The stock clutch fan actually pulls more air than any sparky fan. But, hey, if you like em, knock yourself out!

 

[adsm08]

I'm all for electric fans in place of the mechanical clutch but the PCM has to have complete control over the fans operation. An aftermarket setup won't engage/disengage when required to for the sake of A/C if the PCM doesn't have the programming there to control it.

Every E-fan setup I have ever installed had a tap to the AC compressor to turn on with the AC.

 

[RonD]

Yes, well, a mechanical fan does have its upsides, lol

But hard to turn them off in water crossings, so e-fans do have their upsides as well, also better MPG and power, ain't much but ain't 0 either


I get why a car maker might turn off the e-fan above a certain MPH, fan can't keep up, lol, but not sure why they would do it since fan should be off anyway unless engine is overheating
One of the reasons mechnical fans cost you MPG and power is because they are not needed in most vehicles above a certain MPH, they are only needed when driving slow or stopped, but they have to be powered full time

 

[cbxer55]

Yes, well, a mechanical fan does have its upsides, lol

But hard to turn them off in water crossings, so e-fans do have their upsides as well, also better MPG and power, ain't much but ain't 0 either


I get why a car maker might turn off the e-fan above a certain MPH, fan can't keep up, lol, but not sure why they would do it since fan should be off anyway unless engine is overheating
One of the reasons mechnical fans cost you MPG and power is because they are not needed in most vehicles above a certain MPH, they are only needed when driving slow or stopped, but they have to be powered full time

But they're clutch fans. Unless the fan is locked up, it's slipping beyond a certain rpm anyways. And I've never known a situation where the clutch fan in my Ranger or Lightning has ever been locked up. I'll take that over trying to get home in a vehicle where the electric fan is pushin up daisies. It ain't fun. Yes, at speed they aren't needed. But honestly, I rarely use the highway. Most of my driving is in Stop Light City USA. And some of them, I can catch a nice snooze waiting for it to turn green.

My two times with smoked out sparky fans is likely a rarity. But twice for me is two times too many! Honestly, wish I could convert my Mustang to a clutch fan. The fan that smoked out in my Lightning was a Mustang fan, the same one my car has. And at the time the fan smoked out, the controller got so hot, it melted the plastic on the outside of the case. And it was wired up correctly.

Nope, never again unless stock.

 

[88workcar]

I have a 3.0 and have the E-Fan. Mine comes on and off with the key and I have a bypass switch to control it my self. I am the only one to drive mine so I stay on top of it and have no issues there. I do not like how H O T it is under the hood. Glad I saw this today. Today I will put the washers on the hinges rear of the hood to release some heat and I may wrap the manifolds till I do my swap.

 

[55trucker]

I'm not in a position to comment on the reliability of aftermarket e-fans, is one referring to Flex-a-lite fans when one suggests they are unreliable?
Is it the motor windings that give up when the fan fails?

 

[Alan_nc]

You mentioned in a reply that you have a small leak in the radiator. Any leak that won't allow the cooling system to pressurize will make the engine run hot. I'm actually surprised that you don't overheat during normal driving.

 

[e21pilot]

I do believe I have a small leak because I saw it slightly damp in the bottom corner when I removed the shroud. I top off the coolant bottle every six months or so and it is usually down a fraction of an inch. The radiator coolant gauge usually reads just past the 'C' in the bottom of the normal range so I assume the cooling system is working well enough. However, I had no temp gauge on the radiator pan so no idea how hot it was running while I was towing. I am going to add a gauge this time.

 

[cbxer55]

I have a 3.0 and have the E-Fan. Mine comes on and off with the key and I have a bypass switch to control it my self. I am the only one to drive mine so I stay on top of it and have no issues there. I do not like how H O T it is under the hood. Glad I saw this today. Today I will put the washers on the hinges rear of the hood to release some heat and I may wrap the manifolds till I do my swap.

Exactly. On my Lightning I put two Mustang heat vents on the sides of the hood, which along with the cowl, vents a lot of heat overboard. One cold night, I started the truck up and let it warm up while I was getting ready to go home. Never turned the defroster on. When I came out 10 minutes or so later, the windshield was defrosted. During the summer months, I take off that polished radiator cover. That lets some air up over the top into the engine compartment. I can really feel a difference on the front of the supercharger. It usually gets real hot, like fry an egg hot. With the air going over the top, it only gets warm. Radiator has never overheated due to this.

Also, on my Ranger, I whacked up the plastic baffles in front of the radiator to allow some cool air to flow into the engine compartment. It helps. been this way for almost the entire 20 years I've owned it. So let's not hear any downsides, there aren't any.

I am going to put two of the same exact heat vents on my Ranger hood. I already have a large gap at the hood back, due to throwing away the rubber seal that was there. I can look down from the rear and see well into the engine compartment. I already have a former Mustang hood scoop on the hood, with many holes in the hood under it via a two inch hole saw. When it rains, I just shove a piece of tight fitting black foam inside the scoop to keep water out. I keep it behind the seat, jic. The scoop blows a lot of air all around the throttle body / intake manifold. Something I've been working on for awhile now. Going to order the vents from CARiD soon. They're carbon fiber and kind of pricey.

 

[RonD]

Ford added a cover for the PCM connector on the firewall, make sure thats in good repair and not missing if you have or are going to make a gap in the rear of the hood
PCM connectors had an issue of water intrusion and then corrosion when they were moved to that firewall location, which is why Ford added the extra cover

 

[cbxer55]

Ford added a cover for the PCM connector on the firewall, make sure thats in good repair and not missing if you have or are going to make a gap in the rear of the hood
PCM connectors had an issue of water intrusion and then corrosion when they were moved to that firewall location, which is why Ford added the extra cover

I'll give it a look-see. But the way it rains here in Oklahoma, and the Ranger being my bad weather vehicle, if it was an issue, I'd know about it by now. LOL!!

The gap at the back of the hood is fairly wide. It's a steel aftermarket hood. Put on by a local body shop in 2015 when I got tired of all the hail dents in the aluminum hood. The fit all around the fenders and front is good. I removed the rubber seal years ago. I seem to recall it wouldn't stay on anymore, so I just chucked it in the round-open-top-file.

 

[Alan_nc]

You do realize that the better the hood seals the more air is pulled through the radiator which is what you care about cooling not the engine compartment.

 

[cbxer55]

More air is pulled through the radiator by a properly functioning clutch fan. Plus, giving the air trapped under the hood someplace to exit, increases flow through the radiator. With a 180 thermostat in my Ranger, the gauge never waivers above the one third point on the gauge. With the stock 195, it should point dead center. So I have no concerns there at all.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I got one of these digital gauges to better monitor my coolant temp. it runs on battery so no wiring to worry about, just plumb in the pickup, which I spliced into my heater hose line.

Also make sure your radiator and heater core is clean and system flushed...and make sure fan clutch is working properly.

Besides that you can:
-try a lower temp thermostat, like a 190 or 180 (stock is 198 I think)
-get a radiator for explorer auto trans tow pkg (its 2" thick I think). it drops in with minimal mods.
-add in some water wetter or engine ice (I've had good luck with both)

I heard theoretically its the water that does the actual cooling, antifreeze just raises the boiling point, lowers the freezing point, and acts as a lubricant to help the water move around and do its thing.

For this reason I never buy 50/50 mix, always get the concentrate, and mix it to somewhere between 80/20 and 70/30, the bigger number being water. I always run distilled water.

And yes, get the biggest trans cooler you can fit! Heat is the slushbox killer. Also change the ATF fluid and filter, often.

Maybe its hack, but if the fittings and some line after it is good, I would flare them and just clamp on rubber hose the rest of the way. Aftermarket stuff runs rubber lines, should work fine...just mind the routing away from major kinks or heat sources.