E Fan?

[dancron]

I've heard a bunch of things about e-fan and just looking to see whats actually true before i go out and get one.

1. More power. The 3 point slow could use a little more power and it makes sense that the engine would have less drag without the clutch fan.

2. Just the same or better cooling. Never had any cooling problems so far but sometimes i get stuck in the shitty NJ traffic so i need the cooling and i need it to be reliable.

If they really do free up some power and will still keep my truck running cool it sounds like a pretty sweet deal unless someone can tell me something different.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

There is nothing free in this world.....taking the load off of the engine by removing the clutch fan will be replaced by the load you will be putting on the alternator to keep up with the demand the efan will place on it.

 

[dancron]

kinda figured that but i havent put anything else that would draw more electricity so would the efan load make a big difference on the alternator?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Well some of them can draw as much as 80 amps on start up.

 

[dancron]

oh wow
either way good idea or bad idea?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

If your clutch fan is working properly, save you money.

 

[88_Eddie]

i've been debating this also. i work at autozone and i can get an e-fan for $55-ish and the wiring for $15-ish, i'd like to try it, but i'm still skeptical....probably try it after i get some of the more important stuff out of the way

 

[stmitch]

I've had my efan on for almost 2 years now, and am very satisfied. I chose a factory Ford fan from a newer 4cyl ranger. I live in Indiana, and drive my truck daily, so it sees temp from -10 to 100 degrees. I have had no issues at all with the fan's cooling capabilities. Mine is wired in with an adjustable temp sensor, so it only kicks on when the coolant reaches the chosen temp. Most of the time, if the air temperature is below 45 degrees, it doesn't even kick on. I go months at a time without it coming on. Thats where the benefits come in. The e-fan doesn't drain any power when its not on.

I can't say anything about the claimed power increases because I installed my fan with a set of underdrive pulleys, and can't say that one or the other increased power. I did notice it seemed to rev more easily, but that could be attributed to either mod.

 

[dancron]

yeah i've heard good things about those power pulleys for the 3.0, that was also one of the reasons i was thinking of getting a efan because the under drive crank pulley would be slowing down the water pump.

 

[locovaca]

I've had my efan on for almost 2 years now, and am very satisfied. I chose a factory Ford fan from a newer 4cyl ranger. I live in Indiana, and drive my truck daily, so it sees temp from -10 to 100 degrees. I have had no issues at all with the fan's cooling capabilities. Mine is wired in with an adjustable temp sensor, so it only kicks on when the coolant reaches the chosen temp. Most of the time, if the air temperature is below 45 degrees, it doesn't even kick on. I go months at a time without it coming on. Thats where the benefits come in. The e-fan doesn't drain any power when its not on.

I can't say anything about the claimed power increases because I installed my fan with a set of underdrive pulleys, and can't say that one or the other increased power. I did notice it seemed to rev more easily, but that could be attributed to either mod.

Is yours wired to the A/C as well? Every car I've seen with an E-Fan stock has the fans cycle on when the A/C clutch is engaged, otherwise the A/C doesn't do much when you're at idle.

 

[stmitch]

yeah i've heard good things about those power pulleys for the 3.0, that was also one of the reasons i was thinking of getting a efan because the under drive crank pulley would be slowing down the water pump.

There's a thread titled "3.0 power pullies" a little down the page, that presents arguments for and against both the pullies and the e-fan. I'd suggest you read that if you haven't already, and make your own decision.

Is yours wired to the A/C as well? Every car I've seen with an E-Fan stock has the fans cycle on when the A/C clutch is engaged, otherwise the A/C doesn't do much when you're at idle.

No, mine is stand alone. It only comes on when the coolant reaches the selected temp, and shuts off when the coolant temp drops. I haven't noticed any issues with the A/C, but I rarely use it anyway.

 

[Roadkill]

I'll throw in my $.02. Although some members will say I am full of it as I did it and tracked the results. So, I must be making it up.

I replaced a clutch fan that was starting to fail with the following.

Exploder 4.0 rad from an auto.
3300 cfm e-fan.
DZK underdrive crank pulley.

I got the old fan off, installed everything else. Found that, yes, the lack of heavy spinning mass on the front of the engine does free up some HP (NOT much mind you). The DZK made NO difference in cooling or charging other than making things spin a bit easier from the engines perspective.

I enjoyed the e-fan setup I had. Worked very well when wheeling, in regular day to day traffic and such it hardly kicked in. The larger rad helped here a lot.

Just my observations from doing the swap. I would do it again and if my F-350 wasn't for sale I would do a similar upgrade to it.

 

[oldfordman]

I have a 99 3.0 ranger. Still has the original fan setup, although I plan to replace it when I do the water pump, sometime in the next few months. My previous ride was a 91 chevy s-10 with the 2.8 v-6. It needed all the help it could get. I pulled the engine driven fan off, and drove it that way for over a month, to make sure that it really did make a difference. It did. A bit more power, and about 1-2 more mpg on the highway, no difference in town. As long as I was going more than 20 mph, I did not need the fan. I put in a 17 inch fan mounted in the original fan shroud, hooked it up with a manual switch, running through a relay like the type used for driving lights. Drove with this setup for over 10 years and 175,000 miles with no problems and no overheating. A side benefit (I believe) is that without the load of the fan clutch and fan on the water pump, the pump will last a lot longer. My truck now has over 240K miles, and still has the original water pump. A few suggestions- bigger is better, get the largest e-fan that will fit. Wire it with a thermostat to comoe on automatically, and include a manual over-ride so you can switch it on before things start getting hot. And take your time, install it right, draw up a diagram so you can figure it out 5 years from now.

 

[dennis461]

Save all your mechanical fan parts, shroud, etc. Paint the theads on everything so they don't rust up.

You will need to put it all back on.
I did after this trip.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?p=300243#post300243

 

[McCormack]

A side benefit (I believe) is that without the load of the fan clutch and fan on the water pump, the pump will last a lot longer.

Yep, I'm in full agreement. My serp belts also seem to last longer.