Electric fan install?

[mjonesjr]

why can't you understand that this isn't going to be put on a diesel pickup, but on a Ranger.....there are numerous efans on the market that have same and better cooling than the stock mechanical fan...

 

[SoLongStang9499]

How/where would i go about getting or putting together a E fan kit?

 

[michowski]

I bought mine at summit racing. The brand is flex-a-lite for mine. Has no problems keeping my truck cool in any conditions described in here(not mountain driving tho). Comes with all the hook ups so you can manually turn it on/off, have it on auto.

 

[Black_Splash]

Wow, I guess I should have never read this post, now my mind is spinning. Bob and mjones, I think you guys are missing the point and I'll have to stand by Bird. He was the only one that made sense.

 

[zuki]

i didn't read every post here, but i will add what i know. i have an taurus electric fan cooling my 4.0. i have it on the low setting and it does a good job cooling it. i doubt that even on high it has the potential to pull as much as a mechanical fan, but it does pull more than enough. the only reason i have an electric fan is so i can shut it off when i take it swimming(which i do quite frequently), and because the electric fan takes up less room. i think it is pointless to argue which pulls more air, because they both work quite well, it just depends on the application which one is better. i can't imagine though taking off a mechanical fan and replacing it with a tarus fan with the idea that you will get a noticable increase in hp or mpg. but what ever you believe in i suppose.

 

[mjonesjr]

Wow, I guess I should have never read this post, now my mind is spinning. Bob and mjones, I think you guys are missing the point and I'll have to stand by Bird. He was the only one that made sense.

everything Bird said, I said......

 

[Bird]

everything Bird said, I said......

That's what I thought .............................

FWIW - neither Bob or MAKG are wrong either - put in a marginal elec fan - you'll be puking coolant all over the place - especially in Mike's higher, drier climates. The factory systems you see nowdays are the result of a lot of engineering to keep things from overheating under the conditions that the vehicle was built for.

If you can't afford the good stuff, then the belt driven clutch fan will ALWAYS be your best bet.

Bird

 

[Black_Splash]

everything Bird said, I said......

Sorry, I must of got confused reading the posts somewhere then. It was late and like I said my mind was spinning. I guess I just understood Bird better.

 

[shadetree]

Three of the most argued subjects on the auto forums:

Fram filters
K&N filters
Electric fan conversions.

And like religion and politics, nobody EVER changes anyones mind. shady

 

[michowski]

That is so true shade lol. The only way to move forward is for everyone to see all the pro's and con's of each and find a happy middle.

 

[SkiDDeM]

Efan on 4banger

i have a 84 ranger with 190,000 miles 4x4, bodylift with bigger tires. The mechanical fan on it right now which is factory i believe, is just a direct drive fan with no fanclutch, in this case would it be suitable to swap out for an efan? Granted i know that the engine has lost a lot of power through time, but i plan on swapping engines in the future to a 2.3 or a 2.9(hopefully) but the 2.0 just isn't gettin' it. I would think it'd definitely perk it up at highspeeds and the fan i buy would be usable for the next engine i put in.

 

[oldbaldy454]

E-Fan on Ranger

What an interesting topic !
I have not posted for a while, but could not resist this on going saga.

I've been running a Flex-o-Lite 16" E-fan for over a year now on a 2000 3.0 V6 FFV Ranger 4x4 with off-road package. Originally I bought the fan for performance and mpg increase. Was hestitant as first, but would install it again in a heart beat !

Yes it has helped performance, and the load on the alternator is unnoticable, even at idle.

An e-fan has other benefits too.
It has more than met my expectations and works great!
Not one problem in over a year of use.
I am more than pleasantly surprised at the reliability,
even if it was purchased on ebay at a discounted price....
gee was I lucky or what?

It is much quieter than the stock mech clutch fan, one of the nice side effects, as I don't really like the sound that the clutch drive fan does on start up. Had a '92 Dodge Dakota 3.9 V6 that was terrible on cold startup fan noise. Noise was so bad we got rid of the truck.

The "Universal mounting brackets" with the E-Fan looked a little unstable and flimsy, so I fabricated my own installation with the stock shroud.
Looks better and is stronger. Drilled four 1/4 holes in the stock plastic shroud that center the fan with its four holes in the corners. Used NF 1 1/2 bolts. Mantained at least 1/2" clearance from water pump pulley.

Wiring: Get a Ford Wiring manual for your truck. Study it.
Bought mine on ebay for $8 Worth every penny...
gee I must be lucky again.

Connectors: Yes reliabilty is a problem with any electrical connection.
Bob Ayers certainly knows that as an Electrical Engineer that he is. There is many hundred of connectors specified in the wiring manual on any Ranger...
a couple more connections on an e-fan is insignificant as far as over all reliabilty goes, as long as it is done properly. I like to do my own work for that reason...nobody to blame for failure except me the installer.

Here in Minnesota (it is snowing an almost zero degrees here tonight)
the fan rarely comes on, maybe runs for 3 months out of the year, or if the A/C comes on now and then. The Vulcan v6 can certainly take all kinds of abuse, and I was initially hesitant to put a e-fan on this truck, but it has been a great mod, much more than a mental masterbation.

I also installed an underdog pulley at the same time as the e-fan.
The A/C does not load or jerk the engine as much when it cycles on and off.
The gator belt with the UDP is also much quieter than the stock OEM belt.
Nice and quiet. Thats what I like about idling with an e-fan and UDP rather than stock parts. With my tinninus, the sound of air rushing, masks other sounds and is irritating to me.

So to hear the truck run, I installed a DynoMax cat back system on it.
Now I can hear it run withou the whiney sound. Sounds nice with a low mellow tone, more like a big truck than the 1/4 ton that it is.
Also added a bigger air intake and MAF mod.
Runs great at 3000 and up. No more irritating resonating sounds.

Yes, an electric fan is fine for a 1/4 ton truck as it is for a car. We have pulled a 2500 lb camper with this 3.0 L Ranger in the summer at 85-95 degree weather and it did not over heat, even with the little engine working its heart out.

An E-fan on a big truck is economic issue, and not necessarily needed for performance. An aftermarket dual fan for my Chevy 3500 454 LS dually is well over $600. Would I spend it for that truck? NO!!!
Don't need to... it has enough torque to pull our 12,000 lb trailer, without the blessing of an E-Fan. Running a Gibson true dual exhaust on that beast.

There are many, many mods that can be done to make a 3.0 L run better.

Intake manifold tuning and ports are another area I am looking at presently.
Just completed a throttle body mod as suggested by Rogue Performance...every little bit helps. Also helps throttle response.

In doing so, and looking at the parts that have been used in this truck,
its is obvious that the parts have been made in haste and not milled or machined as they should.
Air intake parts must have been designed by a bozo.
Throttle linkage was also loose and sloppy.
That was fixed in the mods with a coule of tie raps.

Any mod has to be checked and re-checked, as a small change in any part can affect performance in another.

After reading about and finding many of the manufacturering errors that has occurred in the years of production of this truck engine, glad to see that the 3.0 is no longer available in the 2009 models. Its about time.

An engineer knows more and more about less and less
A technician knows less and less about more and more.
Just get'ter done.

Minnesota news says that the Ranger plant has taken a hit and will be closing for at least a month at the end of 2008. Sales are off 30% or more,
and 4000 trucks have not been sold as expected.

Keep Pluggin and mod'n to correct the problems of the toy truck....
We all need the auto makers to do better.
Lets hope they survive.

JB, retired with time to putz and futz with a little toy truck
Monster Jam tomorrow night !!

 

[MAKG]

You know, there are a few of us generalist engineers around. We do things like keep the space station functioning, keep aircraft from banging into each other and other objects such as mountains or freeways, and, yes, keeping your vehicle from blowing itself up.

You're in Minnesota. Will you guarantee the work for someone living in central Nevada in summer? If not, you're giving bad advice. You're generalizing your situation outside its validity.

You're hearing the clutch on startup? Dang, you replaced a broken clutch, and claimed the working one was better. A stock replacement would have been better as well.

Thing is, competent engineers also understand test controls. Some technicians do, many do not. You're the latter.

 

[mjonesjr]

You're in Minnesota. Will you guarantee the work for someone living in central Nevada in summer? If not, you're giving bad advice. You're generalizing your situation outside its validity.

Just because he lives in Minnesota doesn't mean he is giving bad advice. Pull your head out of your ass.

 

[dennis461]

muddy waters

My mechanical fan clutch could not hold up to the conditions shown here.
This muddy water gets into the clutch bearings like liquid sandpaper.

Some Jeep guys I ride with replace mech clutchs often in their rigs, but did not convert to e-fan.
I've now put on a e-fan from Advance Auto parts, temp controller also
($100.00 total).
On the 1996, I found a heavy gauge HOT wire at the wiper motor harness that can be used to power up the fan. It goes dead with the key out of the ignition.
.
I did however, save the fan and shroud in case I need to switch back.
The e-fan installation kit is not that good on the cheap fans, I'll most likely make a better adaptor later.