Electric fan??

[oleblue]

I know I'll probably get pounced on for asking this from reading around here, but how many of you have electric fans and what do you think about them? Do you get better gas milage, more power etc?

 

[michowski]

I like my electric fan. No noticable improvements in gas mileage that ive noticed but I did notice my motor seemed to wind out faster going into 4th gear. Seemed a little more peppy and get up and go. Its been reliable, been half way under water. Always kept my motor in a cool temp range on the guage. Helped to free up some clutter under the hood. I like everything about it. If you get the flex-a-lite fan you can manually wire in a switch to the inside of the cab so if for some reason the fan should ever fail you can always flip a switch and turn it on.

 

[oleblue]

I looked on the flex a lite website the fan I seen for bronco and ranger only went up to 94 model. Are the radiators different after that year or would that work on my 2000? Anybody know how much CFM the stock fan flows?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the stock fan output varies depending on engine rpm. no electric fan will ever match your mechanical fans output...whether this becomes a problem for you or not depends on a lot of factors (climate, a/c use, driving style, traffic, ect).

some guys have had cooling problems after switching to electric, some havnt.

as for power/economy, no. the stock fan is attached to a thermally activated clutch, meaning the fan is only causing drag on the motor when the motor is in need of airflow for cooling (just like an e-fan kicking on and causing a higher load on the alternator, and thus drag on the motor).

 

[michowski]

the stock fan output varies depending on engine rpm. no electric fan will ever match your mechanical fans output...whether this becomes a problem for you or not depends on a lot of factors (climate, a/c use, driving style, traffic, ect).

some guys have had cooling problems after switching to electric, some havnt.

as for power/economy, no. the stock fan is attached to a thermally activated clutch, meaning the fan is only causing drag on the motor when the motor is in need of airflow for cooling (just like an e-fan kicking on and causing a higher load on the alternator, and thus drag on the motor).

The drag from the stock clutch is far greater then the drag from an electric fan. Sometimes I cant even tell when the electric fan is on unless im watching the temp guage. With the stock fan I always felt it on the pedal.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

sounds like you may have had a sticky, malfunctioning clutch on your hands.

 

[bottledgt]

stock fans have drag thats for damn sure

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i can stop an unlocked fan with a rag while the engine is running and hold it stopped with one finger. how much horsepower does a finger produce?

 

[michowski]

are we talking like pocket protector nerd finger or like arnold finger?

 

[bottledgt]

that has to be the dumbest idea ive heard of today

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

its perfectly safe if done properly (note, i didnt NOT say try it). sometimes it helps to stop the fan when diagnosing noises from the front end of a motor. also helps diagnose a malfunctioning fan clutch.

 

[oleblue]

I was just trying to get something to help the gas milage out a little but if its not going to do that I wont worry about it. Trying to suck all the gas milage out of it I can with gas being so high. I could put my tonneau cover back on it might help a little I guess but I just dont like it.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

your stock fan is just freewheeling at highway speed, so an electric fan wont provide any advantage mileage wise.

your best bet for better mileage is just to keep the engine in top running condition, keep tires up to pressure, and keep excess weight out of the truck. if you drive a lot on the freeway, the slower you go the better your mileage will be.

almost anything you can buy to improve mileage will not be offset by the cost of the purchase for a loooong time...so your better off just leaving it be.

 

[michowski]

A tonneau cover will not improve your fuel mileage. It was even tested on mythbusters with the net, tailgate, no gate, ect. The best one was tailgate up and open bed. The tonneau cover never hurt mileage but it improved it like .5 more mpg with all the calculations done or something really minor like that. I would just do what wicked said and keep your fluids changed regularly and perform a regular tune up on your motor when the times come.

 

[cg ranger]

I have been debating one of these along time. Me living in new england, i am really not that worried about its ability at keeping the engine cool. I am more interested in the fact that it will cause the engine to rev faster. Hell at high way speeds, might as well not even have a fan.