Fan Clutch Std or HD?

[slammed93]

^Agreed, I want proof personally. Until you can back yourself up with a dyno sheet or whatever, don't assume you know everything and that everyone who opposes your "findings" are wrong.


PUT UP or SHUT UP!!!

 

[jmg8550]

HI!... Well it gets very cold here also. Never seen a electric fan blade shatter. Btw the F-150 and Ranger clutch fans have plastic blades......Mabey you should stop buying CHEAP fans. Actually the engine will warm up quicker with a electric fan due to it's not spinning when the truck is cold! The mechanical/clutch fans still spins at idle when the truck is cold and still tries to pull cold air through the rad. As for the factories knowing what there doing for reliability and performance? That's funny right there. So I guess that's why Ford puts all their trans coolers behind the bumpers where they are useless? I guess thats why FORD put 4 spark plug threads in the modular P.I heads to use with a 9 threaded spark plug and 1 out of 4 has spark plug blow out? I guess thats why FORD rated the 4R70-W trans at 700FT/lbs and after the 5.4's, 345FT/LBS goes through the converter (x 2.2) it already maxes out the 4R70-W's max TQ rating? I could go on and on. The factories build vehicles to get them off the assembly line as fast as they can.

As far as the stuff I've done to my RANGER is worthless. HMMM. I spent $350(CAN) to make my RANGER go from 15.8E.T to 14.67E.T, it gets about 5-6 MPG better gas mileage.

Ya ......................

Since you have such trash to talk about Ford and their mechanical problems, why don't you quit whining and drive something else like a dodge or chevy. And as for the trans coolers, maybe you should take a closer look at the cooler placement on the Ranger. Right up front and in the direct path of incoming air. Also your electrical switches and relays will fail long before a mechanical clutch fan will. Your electrical fan might be fine for your trailer queen drag ranger. But real world scenarios prove a mechanical fan works better for RELIABILITY and PERFORMANCE. The manufacturers balance those two carefully. And you still haven't answered my question about your PROFESSIONAL experience.

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

You can't prove that your e-fan'd ranger gets 5-6 more MPG any better than we can prove it doesn't.

E-fans are nice for trailer queen drag strip vehicles, but for the vehicle that you beat on everyday, in traffic, gravel roads, towing stuff, extreme temperature fluctuations (it was negative 34 F here the other day, and thats only IL) the mechanical clutch fans hold the edge. They are just more reliable. You are only depending on a fan blade attached to a pulley. With the e-fan, you are depending on a fan blade, pulley, alternator, electric motor, and a complicated series of switches and relays. Only an idiot would say that setup is more reliable.

Besides that, we all wish we could get past the 1st law of thermodynamics, but unfortunately we can't. That is what you're claiming by stating that an e-fan is more efficient. That fact is that neither the alternator nor the electric fan motor is 100% efficient (both are actually far from it). That's 2 additional efficiency losses that the mechanical fan doesn't have. You claiming that you're getting 5-6 MPG better doesn't void the 1st law of thermodynamics. Sorry.

Laugh all you want, but an e-fan simply doesn't make sense on a daily driver truck when he's already got a mechanical fan set-up.

And FWIW, the clutch fan on my exploder has 17 years and 165,000 miles on it now without a single failure.

 

[THE H.P FREAK]

Since you have such trash to talk about Ford and their mechanical problems, why don't you quit whining and drive something else like a dodge or chevy. And as for the trans coolers, maybe you should take a closer look at the cooler placement on the Ranger. Right up front and in the direct path of incoming air. Also your electrical switches and relays will fail long before a mechanical clutch fan will. Your electrical fan might be fine for your trailer queen drag ranger. But real world scenarios prove a mechanical fan works better for RELIABILITY and PERFORMANCE. The manufacturers balance those two carefully. And you still haven't answered my question about your PROFESSIONAL experience.

HI!... Since where did I trash talk Fords? Please read the posts before writing stupid replies.

I stated the KNOWN problems that the F-150's have that Ford engineers knew about but let them go anyway. It's Ford that paid in the end due to all the warranty work they had to do on those trucks. I could of posted numerous things wrong with chevy and dodge but this is a Ford site so I left them out of it. I'm a Ford lover through and through so don't be mistaken. I did look at the factory position of the stock trans cooler. Mine was directly behind the bumper and almost right against it. Basically no air flow got to it at all. Where I have it now my trans temps have stayed lower for a way longer time period and don't get as hot as they used to. Actually I've had 5 mechanical/clutch fans fail on me in the last 15 years. I've NEVER had one electrical fan fail me yet. I run heavy gauge wire, HD relays and relay harnesses and soldier and shrink wrap my set-ups. Never had any issues. I've done friends and customers vehicles and never had issues either.

As for "REAL WORLD" Well the Ranger gets daily driven everyday, tows trailers, hauls drywall, lumber, goes to the dragstrip and gets beat on, on a regular basis. Never had a problem on reliability, or durability and has never gotten close to over heating with the electric fan.


As for my professional experience. It's none of your business.

 

[THE H.P FREAK]

You can't prove that your e-fan'd ranger gets 5-6 more MPG any better than we can prove it doesn't.

E-fans are nice for trailer queen drag strip vehicles, but for the vehicle that you beat on everyday, in traffic, gravel roads, towing stuff, extreme temperature fluctuations (it was negative 34 F here the other day, and thats only IL) the mechanical clutch fans hold the edge. They are just more reliable. You are only depending on a fan blade attached to a pulley. With the e-fan, you are depending on a fan blade, pulley, alternator, electric motor, and a complicated series of switches and relays. Only an idiot would say that setup is more reliable.

Besides that, we all wish we could get past the 1st law of thermodynamics, but unfortunately we can't. That is what you're claiming by stating that an e-fan is more efficient. That fact is that neither the alternator nor the electric fan motor is 100% efficient (both are actually far from it). That's 2 additional efficiency losses that the mechanical fan doesn't have. You claiming that you're getting 5-6 MPG better doesn't void the 1st law of thermodynamics. Sorry.

Laugh all you want, but an e-fan simply doesn't make sense on a daily driver truck when he's already got a mechanical fan set-up.

And FWIW, the clutch fan on my exploder has 17 years and 165,000 miles on it now without a single failure.

HI!... Oh trust me I'm laughing. I know guys who have been running the same electric fan on their vehicles for 20 years. Your point? My F-150 and RANGER are both daily drivers, tow, hauls go to the dragstrip, get beat on, on the street. Still running electric fans, still getting more H.P/TQ and better MPG than the clutch fan. On the F-150 the clutch fan weighs 11LBS. Thats 11lbs the engine has to spin through out the RPM range. We did a experiment years ago on the dyno. Ran the truck then removed the clutch fan while the truck was still on the dyno, the same day the same temp in the shop. We ran again and gained 19RWH.P with no clutch fan. It's not just me go over to the F-150 boards. The average is 16-20RWH.P gain by switching to a electric fan. Most pick up at least 2MPG after the switch. You guys can believe me or not, I really don't care. Your the ones missing out. Not me. I come here to help others out on mods I KNOW work and I get flamed. That's o.k.

As for dyno graphs. I never post dyno graphs on the internet. Due to every ying yang out there that thinks they know something find something wrong with it.

Enjoy your trucks. I'll enjoy mine .. now with better MPG, more H.P/TQ, and faster 1/4 mile times.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

We did a experiment years ago on the dyno. Ran the truck then removed the clutch fan while the truck was still on the dyno, the same day the same temp in the shop. We ran again and gained 19RWH.P with no clutch fan.

a clutch fan CAN draw more power from the engine, because it has a higher cooling capacity (it can move more CFM) than an e-fan. your e-fan runs at a maximum of what? 30 amps? thats half a horsepower at the motor. a mechanical fan has as much power as the clutch can supply to it...which as you found out is considerably more than your e-fan. that energy cannot simply dissappear. it is going into moveing air. meaning the mechanical fan is moving more air. horsepower is a measure of work. whats doing more work? 1/2 HP or 20 HP?

furthermore, a properly working fan clutch will disengage the fan when not needed (JUST like your e-fan). meaning you will be using very close to ZERO HP, and zero extra fuel. yes a clutch fan CAN draw 20 HP...but it will only draw as much power as is needed at that moment to cool the motor.

this is simple physics.

 

[THE H.P FREAK]

HI!... Well all I know is that with the clutch fan removed and the electric fan installed, I went faster in the 1/4 mile , had better acceleration in town, get better MPG and got rid of that horrible noise the clutch fan makes when you 1ST accelerate from a dead stop.

That's all the proof I need.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

and got rid of that horrible noise the clutch fan makes when you 1ST accelerate from a dead stop.

ding ding ding!

failed fan clutch. on a cold engine, there should be an initial startup roar, then the fan should immediatly quiet down. if its roaring like a jetliner when you take off, the fan clutch isnt releasing. you accidentally repaired a failed component. this is a common mistake with these type of aftermarket modifications (same as people removing a clogged converter and gaining mileage and power, thus they think ALL cat converters reduce power and mileage).

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Actually the engine will warm up quicker with a electric fan due to it's not spinning when the truck is cold! The mechanical/clutch fans still spins at idle when the truck is cold and still tries to pull cold air through the rad.

Hate to tell yo but a mechanical fan clutch won't spin either when the engine is cold....not too mention coolant isn't flowing through the rad yet either as the thermostat isn't open.

 

[THE H.P FREAK]

ding ding ding!

failed fan clutch. on a cold engine, there should be an initial startup roar, then the fan should immediatly quiet down. if its roaring like a jetliner when you take off, the fan clutch isnt releasing. you accidentally repaired a failed component. this is a common mistake with these type of aftermarket modifications (same as people removing a clogged converter and gaining mileage and power, thus they think ALL cat converters reduce power and mileage).

HI!... Sorry the fan clutch is in perfect working order. All of them around here make that noise on take off. F-150's do the same thing. Listen to the clutch fans on the older GMC Blazers. They are realy loud on take off.

 

[THE H.P FREAK]

Hate to tell yo but a mechanical fan clutch won't spin either when the engine is cold....not too mention coolant isn't flowing through the rad yet either as the thermostat isn't open.

HI!... Well every vehicle I have owned, the clutch fan spins at idle, even when it's cold. It might not spin at full RPM with the engine but it is spinning enough to take your finger off if you put it in the fan shroud. It's called thermal dynamics. Even though the thermostat is blocking the route, the heat being generated will still heat the fluid towards the rad slightly, from heat passing through the stat itself, plus the lower rad hose is totally open to the system. At least it is on my F-150.

 

[Bob Ayers]

HI!... Well every vehicle I have owned, the clutch fan spins at idle, even when it's cold. It might not spin at full RPM with the engine but it is spinning enough to take your finger off if you put it in the fan shroud. It's called thermal dynamics. Even though the thermostat is blocking the route, the heat being generated will still heat the fluid towards the rad slightly, from heat passing through the stat itself, plus the lower rad hose is totally open to the system. At least it is on my F-150.

The mechanical fan rotating slightly with the clutch disengaged will not be a problem at all! If it was, a vehicle would have a serious heating problem going down the road traveling 60MPH, at below zero temps!!

Again, the e-fan has no advantage here!!!

 

[dennis461]

If the fan clutch is working properly, there is no advantage to an e-fan, only disadvantages:

1) Less reliable
2) Less cooling capacity

GET THE HEAVY DUTY MECHANICAL CLUTCH INSTEAD OF THE LIGHT DUTY ONE.

As for e-fan...
I am NOT happy with mine...
1/4 mile times cannot be compared with two hours winching and idling in the swamp, then watching you e-fan control wiring meltdown.
Lost the radiator too when the fan stopped.

 

[Bob Ayers]

If e-fans were more reliable than mechanical fan/clutch assemblies, you wouldn't find articles like these:

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

 

[Plum Ranger XLT]

I'm not trying to start to drama, but I once owned a 1987 Mustang with the 2.3L 4 cylinder that had a factory electric fan. At one point the motor for the fan quit working and a couple of times the engine almost overheated because the fan didn't come on while sitting in traffic. From my experience, I much rather have a mechanical fan over electric fan any day.