flex fan instead of stock fan

[red_ranger93]

has anyone used a flex fan if so are they shorter then the stock fan that comes on the 302

 

[Hardwareman]

The guy I bought my 2.5 motor off of put a flex fan in his Ranger and the thing came apart on him and destroyed a lot of parts on the front of his engine.

The A/C bracket, radiator, water pump, and some other things I can't remember were all destroyed.

He called to ask me if I would sell him back some parts off of the motor he sold me....hahaha. Good luck!





Allen

 

[LittleHorse]

I bought a full size Bronco with a 351W that had a flex fan on it. I hated that piece of junk. I bought all the parts and converted back to a clutch fan.

 

[88mudder]

i never liked my flex fan on my 5.0, it would flex 2 much and hit my pulleys damaging the fan ends...chips and crap...no room to space it out either cuz its in a Ranger so the rad is right there..

 

[red85]

I bought a Derale flex fan for my 306 and it works just fine. I have more than enough clearance for my rad. I was running a Taurus fan but I just prefer the simplicity of a flex fan. I have yet to have a problem with overheating (with the Taurus e-fan or the Derale). Let me see if I have a picture of this.

 

[kemicalburns]

flex fans rob power and are dangerous. if your worried about room run an electric fan.

 

[red_ranger93]

could you run the e fan on the front of the rad

 

[red85]

flex fans rob power and are dangerous. if your worried about room run an electric fan.

They're only dangerous if you don't run a shroud and decide to stick your fingers in them. As for power loss, I'm not worried about it. As far as I'm concerned, the constant cooling is worth it in lieu of a cooling fan malfunction that cooks your motor. I have enough time tied up in my setup that I'll take a small loss of power in favour of reliability.

 

[red_ranger93]

how much space do u need between the rad and flex fan to run it

 

[sloue]

running flex fans for a lot of years never had any big problems. running one on the ranger now .to answer the first q . yes smaller than stock stuff,thats why i am running one now. i will be looking for a better shroud when the snow leaves.

they do run warmer than any stock fan

 

[LittleHorse]

With all the modifications out that that exist solely to reduce the rotating inertia of an engine, it cracks me up every time I see someone install a flex fan. Every time you want to speed up the motor, it's now having to spin that huge ass fan which is now solidly linked to your water pump shaft.

Some people use an electric fan to eliminate the parasitic losses from their standard fan. A flex fan does the opposite of this.

The fan clutch allows the water pump shaft to spin a different speed than the fan, so the engine is more free to rev up and down without wasting the energy to keep the fan at the exact same speed.

Not to mention the additional stress on your water pump shaft which was not designed to handle the inertia of a solid-mounted fan.

Every time I hear a car with a flex fan, I think they have a seized fan ctluch. Because the more-or-less do.

But anyway, that's my opinion on them, it's your truck.

 

[sloue]

i have run this mill with e fans flex fan clutch fans and ill tell you there is no noticeable difference. less your racing the gain and loses of a mech fan are ,,,not.

 

[red85]

i have run this mill with e fans flex fan clutch fans and ill tell you there is no noticeable difference. less your racing the gain and loses of a mech fan are ,,,not.

+1

 

[Psychopete]

I am 50/50 on this, flex fan is looking good for me right now. I had a car before that had one without issue, but I've heard nothing but bad things about them.

I have my radiator all the way tucked into my core support, engine as back as far as it can go, and I can't seem to fit my 16" Zegro cool fan in that I used w/ my 2.9L. I need about 1/2" more clearance and I am just out of room. I am using a 2-row Explorer radiator with Advance Adapter plates. Gave up on the 1/4" plates and V6 mounts because the engine seemed to high, header interference, and the plates came w/ a set of headers I bought. Don't want to go with a new FEAD.

Does anyone know how thick a cooling from from the 3.8L Taurus is? Also wondering what kind of clearance other people that used flex fans dealt with?

Side note - FWIW, it is possible to put in an AOD transmission from under the truck. It is a "mother f*&@(*$ b!@#$", but it is possible. I was only able to do with with an adjustable transmission jack. Sun and the moon need to align with the middle star in Orion's belt, then it will go forward. At times I want to just give up and sell the stupid thing. It's getting close though.

Pete

 

[TomB1269]

i never liked my flex fan on my 5.0, it would flex 2 much and hit my pulleys damaging the fan ends...chips and crap...no room to space it out either cuz its in a Ranger so the rad is right there..

88mudder, unless they have drastically changed the flex fans from years ago, the fan should only thin out as the rpms increase, IE flex. At low rpm (and at rest) the curve of the fan is most dramatic, if it clears everything when turned by hand it should be fine at idle, and at high revs the blades flex to decrease drag, ie decrease parasitic loss. The only reason that it would make contact is if it the pump shaft is bent or ocsillates due to bad pump bearings, etc.......
At least thats the way the used to work.......