Lame project: replacing the FAN. No not electric.

[eightynine4x4]

2.9L 1989.

Ha ha, yes i know everyone will want to recommend an electric fan system swap. But i have too many projects already and don’t want to open up that can of worms. Maybe a few years from now.

I already have my brand new fan clutch and the old stuff is all removed from the engine. I just want to get a fan blade that fits so I can take real treks this summer without worrying about overheating.

I would love to use an aluminum fab blade that was nice and quiet, and I’ve skimmed through the Flex-a-Lite blades, but they dont appear to be something that could even be modified to fit the OEM fan clutch.

Other than scouring the web for the original fan blade which seems rare to find in decent shape, are there any other options out there?

thanks !

 

[Blmpkn]

Hotrod or some other publication did some research on blades once upon a time.. IIRC factory metal blades sapped the least amount of power and plastic options like flexalites and such robbed way more.

 

[eightynine4x4]

The factory blade on this was that off-white plastic junk. I’ve had my eye on aluminum ones but never found one that was going to fit the standard fan clutch design without an expensive spacer/adapter that defeated the whole purpose of keeping things simple.
I just stumbled upon the Derale 17117, which is a 17” version in their 1711x series that goes up to 20”. The 17117 is currently $63 on amazon. It is steel, and probably weighs 3-5 pounds. Couldn’t confirm the weight.
This series has a 3” and 3 1/4” bolt pattern hookup options. The Hayden clutch I have, the 2614, has a 3 1/4” bolt pattern.

The fan blade allows for up to 2 5/8” diameter of material to fit between the hole in the middle when using the 3 1/4 hookups, and the Hayden has exactly that minus just a smidge. So in theory it will fit, but maybe i will need to grind away a very thin layer off the inner edge of the fan blade opening… perhaps if there are burs or if the size is slightly under spec.

Will report back when it arrives to confirm that it fits the clutch. If so, this would be the first report I’ve seen of anyone successfully finding a blade that fits a standard fan clutch size for the 2.9L.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Of all the electric fan swap talk, why has no one talked about aluminum fan blade swaps? Or did I just miss out on them?

I have a complete electric fan conversion, but then thought about it and decided it wasnt worth all the complications and compensations.

Do they make metal fans for the 4.0 OHV? I say metal as in steel or alum.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Of all the electric fan swap talk, why has no one talked about aluminum fan blade swaps? Or did I just miss out on them?

I have a complete electric fan conversion, but then thought about it and decided it wasnt worth all the complications and compensations.

Do they make metal fans for the 4.0 OHV? I say metal as in steel or alum.

In my limited experience kind of searching around for the last year or so, no sellers really state a complete list of the vehicles that a fan blade will fit, or any vehicles at all sometimes. They mostly just show specs. There aren’t many “clutch-fan” style of fan blade makers. Flex-a-lite, Derale, and Dorman are the only ones I’ve looked at.
I think you just have to measure your fan clutch’s bolt pattern and also width that needs to fit between the fan blade, and find a fan blade that works for it. Your fan clutch bolt pattern will be clearly stated in some of Rockauto’s product listings, so that’s a good starting point.
I will say that the blade i bought has a lot of reviews and photos showing that various Ford vehicles work with it.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Here is the Derale 17117 successfully mated with a Hayden 2614 clutch. Not bolted yet.
It is too snug of a match up to mate them together as shipped, so i lightly grinded the inner surface of blade to allow for it to slide on perfectly. Spent maybe 1-2 minutes total of actual Dremel grinding time overall. Easy peasy pumpkin cheesy.

I don’t think there is any record of this in the 2.9L world. Given the number of busted/cracked plastic fans everyone encounters, and how the only solution talked about is electric conversion, it seemed worth documenting this. Maybe this is also worth adding to tech/guide documents? Not sure how to present that to the mods. There aren’t many clutch fan solutions posted anywhere.

Again this is a new clutch, but maybe it’s the exact same sizing as old clutch and maybe this Derale blade will fit on an OEM clutch (once lightly grinded) and truly be a replacement for just the OEM plastic blade. But, seeing as how you already have to remove the clutch to change the blade, it seems a little silly to roll with an old clutch.

I would also assume that other clutches that are sold as options along side the Hayden 2614 would also mate with this Derale 17117 (again, once grinded). But who knows. At least we know this setup works.

 

[RobbieD]

Nice work; I like what you've done.

You should put the information and pics together a tech article and submit it. I'd like to see it in the tech section.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Installed. Works great. Also runs much much quieter than the OEM plastic blade which is a nice perk.
Took it on a test drive up some slow steep dirt roads that would normally heat things up fast. Good cooling results. This is a long term solution.
I will post this over in the tech section !

 

[SenorNoob]

Cool.

I wonder if it'd work the same way for the 4.0? Would have to be flipped over though, the 4.0 fan runs the other direction.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Cool.

I wonder if it'd work the same way for the 4.0? Would have to be flipped over though, the 4.0 fan runs the other direction.

With this particular fan, the 17117, there is about a 3/4” clearance of the blade from hitting a belt pulley center bolt. I’ll take some pictures when i post the tech article that will show from the top so you can visualize what the blade would look like if flipped. Certainly the middle mounted section of blade would present no issues, it just depends how far towards engine the blades would reach when the blade is flipped.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Cool.

I wonder if it'd work the same way for the 4.0? Would have to be flipped over though, the 4.0 fan runs the other direction.

I wanted to ask this but didnt wanna further hijack thread..

 

[RobbieD]

Flipping the fan won't work on a reverse rotation situation. You'd need a fan with reversed blade angles.

 

[SenorNoob]

I didn't even consider that. But Derale does list a reverse rotation one 17917 that is otherwise identical. Might be the thing for the 4.0

 

[Eddo Rogue]

My 4.0 fan clutch (and plastic fan) is pretty recently replaced. can I just use it instead of buying new clutch and just get the fan??

 

[RobbieD]

My 4.0 fan clutch (and plastic fan) is pretty recently replaced. can I just use it instead of buying new clutch and just get the fan??

I don't see why not.