Electric fan mod not going so good - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

TheEnemy · 03-30-2011, 01:10 PM

So I have been trying to install an electric fan into my old CJ-7 for a while now. I picked up a couple of Ford Taurus 2 speed fans from a junk yard. They work fine, but wont fit between the engine and the radiator, the water pump rubs the motor of the fan. I tried figuring out a way to mount it to the front, the motor is reversable, but the fan does not work so well in reverse.

Next trip to the junk yard I got a fan from a BMW that mounts up front, but the motor is dead.

Tried putting the BMW fan onto the Taurus motor, and made a mess out of it. It came out badly out of ballance.

Looks like its time to order a fan and mounting kit.

Piwoslaw · 03-30-2011, 01:47 PM

+1 for trying

Actually, you tried twice, so +2

kir_kenix · 03-30-2011, 02:43 PM

I've also run into this. Shaft diameter being the same, motor still runs out of balance. My only guess is that some motors must use the fan blades as a dampner/balancer and some motors must have precision ground shaft/inline bearing & bushing.

Then again, some electric fans seem out of balance from the factory (ever looked at a dodge minivan fan while running? wobbly as heck...don't know how they manage to not make a racket).

Phantom · 04-01-2011, 01:11 PM

Take the ford fan drill all the way through the mounting point to flip the fan in the other direction so it is not spinning in reverse and use a nut and some JB weld to hold it on.

comptiger5000 · 04-01-2011, 02:26 PM

^ Either that, or find a way to move the rad forward a hair, or trim the shroud to get the blades closer to the rad (giving more clearance to the water pump).

Phantom · 04-01-2011, 04:20 PM

Depending on how much room there is and how the radiator is mounted you could just stack some washers and use a longer bolt to move it forward

TheEnemy · 04-01-2011, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Take the ford fan drill all the way through the mounting point to flip the fan in the other direction so it is not spinning in reverse and use a nut and some JB weld to hold it on.

I was thinking about this solution already.

Spacers/washers would move the radiator closer to the engine.

foxhound · 04-02-2011, 06:19 AM

if not ive bought several hayden fans for old chevy 4x4 builds from oreillys. they work great and not that expensive. and they can be made a pusher or puller by just flipping the blade around. be careful they are come out of the box a pusher. found that out the hard way couple of years ago. comes in many sizes. they make controllers too.