Electric Fan
 

My 2006 Tacoma has a mecanical fan. I want to change to an electric fan to boost gas mileage but I don't want to reinvent the wheel. Has anyone else made this mod? What size fan did you choose and are you satisfied with the results?

I'd do a little searching for the answer. Here are two threads that address your topic.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...nges-1444.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-fan-3365.html

I've installed electric fans on several cars that I have owned, with very positive results every time. Check out summitracing.com for some good universal kits.

you should have a viscous coupling which unloads the fan when no thermal load off the heat exchangers flows across the fins of the coupling's housing.In theory,the fan should be completely unloaded above 40-mph ( 63 km/h ).A fixed-drive fan as in the Crisis Fighter Pinto project would have absorbed a full mpg at 70 mph.Today's coupled fans should not have that kind of power loss.

aero is right that modern fans are much more advanced than an all metal non clutching fan on pre 1980s vehicles. However the quicker warmup time and still less drag from no fan at all will boost the mileage. I used 3.8 ford taurus fans on several small trucks. They move a lot of air and are very affordable at the local pullyard. The taurus fan is the same fan used on the v8 mustang and the larger cars. Temperature senders/switches are an easy find as well. If you are always over 20mph and are not running the a/c, your e-fan will never come on at all. If you do not want to put used "junk" on your newer truck i would take a look at summit, as they have nice stuff.

In the S10 radiator fan changes thread, I told my tale of switching my former GMC Sonoma to an electric fan. The MPG effect was negligible, but it made the truck smoother and peppier to drive, by simply removing the extra weight from the engine. It's a mod I'd recommend to anyone.

If I recall correctly, I chose my fan by looking at the electric fans on the shelf at Advance Auto Parts, and after I saw the one recommended for 4-bangers, I bought the next-bigger one. I wired it up all stupid, much to the chagrin of the mechanic who later changed my head gasket (unrelated-- I never overheated, so much as cavalier-engine head gaskets magically dissolve), but it worked really well once I got a setting chosen for the thermostat.

StreetSideAuto - Auto Parts, Car Parts, Truck Accessories, Truck Parts, Car Accessories and Performance Parts has good pricing (and free shipping) on some of the nicer flex-a-lite branded products. I was very specific in what I wanted, and also wanted reputable fans. Cooling is a pretty high priority in my book.

I'm not a troll I promise, but they came through on my current project. I bought cheap stuff and got into it before deciding to use the kind of products that deserve to be on a hard used primary vehicle. A 2006 Tacoma is a nice truck. Do it right and use the good stuff the first time. Camry V6 fans perhaps?

here is some data for an S10 - it is what I used for mine
- I'm sure the Tacoma is similar enough to get some good out of this

Electric fan install on 82-02 S-10s
Fan Switches, Thermal - summitracing.com

recommend the mod
I agree with most of the above comments
except if you grill block a clutch fan... it ain't spinning free on the highway anymore
it is locked up hard like it is bolted to the engine - just like back in the day

It is not a hard modification so long as you take your time and do it right. The flex-a-lit fans work well and the instuctions that come with them are decent.

I'll also add to remember to check the thickness of the fan(s) you are looking at installing. Too thick and you might have it running into engine components. (they make thin style fans for tight applications)

Also having a shroud that covers the non fan parts of the radiator makes the fan more efficient when it does need to run.

Jim

I haven't experienced the locked clutch with the T-100,and it has only a 10-inch circular opening.I did cut the face of the bumper away,as it was directly in opposition to the center of the radiator.The upper and lower horizontal elements of the bumper remain, and probably act as a flow straightener.That may have made a difference,as the airflow,even though blocked,passes directly at the fan and clutch.----------------------------.P.S.,with respect to old vehicles,like my D-100 Dodge,I removed the mechanical fan completely and do run an all-electric pusher fan.