electric fan question

[GasGuage]

I"m running without a fan right now in my S-10. Hooked a scan gauge today to it & the highest temp reading was 193* with an air temp of 44*. It avg around 181*. It seems when I P&G, the temp goes up coasting in neutral. The only thing I can figure is the water pump is pumping slower. Still waiting on that free efan my bro-in-law said I could have.

[round.boater]

Originally Posted by instarx

You didn't say anything about your truck - weight, size, horsepower, engine type, etc. All are factors in choosing a fan.

There is an electric fan selection guide at the flex-a-lite.com site.

It's a 2006 Ford F-150 with the 4.2L V6 & manual 5-speed rated at ~200hp. I think curb weight is ~4600 lbs. I'm assuming that the radiator is the same as in the 5.4L V8, so I should have some extra capacity there. The EPA numbers are 14/19, I've been getting 14.5 with pure in-town (and that's with the engine hardly ever warmed up all the way - I have short drives with no (!!!) bike lanes) and 17-18 hwy - probably mostly because we were driving 75 with a camper shell. We'll see where I can get as I start some mods, and can afford an aerolid.

As for now, the fan is out, and I'm going to start a bit of test driving without any fan to see how it goes before buying electrics. I'm leaning towards a pair of 14" Derale Tornados - $150 cheaper than the Troyer set-up.

[round.boater]

Okay,
Took of the mechanical fan and drove without for a while. I have been seeing about a 2 mpg improvement in the city (up to 16-17), and up to 21-22 on the highway - although I haven't had a tank-full run at 75 yet to compare. I went ahead and purchased an e-fan kit from Summit Racing, and have completed the install. Before all of this, my water temps on the ScanGuage ran 198-202 and would creep up to 206-208 going over I-70 (20 miles of up-grade to 10,000 ft). (We've only owned the truck since November, so I hadn't seen summer conditions) The weather has been warming up, and I've noticed my temps getting higher - up to 211 at an off-ramp after a flat run on the highway at 60 mph on a 70 degree day and it didn't cool down til I turned off the engine, regularly to 207-209 in town. I haven't been running the A/C, and haven't been towing. I've popped the hood, and my e-fans weren't running.
So, my questions:
1) Where should I have put the through-the-fins temp probes? They are the 170 degree on, 160 off kind. I have one for each fan, one probe is about 4" from the bottom center, the other is about 3" from the bottom left corner. My infrared thermometer had shown those areas to hit 200 when the water temp was reading 207 a while back.
2) The temp probes stick past the front side of the radiator by ~ 1.5-2", should they be cut down somewhat to be accurate?
3) Is there another way to check if I actually hooked the whole contraption up correctly?
4) Is 205-210 an okay range to run an '06 F-150? At what temp should I start to get nervous? Lots of posts about water temps seem to cite 190-200 an the correct range. The guage in the dash hasn't budged.

Lots of questions, thanks for any feedback you can give.

[Coyote X]

Hold a lighter up to the tip of the probe sticking through the radiator to heat it up and make the fans kick on

The through the radiator probes seem to work good to me. I have a 190 degree probe on my van and it kicks on right when it needs to. With 2 fans there should be no problem with it ever overheating. I would go over the wiring carefully. It sounds to me like it isn't hooked up right somewhere.

[Vwbeamer]

I have dual electric fans on my 79 chevy truck hooked to a 210 thermostat to turn the fans on. They have never came on unless i was stuck in traffic or towing a heavy load.

When I first put them on, I thought they was broken. I had to hold the truck with the brake and rev the motor at a fast idle to get it to heat up enough to turn the fan on. ( bad for tranny, i know)

Speeds above 20 mph or so seem to provide enough airflow to keep the motor cool.

Idling in traffic is the most demanding, especially when getting off the highway and getting stuck in traffic. The motor is heat soaked, and you do not have the high speed air stream to cool it.

You could get a simple single 14 in fan and thermostat, and just zip tie to the radiator. that will be cheap ( ~$130.00 )and easy for normal driving.

Put the stock fan on if you are going to tow, and you'll have the 14 efan as back up.

This the controller I'm using-

Derale 16749 - Derale Deluxe Adjustable Controllers with Pipe Threaded Probes - summitracing.com

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I was gonna convert my F150 to e-fan but so far have been too lazy/cheap to buy one. So I pulled the mech fan off... and that was it. So far I've had no problems running NO fan. Of course not everybody can pull this off but I have been surprised at how much I've gotten away with- summertime operation, pulling a trailer, etc.

P.S. I've been carrying the fan and wrench needed to re-install it on board ever since I pulled it off a year ago... just in case. Have yet to put it back on.

[taredog]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I was gonna convert my F150 to e-fan but so far have been too lazy/cheap to buy one. So I pulled the mech fan off... and that was it. So far I've had no problems running NO fan. Of course not everybody can pull this off but I have been surprised at how much I've gotten away with- summertime operation, pulling a trailer, etc.

P.S. I've been carrying the fan and wrench needed to re-install it on board ever since I pulled it off a year ago... just in case. Have yet to put it back on.

I have both a clutch fan on the water pump and an electric fan. I've been too lazy to remove the clutch fan since I think I've got to remove the upper radiator shroud, overflow tank and w/s washer tank. Maybe. Maybe I sould go take a look.

Plus there is the $120 36mm Snap-On fan wrench the shop manual says I gotta have.

Is that the one you are still carrying around Frank?

Seriously the wrench thing does remind me of how many of my peers owed their souls to Stan the Snap-On man when I was a mechanic in the late 60s/early 70s.

Craftsman or S-K tools just wouldn't do the job as well.

[Frank Lee]

I thought I'd try the Snap-On experience, just to see what all the hype was about. So I got some nice Snap-On tools, then one of my worthless roommates stole them.

Craftsman and S-K it is.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by instarx

If its a diesel, forget about electric fans, particularly since you tow.

I Disagree While it is true that more diesel owners do tow larger loads the engine is inherently more efficient and there by makes less waste heat.
How do I know? Roll down the windows on a cold day in a TDI and crank the heat. I can get the coolant temp down to 130F at 60 MPH at that Temp the Thermostat has been very closed for at least 30F.

Cliffs: Diesel = Less need for fans / HP than Gasoline.

[Christ]

I stick with whatever tools I come across, frankly. In fact, I don't even care if they've got a lifetime warranty. I've never seen a ratchet that wasn't rebuildable, and Ive even rebuilt the ones that come from Wally World and look like they're made from GumBall machine parts.

[MadisonMPG]

Running no fan isn't a bad idea, depending on your commute.