S10 radiator fan changes?

[lovemysan]

That fans blade is designed to suck. I removed the clutch fan from a friends 2.8 s10. I installed a thermal switch behind the radiator to run the fan. It did not work very well. It either overheated or ran too often. For an E fan system to work properly you need to run the fan using a water temp sensor installed on the intake. Something like this should work.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

You could probably source your parts off of a cavalier or sunfire, considering they have the same engine & a factory efan.

[bennelson]

Thanks for the input.

The Metro fan is smaller, but I think the radiator is oversized to start with.

This truck has almost the exact same engine as my wife's Pontiac Sunfire, which has a much smaller radiator and fan.

I figure this is something I can play around with. I will keep the original fan so I can put it back on if needed. The fan is pretty hefty. I can't imagine this NOT making a difference in fuel economy.

I think I will start with a relay and a dashboard switch and watch the temperature gauge.

[MetroMPG]

Be careful. I did this once on an old Rabbit I had when I was in high school - the thermo switch failed. I didn't even know what a thermo switch was at the time, so I just rigged a cooling fan switch in the cabin. Forgot to turn it on a few times until I noticed the engine pinging & the needle in the red! Poor bunny.

[dremd]

I have also had more than 1 thermal switch fail. I say if you want a thermal switch get something out of a junk yard, the ones I've had were expensive + ended up breaking.

Also . . .
If you can put the fan on the FRONT and use it as a pusher I've had dramatically better results. (Supra cools better with 12" pusher than the 16" puller)

[MetroMPG]

Differences between a pusher vs. puller fan? That's interesting!

[metroschultz]

re. pusher v. puller
It has something to do with the way the air flows through the fins on the rad.
Before the fan the fins create a lot of drag.
After the fan the drag works to your advantage.
S.

[bennelson]

I have been doing a little driving in the S10 lately.

I have the Geo Metro radiator fan hooked up to the S10 radiator in place of the original mechanical fan blades.

The truck is noticeably quieter without the mechanical fan noise.

So far, I have NOT NEEDED TO RUN THE ELECTRIC FAN. That's right no mechanical fan, and no electric fan! I am sure that will change once it gets warmer out.

Saturday, I will be driving it 30 miles each way to an event with the electric motorcycle strapped down in the bed, freeway driving the whole way. I will monitor the temperature gauge and turn on the electric radiator fan as needed.

Next weekend, i am going camping, and will be pulling a camping trailer AND the cycle. I will need to do a short test trip just to make sure the truck and radiator are up to it.

[apgrok1]

For robustness, you might want to attach two 1" strips of metal fron the top hinge of the radiator to the bottom. Then you can mount the electric fan to the strips for a more solid mounting.

[bennelson]

Temperature looked fine pulling the trailer going out camping.

Of course it's a fairly small trailer, and I wasn't driving real fast.

I think the oversized radiator helps.

The truck uses the same size (pretty big) radiator whether you have the 2.2L or 4.3L engine.

My wife's Sunfire has the same engine, but a much smaller radiator (and an electric fan).

[Atilla the Fun]

I'm new to this forum, so maybe I've missed it, but what year is your s10? And how is it that you're having such poor mileage? My current daily driver is an '89, with NO options. On a recent trip of over 200 miles, my s15 got 35 mpg with the tailgate up. My previous s10, also an '89, with the big 4.3 and every option, got 29 more than once. My own experience with this 2.5 liter 4 cylinder, 5-speed, 3.73:1-axle s15 is limited since I've only had it for 2 months now, but I can tell you from my previous one that in back-to-back testing, lowering the truck 2 inches was a solid 2 mpg, and so was dropping the tailgate. I got that one with a failing 3.08:1 axle in it, so I installed a 3.42:1 axle right away, along with 235/60R15 BFGoodrich Radial T/As on American Racing Equipment style 767 wheels in a 15x8" size. I also installed a cat-back exhaust before my first mileage check. My current s15 is on Chevy 15x7" wheels, with too-small 215/60R15 tires, and has not been lowered yet, and in fact has no mods yet. Both my trucks have had the factory airdam in place under the front bumper. I haven't yet thought to verify the size of the radiator, as I still have the one from the 4.3, and I'm not sure what fan I have, because I don't care. I have a good electric fan from my '91 Camaro that got T-boned while parked, and I will be installing that. Once I get this s15 lowered and put a 3.42:1 axle in it, I expect 39 mpg. Could be snow on the ground before I get that far, though. My Fiero is my priority.