Im looking into puttin on some electric fans soon.

What is the *minimum* CFM you can use with the 5.4 lt engine.

Troyer website says the minimum is around 2500 CFM.

I was lookin into either 1-16" Fan that pulls 3300, or maybe 2-14" fans.

Maybe 1-12" and 1-16" together..

How big is the backside of the radiator?

 

Its big enough to hold the dual 16" E-Fans that Troyer sells...They are also quite easy to install.

 

I am looking for a fan like the 3018 from http://www.dccontrol.com. I believe it is off a 94-97 TBird. It is like 4000 cfm and a factory ford part. I have the madcontroller to use with it, just looking for a fan.

 

That is probably the RF-86 motorcraft, or XR3Z-8C607-AA ford

Told it was from a 4.6 mustang somewhere in the late 90's to 2000

 

Nope, It's a RF-24. It outflows the Mustang fan hands down. It is similar to a Mark 8 fan design but doesnt draw as many amps and is quieter. I can get a new one from rockauto.com for ~$140. If i dont find a junker soon, i will just order one.

 

I have a real dumb ?? that im sure has been answered before but please help me out.

What exactly does an e fan do for me???

 

Well, on paper, it does several things. One, you have less drag on the engine because you are not turning a big fan. This is mostly noticeable when the motor is cold. The time your clutch fan drags till the fluid is moving.
Two, it helps on hard launch, as the electric may not be drawing power thus improving your launch.
Three, it allows your engine to warm up faster, thus saving wear and gas.

In theory it is 'free power' for the engine. Many cars come with only electric fans, and not just small cars.
My wife's car has a sideways 4.6 V8 with two electric fans, one comes on at 205, and the other kicks in at 232. The first one comes on if you use the A/C since you need air blowing over the A/C core to make it work.

It's a good system, but the 'weak points' is that the thermal fan clutches used on modern engines really are very efficient.
After the first minute or so the factory system clutches (feathers) and really stops using much power.
It only really draws horsepower when the thermal clutch starts to increase fluid drag. But that means you are running hot, and you want the fan...

If you have a 15-25 amp e-fan it is likely that the draw on the alternator will be almost as high as the draw from the fan.

Also, Ford doesn't put the e-fans on from the factory (they would get a slightly better CAFE rating) because if you use the truck as a truck, Ford doesn't think you will get enough cooling.

If your truck is a 'sport truck' like mine, and most of the users here, a truck used like a big car, then the e-fans might be just the ticket.
Don't expect a big boost in power, and don't expect to save back the cost in gas.
And do expect the dealer to go into shock...

Still, I would put them on mine, but can not justify the 350 bucks the minimum setup I would use would cost.
Chris

 

Basically, it will pull air across the radiator and condenser at the same rate whetehr your engine is running idling or revving at 5K rpm. The two main benefits are that when you take the load of the engine driven fan off the engine, it frees up a few extra horses, and if your sitting in traffic on a 95 degree day, your A/C will cool much more efficiently.

oops too slow

 

Hi cwelk150, many have posted that their A/C is not as good after they put on the e-fans.
On a 95 degree day, your thermal clutch will be engaged on your clutch fan and you will be pulling A LOT of air with the stock fan.
Around this area, very high temps and lots of idleing in traffic plus climbing steep grades, E-fans on trucks are very rare... You see the almost new fans for sale at garage sales and in the paper...

Still, for those in Kansas, Montana, etc. they would be a good thing on any sport truck.
Chris

 

Thanks allot for your help :santa:

 

I haven't run e-fans on a Ford yet, but I put a set on my 03 GMC, and the A/C blew about 13 degress cooler than it did with the belt driven fan, stopped in traffic. I had actually thought about adding a pusher fan in front of the condensor, how do you think that would work?

 

I have a big pusher on the front of my 454 P30. Does a good job, but the radiator is vast. I would think that you would loose a little cooling on the freeway, as the pusher would block some air flow, and create turbulance before the grill.
Interesting idea though.
If I was more energetic I would try it, as I have lots of spare fans laying around.
A quick trip to a pickapart and you could try it for 10-20 bucks. If it increased the cooling with the stock fan, you could be sure it would do it with an e-fan.

On the A/C I've never tested a/c temps on e-fans on the Ford either. I was just reporting about two dozen posts from guys who have put the e-fans on their 2004+ trucks.
Seems to me it would work better in some situations, worse in others. Now if you put say, two 2000 cfm fans on with a shroud, I am sure your air flow would do as well as the Clutch fan, at least, below full lock on the clutch, but the drag from the two motors on the alt would probably exceed the draw from the fan...
Just can't seem to see the 'profit' since the clutch works pretty well. Most uses on big vehicles usually involve transverse engines. Or some other reason a simple clutch fan won't do the trick.
Oh well, a mod doesn't have to have a bottom line return, or even a net power gain. Most mods are for fun anyway.

Chris

 

my ac runs cooler at idle than with the stock fan. the reason I believe is that I have duel 15 inch fans running at 1000+ rpm versis the stock single 19 inch fan turning 550 rpm. I know there is more to the equasion than just that such as different fan blade design that dictates the amount of air being pulled across the radiator. all I know is it makes sence to me. and my ac definitely runs cooler at idle I would say once the rpms get above the 2000 rpm mark the stock probably starts to pull more air.
I didn't notice any real big hp gains from mine but my truck dose seem to warm up quicker in the morning. this wil be a big plus this winter. I used to let my truck warm up for over 10 minutes in the morning in the winter befor and it still would be blowing cold air when I got in the truck. this sucks when it gets below zero. I really kills the gas milage to warm it up so long in the morning. as I take alot of short trips my fans almost never come on. I think the benifits are the best when the fans don't have to come on. as far as gas milage increases I am still trying to figure this out. I am guessing a .5 to 1 mpg gain in town and 0 - .5 on the highway. it is not alot. I would say my benifits have been slightly better acceleration, cooler ac at idle, warming up quicker in the moning, and a slight mpg gain. and it opens up the front of the engine alot. its alot cleaner a look in the front of the engine.

 

jasonkola, your findings seem to be very logical and sound right.

I don't know about any increase on the freeway, as the factory fan just freewheels, no drag, but you have that covered in your 0 -.5.
On the other hand, I suspect your 'short hop' cold running is more of an improvement than you are estimating.
I know how bad my mileage is till the engine hits 190 degrees.

I think you are in a location that would make the e-fans a good investment. Around here, they are counter-indicated...

What's the CFM on those two 15s? just curious.
Chris

 

they are rated at 5500 cfm. that is at full speed. mine start up at 60% power and go up if the temp goes up. they increase speed slowely as the temp goes up ofer a period of 10 degrees at which they wil be at 100% power. although I don't think my fans have run above 60 % as even in the summer and temps around here arround 100 F. my fans only come on for around 30 to 60 seconds before shutting off after cooling the radiator. they seem vary efficient to me. I am still trying to figure out any gas milage gains I have got but I am afraid my numbers are going to be a little gray as I added a af1 intake this summer only 2 weeks before I added the fans and then a few weeks later I had my pcm reflashed by the dealer for the throttle delay so my truck has been relearning the fuel curve all summer long. so I dont trust the gas milage numbers I have got so far. this next tank will tell me what it is in town as it has been 100% city driveing.