Making the move to electric fans...

Is there an actual kit available out there for this upgrade? What's involved in something like this? I understand it's a great way to boost my power, but do I sacrifice anything?

I know I've read about this in posts going back a bit... sounded like a good idea

Any input would be great! Thanks in advance!

Jay

 

I was thinking of doing this also. I am a little affraid of doing this also. For those that have done it what is involved???

 

Nothing sacraficed if you put the correct fan(s) on the truck. You don't want a fan that makes the truck run any hotter than "normal".

I don't know of any kits out there, but if there is I am sure they are quite pricy.
If you are going to do this conversion, I would look for a Fan in a junk yard or Ebay from a Crown Victoria. These seem to be a perfect fit for 5.0 Mustangs and Ford Trucks with V8's and CHEAPER than a kit would be.

There is a certain amount of CFM's that a fan has to put out for a V8. If anyone knows this number let us know.

If you do go with a junk yard fan, you will need a temperature switch. THIS can be bought in a kit from Summit, but I believe this is also available other ways, such as finding specific parts, temp decending unit, solenoid switch, etc....

The easy way to hook a fan up is to run a wire from the ignition to a solenoid with a direct 12volts to it and then to the fan(s). This way the fans come on as soon as your ignition is turned on. BUT, this way could make it hard to get your car warm in the winter temperatures.

Hope this help a little.

 

Here is my current set-up. While the single 15 inch electric fan (from a 350 Camaro) can keep the coolant temperatures under control without any problems, I will be upgrading to dual fans in the spring.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...w.cfm?num=2902

 

Flex-a-lite 270, bolts on. No pokeing rods through the rad. Excellent quailty. I'll post pics of my install. 270 has 2 15" fans draws 3800CFM on low and 5500 on high. Bolts to factory shroud mounts, looks factory installed.

 

HI!... If you want to get a good, dependable electric fan kit then get a dual 16 inch set-up. I have nothing against the CROWN VIC kit or any other single fan kit out there but if it fails...... YOUR SCREWED!!!!!!! I pieced together a twin 16 inch electric fan kit about 4 years ago and it's still going strong. Since then a few tuners have copied my basic set-up and now have them on the market. The kit contains two DERALE 16 inch electric fans and fan controllers with thermo sensors. With the CROWN vVIC set-up you still have a huge rad fan shroud. With a twin fan kit you eliminate the shroud all together, making a WAY cleaner looking set-up and it's ten times easier to work on your engine because it's not in your way. Here's a few pic's of my set-up :

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...4-793-7163.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...4-793-6935.jpg

 

I recently bought Mike T's electric fan setup and it works great. Installation was straight forward and the directions are very detailed. It will take about 4 hrs for the complete install, but a second person will be needed when it comes time to line things up. You definately feel a difference in acceleration, and mpg's are suppose to increase as well.

 

I would would make the claims of "a good, dependable electric fan kit", but I think the number of the FAL kits installed speak volumes.

I say one posting of a controller taking a dump, but it was mounted on the fan shroud.
I would recomend mounting it on the sheet metal behind the head light instead.

The controller is real nice one setting for the on at 60%, the 100% run is already made 10* higher.
Also the controller provides constant run and fans off ( water crossings ) setting with terminals for hooking up switches in the cab, if you so choose.

Take a look around and shop them.

The big thing is setting the on temp of the fans.
Use either a temp gauge or the DTC mode on the digital odometer to run between 200 and 210.
This is the best area to run for HP and for emmisions, per all the postings that have come up.

Use the search term fan* to get the e fan(s), electric fan(s) combos to review them all.

 

I personally feel dual fans is the way to go. You can add in some redundancy in case you have a fan or relay fail.

 

I have been checking into the dual fan setup and it looks like about a $400 dollar bill. I would be interested in Mike T's setup or more info on the kit contains two DERALE 16 inch electric fans and fan controllers with thermo sensors.

Steve

 

I couldn't afford the price tag of a complete kit, so I went the DIY route. The ECS controller cost $35 (didn't require any probes or sending units), $5 for a relay, $3 for a circuit breaker, $10 for all the wire and $25 for the single fan. I am able to adjust the turn on temps inside the truck and monitor when the fan is on/off while driving.

When I upgrade to a 2nd fan, it will cost about $35 more than what I've already put into it. The fans that the automakers put into vehicles have a very low failure rate, but it does give the extra piece of mind to have a back-up.

 

Hey I got a electric fan in mine. And it is all ford bolt in. Check out Team JDM.com. I only have low speed and high is hooked to a swith under the hood. (for racing applications for the Lightnings) I also changed out thermostats and my 99 Exp 5.4 runs real cool and the fan shuts off when the AC is running. I have had it now for about 50k miles and have no problems from it.

 

jkingman -

I spent about a month searching past threads and reading about electric fans. I then went with the kit that Mike T. has. It's a piece of cake to install and excellent directions. Just need to have a Scan tool or other sensor avaialble to set each the fan's temperature settings to turn them on.

I'd recommend you at least call Mike T. and talk to him first.

 

Very Cool no pun intended...

Alrighty - very cool ideas. I agree that the dual fan is a good idea. Definitely have some more research into this... I don't want to end up spending $400+ for the install...

Does the stock fan run constantly? What would the difference be temperature wise with a fan that ran constantly at the same velocity as the stock fan? Which seguay's into my next question...

For those of you that have the fans in place, did you notice any increase in HP/pickup? Is the effort worth it?

Thanks again for the great responses...

Jay

 

The stock fan is a clutched fan. It engages as the temp climbs, and disengages when it has cooled down the temo. It always turns, but is not engaged at all times.
Not sure of what this question was getting at...so If I did not answer it let me know, or wait for the next member to post on the topic.

Temp delta : Zero degrees. you want to keep the engine between 200 and 210* F.
This is the run range of the engine where it produces the best HP, and the emissions loop is worked at peak efficency.

The electric fans don't run all the time, only when cooling is needed.

As for HP, I don't have a before dyno to tell you what it is actually worth.

Was it worth it in my mind, yes it was.
The truck revs quicker then before the E Fan install, and after the first 3 tanks of gas, I got about an average additional 1.7 mpg out of not having the stock fan & clutch assy in front of the truck..

Overall was it worth it, yes it was in my mind, and pocket book for the mpg increase. As far as HP, I sometimes wish I had gotten a dyno run to know for sure.