Hi, guys. I was wondering how much air an electric fan should move? Does anybody know how much air the stock fans move? Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

I would run dual fans 14" 5200 CFM

 

you only need about 2000 CFM to cool the engine. If that does not cool the engine, you need a larger radiator or the cooling system has problems.

The stock varries with engine speed and the condition of the fan clutch.

Personally the OEM fans are the best and most reliable that I have found. Also the cheapest as takeout parts from wrecking yards. I have a crown vic fan from a 96 4.6 police car, and CJ has a mark8 fan from a town car. The mark8 can flow up to 5000 cfm on high. We have it on low at about half of that. Works great!

http://www.f150world.com/Matt90GT
http://www.f150world.com/COWBOYUP

You can find pics there. Email me if you want more details. I have it written up here:

http://members.home.net/mjbobbitt/f1...0techpage.html

 

I have one 16" Permacool fan in my 99 F-150 and it cools great. I live in south LA where it gets very hot and humid. I pull a boat and dragged some logs recently and had no hint of overheating. It pulls 2950cfm and cost 89.99 in Jegs. However, I would encourage a dual setup just in case one would go out. Mine is almost 1 year old and so far so good. I think it runs cooler than the factory fan and I have the big radiator with towing package

 

Long ago, I dug up some info about the stock fan from the mailing list (posted by a Ford employee):

Engine spd....Fan spd.....Airflow
..(RPM)........(RPM).......(CFM)

....700...........895..........995
..1500.........1895........2230
..2000.........2490........2980
..2500.........3000........3560
..3000.........3240........3780
..3500.........3209........3730

The 16" Perma-Cool electric fan is rated at 2950 CFM, which flows about the same as the stock fan at 2000 engine RPM . So, up to 2000 RPM the electric sucks more air, and above that the engine-driven sucks more.

But, the stock setup uses a fully shrouded fan; when they say 2980 CFM, it's through the entire area of the radiator. I mounted a single 16" fan and removed the shroud (as recommended by Perma-Cool), so I've got less than half the radiator covered. Removing the shroud probably helps the radiator dump heat when the fan is not running.

Whatever, my single 16" has been running fine for over two years with my engine/transmission combo.

 

Mikey88,have you ever actually measured your radiator? i have the towing package on my 00 lariat 5.4 and i only have the 1.44'',just like the regular radiator,you might wanna check if you haven't

 

I have measured the width of it and I think?? it is about 32 or 34 ". I've never measured it any other way, but I will tomorrow and post the results. I will tell you that the fan pulling works alot better than the factor fan pushing and without the shroud it releases alot of heat that way also. I was hesitant to do it, but now I'm glad I did. No problems or concerns as of yet. I'll post the measurements tomorrow.

 

I look at so many magazines that I can' t remember where I saw it but I don't think you would have any trouble finding one if just ask around.

I got interested in installing an electric fan because Mike Foyer said it was one of the tricks you can use to conserve horsepower and save gas mileage. It made sense, and I started keeping my eye peeled for a fan. That's when I saw it in a magazine. Sorry, I can't remember what brand name or what magazine.

The fan I saw had quite a few plastic or nylon blades mounted in a shroud about the size of our shroud opening. It had about 10 blades. It should be easy to mount and wire up.

When you think about it, suddenly the engine will have one less thing to turn that takes horsepower. Of course, the fan will take a small amount of electrical energy to operate it but with a thermostat it won't run at all when it's cool outside.

I suspect, if the truth be known, an electric fan would pay for itself in a very short while. From then on .... it's saving you gas mileage .... and giving up a few more ponies. It's a nice trade-off.

 

An electric fan only takes about 1.5 hp to run on the alternator. So the gain is tremendous! Plus you do not have the vibration on the water pump which will prolong its life. Mileage is an instant 1-2mpg from the addition of the electric fan.

Something to consider with the numbers is that they do not take effect the truck pushing its own air into the radiator at speed. once you get above 35mph, the fan is not needed (as long as you are not redlining the motor). The wind created from the speed is enough to cool the motor. Then the thermostat keeps the motor at a constant temp. The fan should come on just after the thermostat opens, so above the 35mph the electric fan should never turn on! Also at 35 mph, what RPMS are you running? usually under 1500.

Basically add it up. More mileage, power freed up, longer water pump life, quieter running. It is one of the few mods that will pay for itself eventually in gas savings! Mine cost $45 for the fan, and $32 for the relay. About $10 in misc wiring, circuit breaker and other wiring accessories. Under $100, one of the best mods I have done and would highly recommend it!

 

Thanks Matt99GT - You sold me!! .... but after doing a great job of selling us .... you forgot to tell what the brand name is and where you bought it...

 

Well there is no real brand here. Here is a list of fans that you can find at most wrecking yards for 40-50 bucks that will work on the F150:

-Crown Victoria fans, I believe it is 92+ that has the 4.6.
-Lincoln Mark8 92+ or towncars
-94+ Mustangs. The v6 has a single speed, the v8s get a dual speed fan
-93+ camaros

http://car-part.com To help find them local

Any of those, you can modify them to work with stock fan shroud. Check the links I posted early to see how it is done. CJ took step by step photos there. Really just test fit it, drill 3-4 corners and mount with nuts and bolts. Locktite the nuts on after that. The nice thing about this is you are pulling air from the entire radiator.

For the controller, I find the Hayden Automotive units here locally for $32. They are rated about 30amps. Come with a 25amp fuse, that I change out to a 30amp. The relay 30-40 gets changed to a 30-50 unit. basically to handle the initial startup spike of the fan. The fan is adjustable and has the AC on with it. So basically it turns on any time the AC does or when the temperature trips the switch.

now the crown vic and the Lincoln/Sn95 mustang fan on low all work off this controller. If you run the lincoln/sn95 fan on high, you will blow the fuse right off! you know that you are pulling more than 30amps constant. It is around 35, with a 70amp startup spike. So what you do then is have the controller run a 75 amp bosch relay - $15. So instead of putting the leads to the fan, they go to the 75 amp relay. Check this site for more wiring and general fan info:

http://www.geocities.com/smithmonte

Click on the MarkVIII fan link there.

 

hey matt, good to see you over here also....well anyways, after that one post about fans we had a long time ago, i have always wanted to order one, but i'll have to say your advice about the crown vic fan kept me from ordering a flex-a-lite...well thank goodness i didnt, i have looked around for crown-vic fans but nobody knows what i'm talking about when i call yards and most of them dont have crown vics anyways...well i ordered the perma-cool 16 incher that the one guy above talks about...should be in this weekend and ready for an install...i just wanted to ask you a couple things....it will still fit inside my shroud, so would it be better to put the fan on the radiator and then put the shroud back on? or should i leave the shroud off for max air flow? which setup would be better?

also, i'd like to ask your opinion...seems like lately i cant get any help over at the world, i have been asking lots of questions lately and getting no answers from anybody, all they want to talk about is chapter get togethers and other stupid stuff...and i thought that was what the forums were all about was helping people out...so now i am finding more and more help right over here at the f150online site....have you noticed that?

thanks man and good to see you over here

 

here is a pic of my fan I got it from JDM at 732-780-0770

$395.00 with shroud, fan, wiring harness, and relays.

 

DonC, that is exactly what I have built. Looks like a crown vic fan also in that setup.

Bullitt -- if all posible, mount the fan on the shroud like DonCs pic. That is how I have it on my truck, stang and on CJs truck. It will flow air from the same amount of radiator as the stocker. That is what you want.

For which is the best, I dont always post on tech discussions on the F150 boards for personal reasons. You can email me if you would like, but I assume others may have the same reservations I have.

 

thanks again matt, i'll let you know how the install goes and performance wise afterwards......
~Bullitt