After Market Cooling Fan

[Sarumatix]

I need to replace my cooling fan as it was bending so much it was knocking the powersteering belt off (RB26dett in a 4 door). Any advice on what to look at? I'm considering something like a 12inch fan.

[Sarumatix]

Something like one of these?

http://www.daviescraig.com.au/main/display.asp?pid=11

Can get them from a sponsor on NS:

10” Kit p/n 0045 $110

12” Kit p/n 0062 $170

16” Kit p/n 0066 $250

[inissane]

yeh davies craig are the goods u can get them for cheaper than that at american autospares in homebush if ur in syd

[BHDave]

I'd stick with a replacement stock fan if i were you.

I have 2 12inch thermos sitting against the radiator and they struggle to keep the temps down on hot days and in traffic. I will probably be making a shroud for them eventually.

I cant fit the stock fan in mine anymore. I wish i could as i never had a problem with overheating even on 40 degree days with the AC running flat out.

[Cubes]

Definitely need a shroud, DO NOT attach them directly to the radiator as I did.

I found in heavy traffic it was fine providing temps were not over 30degree's and or I had the A/C on.

Its really not cool spending so much money on thermo fans only to find they don't work correctly.

I've known one other to run one of the big 16" davis fans I think it was. That 'apparently' kept the car cool.

If doing so, DO NOT skimp out on wiring and cheap supercrap fuse; as I did.

Head down to jaycar and pick up some decent gear, 2 x 12" thermo's suck a bit of juice, you want them getting all the volts they can and not making the wire warm to touch.

Edited November 13, 2005 by Cubes

[boostn32]

Cubes did u end up using thermos of an EL falcon

[Cubes]

Not yet....

Soon.

[Sarumatix]

Damn i'm in melbourne?

How hard are they to mount? I'm looking at two 10 or 12 inch setups (if I can get em to fit )

[AlexCim]

Wouldnt you just want to replace the stock fan size with an electric equivalent mounted over the standard shroud?

Hence, find out std fan size, buy to match and work from there.

[Oosh]

I have a 16" ICE thermo, the trick with fans is where possible don't mount them flush on the radiator, they need to be set back slightly to be at their most effective.

The 16" is good as it's larger than the core is high, so when you strap it on it sits against the top/bottom tanks, giving you said gap.

Mine has been working well without a shroud, but it's on the cards, i also have to wire up a proper thermatic switch as i just do it manually after the car has warmed up at the moment (risky i know).

[Cubes]

Oosh,

Take it in to peak hour traffic with the a/c on some time...

The only way I can think of to tell what the temp is without a digital readout is to jump out and check if the engine over heat fan has came on. It comes on around 90-91degree's.

Mine in peak hour traffic (South Road and Marion Road intersection is bad) when not moving with the a/c on will get damn close to 100degree's. As soon as you start moving (even slowly) temps drop down to under 90. Generally 88, once up and moving at a decent rate it drops to 86.

That being said if I simply idle the car with the a/c on some where on the street or at my house it will only get 90-92.

The road temp of peak hour traffic is a killer.

[66 skyline gt]

i have twin 10 inch davies craigs with the curved blades and a shround and it works quite well

[Oosh]

I have the consult readout, i must admit i haven't had a peak hour/hot day/ac combination as yet (i have a pretty clear run to work), but i've yet to see higher than 86 with fans on (it's got higher when I've forgot to switch them on )

Edit: Anyone know the max you'd want to see before it's trouble? Sounds like you've been pushing the limits Joel.

Edited November 15, 2005 by Oosh

[ebola]

(RB26dett in a 4 door

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My dream...

*sigh*

What 4 door? 32, 33? Cefiro?

thanks.

OOsh - have you condsidered a thermo switch that can also turn the fans on (even when manually off?)

[Bl4cK32]

95-100 is as hot as you want to go.....

Remember - coolant in your car boils at 110 deg. only (doesnt sount like much ) and any oil turns to water at 140 degrees....

[Cubes]

I run Nulon green coolant, that boils at ~124degree's.

Also remember the thicker rating of oil is measured at 100degree's.

I think most will find..... with the a/c on, a 35+degree day, in peak hour traffic (where you don't move for 5minutes, then move a few places then another 5minutes. ) with ambient temps hitting 50-60degree's your car will most definitely hit around 90-100degree's as mine does. Unless something is completely wrong with mine.

Usual peak hour traffic where traffic movement is moving nicely with occasional stops it wont get over 92. With the a/c off it will drop some where around 86.

Edited November 15, 2005 by Cubes

[Oosh]

Ebola - I've got the gear to run it automatically, just haven't got around to hooking it up, ahh procrastination.

Bl4cK32 - That's what i figured, even if the boiling point is higher, i wanna stay the right side of 100C.

Cubes - Sounds OK to me.

[Shaun]

Im using Ford EF Falcon twin thermos in their factory shroud. Because there wasnt enough room between the engine and radiator due to the power steering pump, ive mounted them in front of the radiator and reversed the direction of fan rotation so that they push air through the radiator. After a bit of trimming of the plastic shroud (and mounting them upside down), they fit like factory! Also, you cant see them because ive got one of those air deflector plate thingys. I can also stagger the temps at which the two fans come on so that idle doesnt suffer as it would if the fans started at the same time. Only cost me a hundred bucks too.

I dont reckon you can beat factory fans. You need to get some with significant rake of the blades so that they push heaps of air. The aftermarket ones ive seen just have flat blades almost.

Anyway, just an option for those without air conditioning!

Shaun.

[Sarumatix]

Thanks a lot for replies guys, I am trying to source an EL falcon twin setup and finding that they are around 180-200 dollars new and 150 - 175 second hand which isn't that bad considering the davies craig setup costs more. However the standard wreckers places have all been stripped so you have to get these from a ford dealer as far as I have found. I am concerned now about trying to control the fan and wondering if I can just use the thermostat off the radiator. Could someone who has mounted thermo's provide more information on how it should be wired . Cubes you mentioned what not to do, what exactly did you do? .

Incase you were wondering why i'm doing this, the clutch fan started flexing into the powersteering pump belt on let off (from about 5000RPM) and literally flicking the belt off. I tried trimming the blades a little but that didn't really achieve much so i'm going for a thermo setup. The fan was mounted with a large spacer which i'm not certain is stock so if anyone knows about such things feel free to let me know as i'd love to work out exactly how all this came about . The problems really started because I got an SR20 pump mounted instead of the RB26 pump as hicas was locked and I didn't need the RB26 unit anymore (and RB25 pumps are much too long). Let this be a warning that modding the powersteering pump on any RB engine is probably fraught with such dangers as there is VERY little clearance in this area .

ps. It's an R32 GTS-4 4 door.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Sarumatix

[JimX]

Don't worry too much about keeping your coolant below 100 degrees. Even if you use plain water it will go a fair bit higher than this because the system is under pressure and hence the boiling point is higher. On my motorcycle, the thermo fans don't kick in until it's well over 100 degrees, probably at around 105-108. I've been sitting in traffic in the middle of summer and it will get up to around 110 before it drops, but it always drops by this point and never overheats. My previous bike used to get up to around 115-118 on the hottest days. I think this is stupidly high because it heats up your legs via the exhaust and gets uncomfortable, but apparently it's fairly normal on sports bikes.

By all this I'm not saying to aim for a thermo cutoff of 120+ degrees, but you have a lot more headroom than you think if you find yourself overheating in traffic.