I found this article
SPAL is a brand name and is recognized as one of the top aftermarket fan companies out there. The model that I chose was the 16" medium profile puller style that mounts on the inside of the radiator. This size has sufficient CFM (the amount of air it moves) and is thin enough to clear the water pump pulley (where the old fan clutch mounts) and the alternator and power steering pumps. The lowest price I could find anywhere for this fan is here (thanks to Jon Moeller):
For mounting, I went with the cable-tie style that you can buy from Racer Parts Wholesale, which works perfect. The cable ties go through the radiator and there are clips on the other side that attach it. You can find them here (scroll down to the "quick mount kit"):
Make sure you have the fan on the right place on the radiator before you use the clips! I mounted mine on the upper left hand side (from the driver's perspective) to ensure clearance from the items I mentioned above. As for the water pump pulley, some people cut off the stud where the fan clutch would normally mount. I decided to leave it there and covered it with a little cap sold by Turner. Cutting off the stud would allow you to go with a fan that is probably 1" or more in depth. The stud nut can be found here:
The wiring is really easy with the A/C removed. The SPAL fan has two wires coming out of it, power and ground. The brown wire that was for the aux A/C fan attaches to the ground wire and the green/black one is for the power. There is another aux fan wire that is blue/black, but I don't know what that one is for (I just capped it off). You also need to upgrade the fuse in your fusebox for the aux fan low speed to 25 amps, otherwise the fuse will pop (no worries the wiring can take it). Wired in this way the fan will now operate with the snowflake button.
To get the fan to come on automatically when the coolant warms up, move the low speed thermo switch from the radiator (it is the top one) to where the coolant drain plug normally is on the engine block. The switch becomes the drain plug (yes the thread size is the same). Use the removed drain plug on the radiator where the thermo switch was (just swap them). Snake some wires from the female clips that normally attach to the switch at the radiator down to the switch which is now on the block. Now, when your coolant hits about 190F degrees the fan will come on automatically. This is the beauty of using the existing aux-fan/ac wiring - it is already set up with the right relays, etc.
I experimented with leaving the thermo-switch on the radiator but the coolant would get way too hot (near the red zone on my dash gauge) before it would trigger the fan - even with another lower temp switch I had bought. Maybe it is my car or the fact that it was 20F in my garage, but I would have thought it would have come on sooner. Since it didn't I went with moving it to the block which is working well.
A couple things you should know:
1. I did not wire it so that I have both the high and low speed functions like the aux fan has - all I wanted was high speed since my car is a track car. I suppose if you used the aux fan resistor you might get the low and high speed functions (low speed when the switch on the block closes, and high speed when the high-temp switch on the radiator closes (the other one on the radiator)) and maybe that is what the green/black wire is for (I never tested it). I suppose this would work but those switches are designed assuming there is the stock fan clutch in place, and I fear the coolant would get too hot before it triggered the high speed switch. Maybe replacing the high speed switch with a lower temp one would get it to close sooner...hmmmm...food for thought
2. The medium profile 16" puller fan is VERY loud since it has straight blades. If my car was street use I don't know if I would like it. It sounds like a small turbine - very loud. If this is a concern of yours look at the curved blade fans and see if you can find one with the right CFM that still provides clearance
what are the benifits from an electrical fan? Will it save gas milage?
SPAL is a brand name and is recognized as one of the top aftermarket fan companies out there. The model that I chose was the 16" medium profile puller style that mounts on the inside of the radiator. This size has sufficient CFM (the amount of air it moves) and is thin enough to clear the water pump pulley (where the old fan clutch mounts) and the alternator and power steering pumps. The lowest price I could find anywhere for this fan is here (thanks to Jon Moeller):
For mounting, I went with the cable-tie style that you can buy from Racer Parts Wholesale, which works perfect. The cable ties go through the radiator and there are clips on the other side that attach it. You can find them here (scroll down to the "quick mount kit"):
Make sure you have the fan on the right place on the radiator before you use the clips! I mounted mine on the upper left hand side (from the driver's perspective) to ensure clearance from the items I mentioned above. As for the water pump pulley, some people cut off the stud where the fan clutch would normally mount. I decided to leave it there and covered it with a little cap sold by Turner. Cutting off the stud would allow you to go with a fan that is probably 1" or more in depth. The stud nut can be found here:
The wiring is really easy with the A/C removed. The SPAL fan has two wires coming out of it, power and ground. The brown wire that was for the aux A/C fan attaches to the ground wire and the green/black one is for the power. There is another aux fan wire that is blue/black, but I don't know what that one is for (I just capped it off). You also need to upgrade the fuse in your fusebox for the aux fan low speed to 25 amps, otherwise the fuse will pop (no worries the wiring can take it). Wired in this way the fan will now operate with the snowflake button.
To get the fan to come on automatically when the coolant warms up, move the low speed thermo switch from the radiator (it is the top one) to where the coolant drain plug normally is on the engine block. The switch becomes the drain plug (yes the thread size is the same). Use the removed drain plug on the radiator where the thermo switch was (just swap them). Snake some wires from the female clips that normally attach to the switch at the radiator down to the switch which is now on the block. Now, when your coolant hits about 190F degrees the fan will come on automatically. This is the beauty of using the existing aux-fan/ac wiring - it is already set up with the right relays, etc.
I experimented with leaving the thermo-switch on the radiator but the coolant would get way too hot (near the red zone on my dash gauge) before it would trigger the fan - even with another lower temp switch I had bought. Maybe it is my car or the fact that it was 20F in my garage, but I would have thought it would have come on sooner. Since it didn't I went with moving it to the block which is working well.
A couple things you should know:
1. I did not wire it so that I have both the high and low speed functions like the aux fan has - all I wanted was high speed since my car is a track car. I suppose if you used the aux fan resistor you might get the low and high speed functions (low speed when the switch on the block closes, and high speed when the high-temp switch on the radiator closes (the other one on the radiator)) and maybe that is what the green/black wire is for (I never tested it). I suppose this would work but those switches are designed assuming there is the stock fan clutch in place, and I fear the coolant would get too hot before it triggered the high speed switch. Maybe replacing the high speed switch with a lower temp one would get it to close sooner...hmmmm...food for thought
2. The medium profile 16" puller fan is VERY loud since it has straight blades. If my car was street use I don't know if I would like it. It sounds like a small turbine - very loud. If this is a concern of yours look at the curved blade fans and see if you can find one with the right CFM that still provides clearance
what are the benifits from an electrical fan? Will it save gas milage?
Comment