Roxanne97 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 hey friends, who here has done the fan swap, delete stock fan to an electric fan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 What would the benefit be? I wouldn't think that it would be overly difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 There are some who have done it. I did on my 2nd WD21, and reverted back. Granted, I had mine installed without a temp sensor, so my main fan would turn on with the truck, and my secondary fan by switch, or with the AC. It worked great in the city, but on the highway it actually blocked airflow, and caused the truck to run hot. I didn't see any performance gains with the e-fan. Personally, I'd stick with the clutch fan. But others may disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarehouseRat Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 get a little water in that e-fan and you will be buying a motor when i craps on you on the trail, although you can gain some parisetic power loss in the removale of the clutched fan assembly, you would need to drop the p/s pump and run with an electric pump and delete all belt driven items but the alternator to really see and feel any improvment, years of building engines there is only one type will i use an eletric fan on and thats on a race engine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 ^^ Or a transversed engine! This topic is debatable. An e-fan will free up some space for sure, but I think that's the only realistic benefit it provides. As far as water hitting it and crapping out, not really true. These are designed to get wet from rain and splashing through puddles and the likes. The problem would be going through a water crossing and breaking the fins from the water (unless you put a switch to turn it off) as the stock clutch would just forcefully disengage instead. It's really up to you. Just be sure to do research on the different fans and shrouds and the likes. Like Simon said, these could actually hurt your engine rather than help. Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarehouseRat Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 thats a negative 180sx e-fan motors are not ment to be submerged in water that has sand and mud and rocks in it, alittle water would be ok but add mud or rocks and you got a e-fan motor with no brushes left in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) I used to have a Flex-a-lite #295 electric fan in my Pathy, but I have since removed it. Here's why: A few years ago, I was off-roading in Death Valley NP, where the nearest city is over 2 hours away from the paved roads in the park, and paved roads can be over 50 miles away, if you're off-road. Well, anyway, I was out there, and I had a lot of electrical accessories going, including my audio system, AC, and lights. Of course, the electric fan was running at full power, too, since it was about 95°F out. Suddenly, my alternator died. I guess it could no longer keep up with the continuous load on it. So, I shut off as many electrical electrical loads as possible (except for the engine and fan, of course), but since the engine was cooled only by the fan (which drew about 30 amps), I could only drive for about 15 minutes before the voltage dropped too low, so, I would stop to let another rig hook up jumper cables to recharge my battery for 15 minutes. This quickly grew tiresome, since we still had over 40 miles (i.e. 4+ hours) of rough driving to reach pavement, and a further 30 miles to reach the developed campground (and facilities) where repairs could be safely made. If the engine fan had not been electrically-driven, the battery would have lasted much longer between "recharges". I am now of the opinion that it is a big risk to rely on the electrical system to provide engine cooling. Plus, while I had the electric fan installed, I didn't notice a measurable improvement in fuel economy, nor did I feel a big-enough difference in engine performance to warrant the risk. Edited June 2, 2011 by XPLORx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I have a clutch fan... the reasons it seems to me that an e-fan would be good are: -faster warm up, since the fan won't come on when you start your truck cold -quieter, because the fan won't always be spinning -easier to find noises and exhaust leaks in the engine compartment because the fan won't always be noisy and blowing air everywhere But as others have pointed out, there are some disadvantages too. Obviously what I wrote above only applies if you use a temp sensor. Maybe I'll stick with my clutch fan for a while longer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) The best thing about an electric fan is it can be shut off going through water crossings. Yes, they can get wet. Yes, I get mine wet/muddy constantly and have not had an issue in the few years I've had it. I also pulled it out of a van that had 200K miles on it, and looked original. So it's a stout and reliable fan. Mechanical fans in water crossings can be dangerous. Fully engaged and churning water slows the engine and can break blades off. I've seen me do it. Or suck so much water through the radiator it bends fins and stuff. That, and with the electric fan running at idle, your AC will stay colder. I don't ever plan on swapping back to a mechanical fan in my Pathfinder and will soon be putting an electric fan from a Taurus in my Z. Edited June 2, 2011 by Kingman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I did an unconventional e-fan swap (just used an odd choice of doner fan), once I get it wired the way I want it completely it will be more efficient but as it sits being hot wired to be on with the truck and with my driving habits I personally got minimal gains if any. (don't overheat in longterm traffic anymore and might be getting a mildly better mpg, but I have added a couple variables and haven't checked) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxanne97 Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 someone told me that the stock fan uses a good amount of % just having to spin it, and by removeing it you will gain noticable HP, and increase fuel economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) The only time I think you would really notice when driving is on a hot day with the air on and the truck sounds like a bus, with the efan it wouldn't drag in that scenario. Edited June 3, 2011 by adamzan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 someone told me that the stock fan uses a good amount of % just having to spin it, and by removeing it you will gain noticable HP, and increase fuel economy. It freed up some power, mainly when taking off after idling a long time and the factory fan clutch is fully engaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 get a little water in that e-fan and you will be buying a motor when i craps on you on the trail, although you can gain some parisetic power loss in the removale of the clutched fan assembly, you would need to drop the p/s pump and run with an electric pump and delete all belt driven items but the alternator to really see and feel any improvment, years of building engines there is only one type will i use an eletric fan on and thats on a race engine My fan has been fully submerged many times and still no new engine... Water is not the end all be-all of electricity like people think it is. yes it will damage electronics with close exposed cirtcuts but you can run 12v wires into a bucket and still power a light bulb. Its not an absolute short it just has low electical resistance compared to air. one day my thermostat failed and my student 4x4er did not see the temp gauge go up. it got hot enough to burst a hose and I still have my 21 year old VG30. These engines will not die with one or 2 overheats... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarehouseRat Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Its called parasitice loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Phooey! The thrust from the fan blowing backwards will actually gain you HP. Removing it for a week arse e-fan will hurt your BHP. (I kid!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clkindred Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I thought about doing this also, but only to lessen the vibrations the clutch fan puts on the water pump. Perhaps the water pump will last longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrT Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Water is not the end all be-all of electricity like people think it is. yes it will damage electronics with close exposed cirtcuts but you can run 12v wires into a bucket and still power a light bulb. Its not an absolute short it just has low electical resistance compared to air. just to be a nerd. Pure water is completely nonconductive. It's the ions in the water that conduct electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 just to be a nerd. Pure water is completely nonconductive. It's the ions in the water that conduct electricity. Ah, so we should be fine if we wheel through de-ionized creeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrT Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Ah, so we should be fine if we wheel through de-ionized creeks! Yes, I believe so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOT Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I think Im the only one whos done it on the Vq35, my pics are up in someone elses thread asking the same thing. Definitely worth it, not only for the ponies but it frees up ALOT of room. I did mine for under $100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marooncobra Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 (edited) I have my old electric fan setup if anyone wants it from my truck VG33E engine version. 16" Craig Davies fan mounted on an aluminium fan shroud that I folded to shape. $100 + shipping if anyone is interested. I had the setup with an on/off switch so I could turn the fan off before fording. Edited June 5, 2011 by Marooncobra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Why would you block most of the radiator's air flow? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 The air flow is not blocked, it's forced through the opening where the fan is mounted. The purpose of the shroud is to maximize the cooling efficiency of the fan, so that most of the radiator is subjected to the forced-air flow. Without the shroud, the fan will only cool the part of the radiator it's covering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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