Electric Radiator Fan Conversion on VQ

[colinnwn]

My fan clutch had worn out and had too much friction, and my fan had a bunch of cracks in the plastic hub. When I saw Nissan wanted $250 for the 2 parts, I decided it was time to do the electric radiator fan conversion. Unfortunately I started this on a Sunday afternoon half way through another car project, so I was hurrying and didn't have the time to track down all the best parts to do it.

 

For speed I went with a Flex-A-Lite Black Magic Xtreme kit with thermostat - part #180, even though it was very expensive for what it is. I was hoping the mounting system would speed the install, but it was completely useless for installing on the VQ radiator. I ended up using flexible metal straps across the shroud mounting points on the radiator, to hug the fan to the radiator.

 

The fan itself is very high quality and has a good sound. It has a nice shroud around it with door seal type material on the edges to protect your radiator fins. I think it would have worked better if they gave you the riv-nut kit to install where you want on the plastic shroud, instead of preinstalling them. But I know they set them to use with the included brackets, that I wasn't able to use other than to mount the thermostatic controller.

 

The instructions are utterly worthless, except for the basic wiring schematic. I could go through them again to itemize the stupidity but I don't want to re-live it. The issue that immediately comes to mind is it says to push the fan against the radiator until you've compressed the seal 50%, and have a friend hold it there while you tighten it down. There is no way you are going to compress that door seal material even 25% without pushing it right through your radiator core. It is tough stuff. Though there is really no need to try to compress it. Just having the fan firmly against the radiator seals plenty good.

 

It comes with a simple sealed single-speed single-fan controller with adjustable temp, and the ability to turn the fan on manually or when the A/C compressor engages. At first I wanted a variable speed controller to prevent power surges on fan startup. After using it for a while that isn't necessary, it doesn't pull down the electric system on startup like I was afraid. Alternatively now I really wish I had a variable speed controller for better temperature control of the engine. I was very disappointed at this price point that it didn't come with a variable speed controller. You can't even replace the relay in this single-speed controller if it fries out. You have to replace the whole controller.

 

Pros

The engine is much smoother at all RPMs

The engine is so quiet now that I sometimes can't tell it is still running when I coast up to a stop

Throttle response is substantially improved

Power also seems better, especially at higher RPMs

When the fan turns on, it cools the engine down fast

Only a couple inches on the top and sides of the radiator are not covered by the shroud which should give it good low speed performance and A/C performance

 

Neutral

I'd estimate from watching my ScanGauge for years before, and after the conversion, that I'm getting about 2 mpg better than right before the change. But I had notice my MPG had fallen recently. I'd bet 50% of that improvement would have been from a new fan clutch no matter what.

The engine seems to run about 5 degrees warmer at freeway speeds. It used to sit at about 177 in the fall. Now it is running about 182. Still well within acceptable. The hottest I used to see was during summer sitting at a light it would get to 188. Hopefully this fan will keep it below 200 in August and I'll still consider it acceptable.

 

Cons

The thermostatic controller with the radiator fin temp sensor is inconsistent. I tried to set it to come on at 185. Sometimes it comes on at 182, sometimes at 190, sometimes at 195. If it comes on at 182 it runs for a second and turns off about 180. When it comes on at 195, it runs for about 30 seconds and turns off around 190.

 

My opinion, I'd do the conversion again in a heartbeat, but I would not use the Flex-A-Lite. I feel like the substantial extra cost isn't reflected in extra value, for the VQ install at least. I think getting a Taurus 3.8L fan, some door gasket material from JC Whitney, and a nice variable speed fan controller with a coolant temp sensor, would be cheaper and overall higher quality, if you have time to do it piecemeal.

[Karmann]

I've thought of going this route, thanks for testing it out for us. Where'd you source the fan kit? Pics?

Edited February 15, 2015 by Karmann

[colinnwn]

I was going to get the fan from Amazon for $329. But when I decided to take Monday off and try to get it done, I started calling around to all the local distributors on the Flex-A-Lite page hoping to find one with it in stock. None had it available or knew what I was talking about until I got to the very last one. It was C&D Automotive in Fort Worth https://www.facebook.com/pages/CDs-Performance-Automotive/152463154904312. The lady at the desk, maybe Cindy..., was very nice and helpful. She found them for me at a new warehouse in Flower Mound and arranged for me to do a customer pickup, so I could get it the same day. And they were only $10 more than Amazon.

 

I'll try to get some pics this week if the weather cooperates. I was going to do it today, but I spent the whole day rewiring my stereo, and messing with my A/C to figure out why the temp control knob quit working. The plastic bracket that holds the cable broke off, and I broke the air control cable bracket removing that one, and the back frame has another crack in it. So I'm just going to suck it up and pay the $144 for a new one from Courtesy Nissan.