Puller fans are more efficient

 

That's what I've read too about electric fans.

 

I re-did my rad this weekend and wanted to switch it to a pusher for a cleaner look under the hood. There was no room on the front side for the fan because of the latch support On the back side my fan has at least 1" clearance with the water pump so its one of the lower profiles available. The only way i saw for it to work, other than notching out the support,(not a big deal to many Im sure) would be to use 2 smaller fans.

 

Does it what side you put the puller fan on?

I have to modify my latch support anyway because of the cobra R valance with bumper to fit any way. I though about putting the fan on the outside to give the front more room for the pulley's and a cleaner look as well.
Lynn

 

Pull from the inside, just like "real" fans.

Several threads here of late with photos. If desired I can post links to mine (have to check I put 'em up on Photobucket). Can't comment on the options you posted; I was fortunate to find a mid-90s Ford OEM Taurus fan that adapted with some minor bracketry work, plus a Derale adjustable controller with an override switch from Summit. It's not squarely in the center of the radiator itself, but I've a '67 small block unit so it's not an issue.

 

Do yourself a favor and use a puller. I had used tow pusher fans on my ranger because I have very little clearance between the radiator and water pump. After battling overheating problems in traffic, I finally decided to move my radiator further forward into the core support so I could use a puller. Problem solved.

 

i prefer a puller fan also, as it doesnt block any airflow to the front of the radiator like a pusher fan can.

 

Both if possible.

Honestly my clutch fan out sucks that medium priced Deraile unit I had even with a pusher added on. The engine did make more power with the electric fan and it sounded cleaner. Then again it made less power whenever it was above 80 outside and I couldnt get stuck in traffic.

Don't fool around. spend some money and make sure you can return it if ya arent satisfied.

 

High hp motor and I use a pusher! Has worked great for 600 miles so far. See below

<a href="http://s9.photobucket.com/user/pvirg/media/IMG_3987.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a100/pvirg/IMG_3987.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_3987.jpg"/></a>

 

High hp motor and I use a pusher! Has worked great for 600 miles so far. See below

Well, you got two! My 68 doesn't seem to have that much room up front. What do you have going on there? Do you have A/C? It takes up some room I guess.

Nice looking car.

 

here is my dual 11 inch fan on a 24 inch radiator, there is plenty of room

 

A few years ago when I got mine I had limited choices of what single fan would fit between my waterpump and 24" 4core. Double might have fit better since the motors are offset.

There is the amp draw issue also. Alternators are easy to swap out though. Just $'s.

 

I have the exact Flex-A-Lite fan in my '69 as a puller.

 

Do you like it? Is it quiet?

Thanks for all the info guys so far!!
Lynn

 

I installed a pusher fan behind the hood latch with no modification. Pretty sure it was a Spal fan. It was a little loud but worked good.

 

I used the dual Contour fan on mine. I have not finalized all the aspects of how I am going to control it (cheap auto parts store controller, self-wired, or manual) but I tried it this weekend and in 100 degree Texas heat my car was at 210 degrees and when I engaged both fans at full 12v it took about 45 seconds to lower the temp to 180 degrees. I could feel the air moving about 12 inches from the front of the grill it was pulling that much air and that hard.


The Ford Contour fan is a puller. I bought it off ebay on a sale from a highly rated seller.

 

Well, I think everybody knows my opinion on electric cooling fans....I like 'em on the ceiling of my living room though....

Questions... did you buy a radiator yet? If so, is it a stock (20 x 16) in an unmolested core support? If it is, then I think I'd run a Taurus fan. However, if you opened up your core support for a 24" wide radiator then I'd go with the Contour fan.

 

I've got a Champion 3 core stock '65-'66 fit in an unmolested core support.
This one for 5.0 conversion.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Champion+Cooling+Systems/166/CC251/10002/-1

Lynn

 

I've got a Champion 3 core stock '65-'66 fit in an unmolested core support.
This one for 5.0 conversion.
Champion Cooling Systems CC251 Champion Cooling Systems Three Row All Aluminum Radiators - Free Shipping on All Orders @ JEGS

Lynn

Yeah, I think I'd go with a Taurus unit. Word has it that it's good for 2,500 cfm on low speed and 4,500 cfm on high speed. That's a friggin' tornado of a fan. Here's a write-up....

Junkyard Electric Fan - FordMuscle

 

I like the cfm ratings on them factory fans. Nice to hear you can feel the airflow also.

FWIW, I would consider a relay style heat activated switch a good investment. Last tso days I have driven my car about 140 miles. That would have been alot of on fan, off fan, on fan. Even wiring to come on with the A/C isn't that difficult given a good relay module. my Deraile was ok but cooked mounted to my firewall.

 

Regardless of manufacturers fibbing on their air flow ratings, everything I have read says to go with the amps. More amps a fan pulls the more air it will flow in a real world situation generally speaking is what I have read.

The cfm ratings are posted in free flow. That means the fan is just running against no resistance. You could have a lower amp fan pull more air like that but when you load it the motor doesn't have the guts to keep drawing because the amp's are too low. Some of the fan companies will give resisted air flow like in some measure of pulling against water or something.

I just retired my slimline Spal which worked fine on the drag strip but I am now cruising so I needed more flow. After looking at everybody's fans again and reading lots of reviews, I got another Spal. This one pulls 2400 compared to the slimline which was around 1600. I have a Painless fan relay and thermostat kit and I also have a kill switch under the dash and a cool little chrome bezel led indicator in the front of the dash. It lights only when the fan is running. I have 3 of these. Red is power, yellow is fuel on and green is fan on. They are right above the radio delete plate. The switch is down on the left hidden on the bottom ledge of the dash. You can actually see the bottom of my fuel and fan switches as 2 little white dots near the emergency brake handle.

I switch the fan off when I'm making a run on the drag strip but being a sometimes street car now I am having to run an alternator again and the fans pull some significant amps. It looks like I may need to re-think my thermostat numbers. I think I have a 195/185 now but I probably should do a 205/195. At 185 the fan will likely run all the time in the summer once the engine heats up. It is just above the shut off point of the thermostat or the thermostat is not exactly correct maybe.

The new Spal motor is thicker than the slimline was so I figured I may have to adjustment. It just barely didn't fit so I had to notch the radiator support with 2 notches on each side and the radiator is now slid down in front. I run a 4 row radiator. It gets back some decent space and unless you stare right at it you can't really tell that it has been done.

The new fan cools better than the old one but I only got to run it 1 day before I took the rear leaf springs out to replace them so I don't really know how well it is going to do yet. From the one hour or so test I did, looks like the fan will hold my temp down right at 185 even in 100 + Texas and I didn't get it out on the highway where it would get some air speed through the front. It should work ok even for Texas.

(sorry I wrote a book)

 

contour fans on my 70 model, with relay and temp sending unit. have switch on dash to allow me to run one fan when i want/need it.

 

That is a good looking set up. Does your 70 have the same 24" radiator as my 68 or close to it? How do them two fans treat your AMPS readings?

 

No CAFE standard, no sideways motor = no need for an electric fan. As far as saving HP hmmmmmm, time you convert from mechanical to electric back to mechanical and suffer the losses, you may in fact lose.

 

My '99 GT 4.6 V8 is front facing motor with an electric fan, The DOHC Cobras are all the same as well.. A lot of newer V8 cars have electric fans, they got rid of fans for a reason. Your point is moot.
Lynn

 

Evil, there's a reason why modern manufacturers have all gone to electric fans. Unless you have some concours six figure classic I don't see staying with a system that is outdated. I never could get my '70 Mach I to stay cool no matter what I tried.......until I installed an electric fan.

Even in 100 degree Texas heat my '68 will be at 210 degreees when the fan kicks on, and in less than a minute it is is at 180 degrees.


As always, it's personal experiences and preferences that dictate your choices I guess.

 

The reason they got rid of mechanical fans is due to hood clearance. The radiators got really wide as the hoods got lower and if you shrunk the fan accordingly it would only cover half the radiator. My '05 Magnum has an electric fan. My '08 Ram has an engine-driven clutch fan. In 42 years of car ownership, never had a heating problem that had to be "fixed" by adding an electric fan.

 

I wish you had been around (for me) when I was dealing with my cooling issues on the Mach 15 or so years ago.