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Pulley, fan, etc.
- Thread starter Rsgwynn1
- Start date
Hi Sam,
You only need the adapter for the fan. The pulley goes on first, then the fan with the adapter. Do you have a fan that is 14" in diameter? if it is bigger than that, you will need to trim the ends of the blades, or they will hit the front crossmember. Most of the guys have been using a Volvo fan, so you might want to look for one too. Any plastic bladed fan that uses a viscous clutch, can be made to fit, so it doesn't necessarily have to be the Volvo. What you really want to look for though, is a fan with lots of blades.
Jose
Rsgwynn1
Silver Level Sponsor
I've got a Flexalite fan. I think you said not to use one, but this one has a heavy gauge metal frame and 5 metal blades, and I can't see how it could flex out far enough to hurt the radiator; it wouldn't be possible for the blades to flex beyond the frame as I can't even bend them that far by hand. When you were talking about Flexalites going into radiators, did you just mean those plastic flex fans they make? I've also got a line on an OEM Mustang II fan. Haven't investigated the Volvo fans yet because no one seems to be making adapters for them. Are the fan spacers easy to find?
Sam,
The plastic fans do not flex into the radiator. The metal ones can. I had a Flex-A-Lite metal fan on my turbocharged Alpine, and the metal blades eventually fatigued and the fan exploded. I almost lost the engine because it over heated, while trying to get to where I could get some help.
One of my customers got frustrated when he couldn't find the correct fan, so decided to use Flex-A-Lite fan anyway. He decided to take it for it's first ride and didn't go very far, when he decided to turn around. He drove into a driveway, and when he hit the small bump on entering, the fan hit the top tank , but didn't hit the tubes. He limped it home and decided he would straighten out the blades and believed he had solved the problem. He later took the car for a ride again, but didn't even get to where he'd gotten before, when the fan hit the top tank again, and this time, it bent the blades forward enough to where he cut a perfect circle in all the tubes in his brand new radiator. $200 later, he had a new radiator and a plastic fan, with no further problems.
I know that sometimes I sound like a know it all, but it is because I have made all those same mistakes before you and don't want you to have to suffer from the same mistakes too.
You can use one if you wish, but you will be taking a risk.
Jose
The plastic fans do not flex into the radiator. The metal ones can. I had a Flex-A-Lite metal fan on my turbocharged Alpine, and the metal blades eventually fatigued and the fan exploded. I almost lost the engine because it over heated, while trying to get to where I could get some help.
One of my customers got frustrated when he couldn't find the correct fan, so decided to use Flex-A-Lite fan anyway. He decided to take it for it's first ride and didn't go very far, when he decided to turn around. He drove into a driveway, and when he hit the small bump on entering, the fan hit the top tank , but didn't hit the tubes. He limped it home and decided he would straighten out the blades and believed he had solved the problem. He later took the car for a ride again, but didn't even get to where he'd gotten before, when the fan hit the top tank again, and this time, it bent the blades forward enough to where he cut a perfect circle in all the tubes in his brand new radiator. $200 later, he had a new radiator and a plastic fan, with no further problems.
I know that sometimes I sound like a know it all, but it is because I have made all those same mistakes before you and don't want you to have to suffer from the same mistakes too.
You can use one if you wish, but you will be taking a risk.
Jose
Mod_Squad!
Bronze Level Sponsor
Anybody got a Volvo fan for sale?
Sam
Not to add to the confusion. You should be able to find the fan at pretty much any of the usual chain auto parts places. I think I just asked for a Volvo plastic fan from a 70's - 80 somethings 750-850 series (can't remember Volvo's #'s at the moment). I got my first one at NAPA and I think it was 35-40 bucks but can't be certain. I trimmed it and thought I was O.K. Well, I believe all of them flex (grow in diameter with the rpm's) and I ended up breaking chunks out of a few blades. The next one I got on Ebay for a little less and I profiled it a better and it hasn't hit anything yet. When you profile it make sure you have about a quarter inch clearance at the worst case scenario. What I did was to draw the profile on a piece of cardboard and then traced it around on each blade so that they would all be the same. I cut mine with a good utility knife and then smoothed the edges with some sandpaper. I think others have used Dremels and jigsaws and whatnot.
You'll have to get an aluminum adapter made so that the new fan will bolt up to the pulley. There will be the holes at the perimeter for affixing the fan and holes in the middle for attachment to the pulley. do a dummy fit to determine the proper thickness for the spacer. I think mine was somewhere between 1/4"-3/8" thick. Also, at least on mine, I had to use a spacer between the pulley and the water pump. I believe that I sourced it from a Mustang II but I'm not sure. It might have came from a 5.0 engine. Anyway...I had to cut it down to the proper size so that all the pulleys would align properly. I also think I ended up getting new bolts because the others were a bit short with the addition of the spacer.
Hope something in all that babble was useful.
Good Luck!
Bryan
Chuck Ingram
Donation Time
The flex type fan is not what you should use at all.It was designed that it will pull air at low RPM and the blades flatten at high RPM.I believe the instructions cautioned about minimum space between fan and rad.You can go and buy a 14 inch cooling fan at a speed shop.No cutting necessary.These are ideal and they have the erratic blade pattern.These type move more air than an even blade pattern.I have them on both cars and never had a problem.I had them on the V6.Must admit I had a flex fan at first and after a few weeks it hit the rad.Thats when I changed to the cooling fan.
Keep yor cool
Keep yor cool
Has anyone tried using an electric fan? Something like this:
http://store.summitracing.com/partd...924500+4294839058+4294838842+115&autoview=sku
Just an idea. I have no idea if there is room for an electric fan, or if it would provide enough air flow.
http://store.summitracing.com/partd...924500+4294839058+4294838842+115&autoview=sku
Just an idea. I have no idea if there is room for an electric fan, or if it would provide enough air flow.
Mod_Squad!
Bronze Level Sponsor
I think the general concensus is against them. At least in this particular application. A few have tried them and they do not cool properly. I think a lot of the aftermarket electric fans come with a little disclaimer...or at least they used to.
Good Luck,
Bryan
britbeam
Donation Time
I tried running a fan in front of the rad and in extreme 90s it would not cool adequate. YOU CANT BEAT THE VOLVO FAN INSTALLATION.Its cheap and it pulls some air big time.The only draw back is she is a screamer but you will get accoustomed to the sound.
Dwain V6 Krazy
Hi Sam,
I can't remember who on the board was making some. Maybe he will post and let you know.
The adapter can be made from aluminum by any machine shop. I recommend making it from 3/8" thick aluminum. make the center the full 3/8" thick, to the same diameter of the flat part of the water pump pulley face. From there, you can make the rest of the adapter 1/4" thick, which is thick enough to be threaded to accept the small bolts to hold the fan itself. If you don't want to thread the four fan mounting holes, you can just make a regular hole and use lock washers and Loc-Tite blue thread locker, to hold the nuts on.. The outside diameter should be just small enough for the adapter to fit inside the fan hub. I recommend placing the fan on the front side of the adapter, so the blades won't hit the engine.
Jose
britbeam
Donation Time
dmich2
Donation Time
Wow. This is cool(ing). I do have the adapters, and a few fans hoarded away. The adapters are $50.00 inc S&H and the adapter w/fan attached are 75.00 inc S&H. Here's the old thread about this endeavor. I sold a few last time and I didn't get any complaints. Just send me an email.
http://www.saoca.org/Sforum/viewtop...postorder=asc&highlight=fan+adapters&start=30
Mine has been working great. Suppose to be 90 today and have a 0930 tee-time
Dennis
http://www.saoca.org/Sforum/viewtop...postorder=asc&highlight=fan+adapters&start=30
Mine has been working great. Suppose to be 90 today and have a 0930 tee-time
Dennis
dmich2
Donation Time
Well I took a trip to Myrtle Beach yesterday to play golf with some old buddies who were down on vacation. It was a great drive in the AM with the temp about 68. I cruised the 50 miles at 60-65 and she never got over 170. In fact it took quite a while to get up to that temp. The trip home it was pushing 90 degrees outside and about 5 miles from home I got up to 190. I was also running 65 mph. Then when I slowed down to enter my neighborhood and ran 45 then 30, by the time I pulled onto my street I was down to 160-170. I've blocked the horn holes with cardboard and I think it helps, but I noticed they have tended to....weaken and I need something stiffer. I also read where the area below the rad. needs to be blocked to concentrate the air thru the rad. I'll try that next.
I've been happy with the Volvo fan results though.
Hope all's well with you Jose.
Dennis
I've blocked the horn holes with cardboard and I think it helps, but I noticed they have tended to....weaken and I need something stiffer. I also read where the area below the rad. needs to be blocked to concentrate the air thru the rad. I'll try that next.I've been happy with the Volvo fan results though.
Hope all's well with you Jose.
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
Your car is cooling too well. The water temp should be at least 180, and could even get to 200, without negative effects. These engines were designed to run hotter than most, so we should try to keep the engine temp around 190 degrees. The engine will run more efficiently, so better mileage, which isn't bad. I would recommend running a 190 degree thermostat.
Jose
Your car is cooling too well. The water temp should be at least 180, and could even get to 200, without negative effects. These engines were designed to run hotter than most, so we should try to keep the engine temp around 190 degrees. The engine will run more efficiently, so better mileage, which isn't bad. I would recommend running a 190 degree thermostat.
Jose