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electric fan conversion?

8K views 32 replies 21 participants last post by  JeeperDon 
#1 ·
so i was thinking of converting to an electric fan.....is it worth it in the jeep?
my buddy claims he gained 30Hp in his f150
and if thats true then ill take 30 Hp for my truck

every Hp counts

is it an easy do it yourselfer for the beginner?
 
#3 ·
i'd recommend it..when i got my jeep it had an electric fan installed already but with wires hanging and not hooked up. I removed the fan clutch, and wired up the fan to a switch...I can definitly feel a difference, i wouldn't say 30hp though..maybe 8-10...but on a 4 cylinder every bit helps if u ask me
 
#5 ·
theres no serpentine

its one beltfor the alternator and one for the power steering

very basic....

good idea to wire it up to a switch...my buddy somehow wired his up to the thermostate sensor or something
he didnt explain much


would i need the fan shroud still? no right?
 
#7 ·
My set up eneded up costimg me around $45 including the fan, wires, switch, and relay.

You WILL NOT gain 30hp. Maybe 5-8hp, but NOT 30hp.

I noticed a difference in low end power, and being as my engine runs relatively cool anyway, I hardly ever have to use the fan unless I'm idling in traffic. It'll take my temp from 210 to 150 degrees in just 1 minute! Also good for when I go through water, being as my Jeep is stock height, turning off the fan whenever I want is very important.

I say do it, but don't expect there to be any BIG power gains.

Jake :tea:
 
#8 ·
Most people use the fan from a ford Taurus... It's got two speeds and it has a shroud built onto it that fits Jeep radiators perfectly. I have this conversion on my jeep (4.0) and I really didnt notice a HP difference but my engine definatly runs cooler.

A claim of 30 HP is beyond excessive, stock cherokees (for example) get an average of less than fifty HP to the wheel, so 30 HP would be a nearly 50% increase rofl... MAYBE 5 HP... maybe... Those cluch fans really arnt that "hard" to spin and really dont take that much drag off the motor. What is good about electric fans are the fact that they do not slow down when sitting in traffic, your cluch fan speed increases as the engine RPM increases... well, at a light, your RPMs are very low so your fan runs slow. Electric fans continue to pour cool air through the radiator and over the engine even at idle (on the TRAIL :D )

Anyway, it's a great conversion, frees up tons of space in your engine compartment, looks awsome, cools better, and does offer minimal HP gains. As for "easy" well, it's as easy as wiring offroad lights, you have two wires, a switch, and a battery, and your done. A lot of people (including myself) buy a "thermostat switch" which is a probe that you put between the fins on your radiator and it turns the fan on at a predertimined temperature, this keeps the fan from running while on the highway or before the engine heats up which saves draw on the battery. These switches can be purchased from advance/autozone next to THEIR electric fans, and run around $10.00 to $40.00 depending on if you want to set the temperature yourself or not.

Great mod... go for it! its FUN!
 
#9 ·
I would definitely recommend a thermostat. It takes the "human" element out of it. You don't have to think about it anymore. There are lots of wiring diagrams out there to do it cheap. You could probably do it for $25 to $30.
 
#11 ·
Im 90% sure their wouldnt be a HP gain unless you completely remove the fan blade and run only the e-fan
reason: It might be less drag on the serpentine which IS ON yj modles from 92-95 pre 92 had saprate belts for ps pump, alt, ect. I thought about doing this mod for the summer time and just incase an overheating issue. but aafter a long search at local junkyards i cant up empty handed just my $0.02
 
#12 ·
my 91' only has one belt, it drives PS, WP and alt...

i just did electric fan on mine, i got it from advance auto, $70 for the 16" fan. ran the wires inside and hooked up a toggle switch on my "control panel" and it works great!
 
#13 ·
No you wont gain 30 hp, maybe 5. It's an easy mod, pretty cheap, and can be done in about an hour. I picked up a ford taurus 2 speed fan and an DC Control Fk-35 fan controller. The fan controller helps a lot and gets the job done, but the wiring can be done for cheaper, I believe Mr.B has a good write up, post #9 here in your thread.
 
#20 ·
If your are not satiesfied with the cooling performance of your Visco- it is time to unbolt it and to clean the frontside of your fan and it's cooling fins of dirt and corrosion with a wire brush. You will be amazed by the new gained performance of your "old fashioned" fan.

Just make sure not handling it horizontal.
 
#23 ·
Going electric in an '89 TBI 2.5 in my opinion is a waste of effort. You won't see any real gain at all (won't really on any 2.5 mod), and it just another system to have to deal with. I did elec on my 2.5 for power, saw none. When I swapped to the V6 I left the elec because I didin't want to deal with fabbing a shroud. I am now happy I finally got to making the shroud and going back to the normal engine driven fan.

It's a 2.5L. It's never going to have the power you wish, ever.
 
#27 ·
Just because something is popular it doesn't mean it is the correct thing to do. There are many examples of usless mods that were thought to produce power only to dissapoint in the long run. If I plonked good money down on something you bet your a$$ I would say it worked for no other reason than I didn't want to look stupid for wasting my time money and effort. Take the Tornado for example. Now I am not saying don't do it but don't expect a world of gains either.

Dwayne
 
#26 ·
then you must have AC

now thats a power killer


i think im just gonna swap a sbc into it
or a 5.0 mustang
then again i would have to spend more money than i should
axles lockers stronger tranny new clutch motor mounts battery wiring harness
just a bunch of bull-sh*t

or i can just deal with the 0 amount of torque, buy a higher rear end ratio and call it a day
 
#28 ·
I don't have numbers to back it up but I would be surprised if there is any power gain and even if there was it would be lost in the extra draw from the alternator to run the electric fan.

Personally I did an electric fan for a few reasons. My fan clutch was bad and for about the same price I could do the electric. Plus, here in the desert southwest it is not uncommon to be idling along thru a rock crawl with the engine rpm way down while the temp is well over 100; in that case I can crank up the fan and cool everything down as well as leave the fan running after then engine is shut off if I want to. Lastly, I was planning to add a winch and some lights so I was doing a CS144 alternator swap (the taurus fan uses a lot of power)

carry on
 
#29 ·
Love the article in JP mag where they did a compare of engine mods vs gear change on the 2.5. Result? Get a tad more hp with proper gearing vs a ton of engine mods. Electric has its place but if you are looking for power, gear properly would be my choice and just make sure the 2.5 is perfectly tuned.
 
#31 ·
just hook it up to a switch and call it a day....its not really hard to figure out when to turn it on...if its a hot day....in traffic...climbing....otherwise you really don't need it.

if for nothing else it frees up alot of room under the hood, and you can turn it off at your conveinence for water crossings.
 
#32 · (Edited)
on my '89 4.2 wrangler the vin ends with M it has a serpentine belt I believe if the vin ends with T it has a V belt? just to clairify...
 
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