I seem to remember Dave S pulling his back off and going back to the fan clutch.

That stock fan pulls something like 7 horse power, it would be a large electric motor to move the same amount of air.

Back east with the humidity you can get by with less cooling capacity than you can in the west, for several reasons. It sorta depends on what you are doing and where you run the most.

 

I run from montana to Iowa, and the occasional trip to texas. Other than that I dont run much place else. There is no humidity in montana hardly ever.

 

The fan clutch is USUALLY not hard to change. I built a wrench to fit them years ago, but have had to take them off on the road several times, with a pair of channel locks.
You want to loosen the nut (LEFT HAND THREADS) before you loosen any fan belts.

I have seen several that came off especially when a rig was started and just drove a block or so, then shut off.
There are several grades of locktite, you can get some that is not hard to remove.

 

This reminds me of the problem I had changed the fan clutch and thermostat and still did it then I finally broke down and bought the biggest aluminum radiator offered for the truck and now It never gets hor

 

The fan clutch isn't hard to replace, borrow the wrench set from the auto parts store and use blue thread lock and that 2ft wrench to get thar sombich tight. Red thread lock will hold it on but must be heated before removal which can ruin the clutch, and at $137 I don't like relpacing them often. With the blue locker and the wrench I have had it off 3 times with no issues

 

I am thinking of electric fans, what is the name of the controller you have?

 

I am thinking of doing the same. What do you think is the best route for this? I am thinking about getting a new radiator, thermostat, flushing the engine, and these E-Fans that seem to have some serious rage....

 

I dunno, never done it. XLT has posted 1000 posts on how to do it and what to do, and yet we still ask him.....

I just swapped out my fan clutch, took me about 30 minutes for the whole shebang. I put some blue thread lock on it just to be safe. But right after I tightened the nut and before the thread lock had any effect, I started the engine and revved it all the way up and then shut it off. The fan stayed on the engine and stopped as it should have.

Maybe Dave S.'s guys didn't tighten it correctly?

 

Whats the FT/Lbs torque rating for those nuts? I am seriously considering getting that E-fan setup...but then again this overheating issue, I need something that I can trust, but these damn clutches apparently go out just as quick as they go on....

 

i don't have one right now.i shorted it out.
Brain is taking a long time getting my new one sent.i guess this time of year,like a lot of folks,he's pretty busy.
this time i ordered the WP85 (no i wont be using it for a water pump,it's just like the other but includes the dual wiring harness is all.so in my case,it will simply be two e-fan wires,and i can ditch my 3-way butt connector i have in there now) variable rate controller,L-101 indicator light,and the TADJ22 remote temperature adjustment:
Fan Control

this way,these things won't just spin on high when they come on.it's just too much all at once.i don't like seeing my engine temps swing so drastic.i figure it's no good for head gaskets.
when them dual windstar fans kick on high........they mean business.
i know many are still skeptical of e-fans,but it's true.they can over cool my engine inside 1 minute from 240 degree's,they'll start to make my t-stat close if i don't kick 'em back off.seriously.
so right now,while waiting for the controller,i simply pop the hood before i get into town and wire them on direct,or whenever i want the A/C.
relay's kept burning out,because i never took time to rig up one for each fan haha.
since i know when a fan is required and have a temp gauge,this is working out ok.
sometimes this means i need to pull over right away when i see 235/temp gauge flashing to turn my fans on though.
i wouldn't let anyone else drive my truck right now.
it will be nice when its all automated again.i hope he sends the thing out soon.
you'd be surprised how rare the fans even need to come on with this large cooling system.
traffic,large hills,and A/C pretty much only.


for your '86....doesn't that have the shorter wider radiator?
if so,then you want to grab two separate fans from your local salvage yard/ebay out of ford cars with the 3.0/3.8l engines.
known to last for many,many miles,and known to keep the idi cool.
Mel runs two of these on his Moose truck without any issues.
also don't forget,you will NEED to convert your alt to newer 3g before trying this(since these didn't come until mid year of '92.)if you don't,you will fail.
this is a very cheap and good to do mod anyway.it's extremely easy as well.search around this section,and you'll see guys show how to do it,and many claim it only set them back 15-20 bucks by using salvage yard alts.
a real aftermarket temp gauge should be used too.
this is all in the link below though.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...onversion.html

 

i can hear my fan when its running but i don't notice a significant power drop but i can tell when its working by my mechanical temp gauge..... i know my fan clutch has survived more than about 15,000 miles (was on there when i got it about a year ago so who knows how many more) and it puts up with some serious heat it was about 106 degree's here around kansas city today (by gauge in a 8325R tractor) its been extremely hot here the past couple weeks. and i pretty much always have the A/C blastin in the ol' girl. she's been luggin around my 20' boat with I/O engine and hasn't gotten above 215 on these hot days.

 

How much fan or cooling capacity you need correlates directly with how much horsepower you are using at the time. Cruising you are not using very many ponies. It takes far fewer ponies to maintain 50 mph than it does to set your cruise on 80 and stay there all day.

Electric fans will work for some and fail miserably, on my big trucks the fans pull 40 horsepower when engaged, I would have electric fans if they would work.

 

Hmmm...See if I go on the road with the 84, I am hauling something....almost a complete guarentee that I am hauling at least 5k lbs....

 

so about the weight of my 20' boat, trailer, gear, people, 40 gal of diesel and 30 gallon of gas....... i have no problem with my fan clutch at that point..... or have i ever be it the boat or the skid steer..... your gonna do what you wanna do im just thinkin about the cost between the two

 

yeah see I am stuck on which is going to be cheaper in the long run, fan clutch, or e-fans...