Thinking about replacing the Stock Fan with E-Fans, I am still confused as to what to get, I read F250's signature post....was lost the entire time.

I am thinking of this because when I was driving UNLOADED up MacDonald's Pass (Base=4500 ft, top 8800 ft) in Montana In February, I was hitting L in normal....I got so bloody nervous when my secondary gauge said 245. I pulled over and let it idle on the side of the highway, and used my hand to rev the engine to get that damn fan to pull more air into the compartment. Any ideas what the hell is going on? I kicked the heater on full blast from halfway, and it cooled down enough for me to get up the pass, but once I got through helena and townsend, i was climbing a hill on the way to White Sulfer Springs(Jayme Duty you know what im talking about) I was getting back up past the L again. I kept running it throughout the entire time climbing. It did it again coming home too, It quit doing it coming off Homestake pass from BUtte towards Missoula, it got down toward 195-210....what the hell is going on? Is it the altitude change screwing with me?

I was going up the pass at 50 in 3rd gear(I was pushing it a little at the time) then 60 in 4th....it was scary to me. I am used to my F-150 moreso than my diesel even though they got a 4spd. My F-150 I can push @ 65 or 70 in 4th gear screaming at 3500-4000 RPMs. (Listening to that engine scream is fun, it just is lol) But any ideas to cool this damn engine off?

 

I doubt seriously if you can find any e-fan that will pull more air than a properly working stock fan.
You could have a bad fan clutch, a partially clogged radiator or partially stuck thermostat.
Are you pulling it in a gear that when you mash the go pedal it will actually speed up, if not it will heat no matter what.

 

With a turbo on your diesel you won't notice altitude change affecting power so much, but at higher altitudes the lower air density will lower the thermal efficiency of the radiator. That said - is your fan clutch engaging or just free-wheeling around by chance?

Last summer I was running 3.55 gears on my truck with a C6 so no OD. I was running 75mph down the freeway here with a 30 foot TT running 12psi boost at ~ 1020 EGT. My temp gauge was between the M and the A in Normal. I'd like to give you a temp reading but the brand new gauge I had bought and installed 2 weeks earlier took a crapper on that trip so it was reading pegged the whole time. (When it started climbing I pulled over on a rest stop and sat there to let it cool in case it was starting to overheat... dash gauge got cooler, added gauge with the temp readout got hotter lol)

Sounds like you might be running a tad hot to me, I'd check the fan for lockup first. I put dual electrics in my F250 gasser with the 5.8L a few years back - got the fans and a temp switch for them from the local parts store. Was worse than the engine driven fan!

 

Well in third gear, i can go from ~25-~60 mph before I have to shift, @ 55 its running around 2600 RPM, if i hit the pedal I will hit 60 then I shift really quick on a hill cause I will loose speed. That said, if i start the truck, it will start to spin....if i shut it off, it will slowly come to a stop. Then if i try and turn it, it will move but i have to give it some muscle for it to move. I have never heard it lock up so i dont know if its working. I am running a T-18 4 spd with 4.10 rear end. If I have a bad theromstat, and partially clogged radiator, wouldnt it be doing it all the time instead of just when i am flying down the highway.....I made that trip 3 times, and it didnt do it the first time, the second and third time it did it but like I said, it stopped doing that on the Butte pass....both times. Why would it do. When you say the thermal efficiancy of my radiator, is it a BIG difference or no? I am getting a Sidewinder or a ATS 093 so I am going back to N/A for right now.

EDIT: I have not done the same trip with the turbo, I have never driven my diesel with its turbo on there.

 

If you haven't heard your fan clutch come on, then it is not working properly.
It sounds like a jet taking off, you would have to be deaf not to hear it.

If you watch your heat guage I would bet the temps start rising into fourth and the rpms drop, the egt's start to rise quick.

 

Those are some steep hills. I was pulling that 28ft enclosed loaded with dirt bikes atvs and camping gear up over cardwell hill and the butte pass and i got a little warm. You shouldn't be getting that hot empty though, i have to agree with the fan clutch not working.

 

be careful.245 is running hot.try to keep her under 240 at all times.
either replace that failure prone energy hog stock clutch or swap to dual electrics (good quality ones though.the ones proven to work and last,that come in stock cars/vans.these last forever and a day,and are cheap to just replace the motors in too.)
95-100 degree's today with high humidity and i was hauling a couple ton plus a stump grinder with the fans on full along with the A/C pulling some decent grades from time to time.the truck ran cool.i on the other hand.......well,im glad the day's over now lol.
yeah i know,working on Sunday is no fun.but old man winter will be here before ya know it.

 

I figured 245 was a little hot, and I can watch black smoke start to fly out the exhaust in 4th gear, and it gets hotter, so I slow down to sixty, then downshift, and my RPMs start screaming again. I know im only getting like 12-15 mpgs at that point. But how hard is it to replace the fan clutch? I know Jayme is doing his, but he is having issues, I want to do mine as well.

 

i dunno.not too bad probably.
mine came off real fast and easy with a large chisel and the 3lb before making it's way (with a smile on my face) in the scrap heap.

 

Well if it sounds like a Jet engine when it kicks in, I am definitly not getting it locked in. Well If I am needing help when I do it when I get home I will jump on here.

 

just remember when your putting her back together;
loctite on them threads!
these radiators don't come cheap.

 

I aint worried too much about the radiator...i got two XD!

 

Why do you say that XLT? I talked to my friend the other day whose been a mechanic for 25+ years and he said not to use thread lock on the threads. Said it would be hell getting the fan of after putting red thread lock on the threads. Its left hand threads so it self tightens. He also told me I should put electric fans in.......

 

im glad you asked snapon.
because:

i do agree with your friend about the electric swaps though.
did you know,like myself,Dave S had great success (besides being that,he got failure prone fans.which i discuss in the link in my sig) running E-fans?
he hauls heavier than i do!!!
(we both have 8k lb trucks...........empty. )

 

F250HD, question, where should I be looking for these E-Fans? It seems like that is the best option at this point. What should I be looking for CFM wise for these engines? I saw 3000-4000 CFM, then i seem that @ 70 mph the fan is useless anyway....