So I'm wanting to do the Electric fan swap. I did a search on here and looked at my options before I hit Pick N Pull. No thunderbirds or Mark VIII's at the lot, but I did find 1 94 Taurus. I grabbed the fan. Then I found a 96 volvo 850 and got the relays. Seems like a pretty good day. I came home and tested the fan. Both speeds work as expected. My question is, this fan looks quite a bit smaller than my radiator. Fan is about 15". does this sound right? I'm guessing I have to mount it low to hit the AC condensor and transmission cooler. I'd rather have a shroud that covers the whole radiator core. Any ideas or suggestions, or did I not get the right fan? I put one of the contour fans in my 67 mustang and it would cover more of the core and seems to move a lot more air.

 

You are most likely going to have overheating issues. There is no way to move the same amount of air over the core a stock clutch fan and proper shroud would provide. Last I looked a 16 inch 5 blade fan pulled something like 2700 cfm at 3k rpm which is ballpark highway speed for these old trucks. To create proper air flow with the fan you have will require the fan to be mounted in a shroud and not directly to the radiator.

 

... and that is one person's opinion.

Place that Taurus fan where it will do the most good, and I'll bet it will cool your truck like no tomorrow, IF you have a healthy cooling system. I have used a one speed fan that covered half of my radiator and it cooled it well. Where the efans work best is around town. Wire up the Volvo relay pack to a BMW thermo switch, set to kick in about 5-10 degrees above what your thermostat opens at, and you'll be fine. (Taurus fans have 9 blades.)

 

I did a quick search of the Pick N Pull website, there are 2 of them in my area. The other one shows a 95 and 96 Thunderbird. I'm off on Monday, I think I'll go see if that 95 still has it's fan as that is supposed to be the one that is closest to or identical to the Mark VIII. Maybe I'll get lucky once again.

 

The nice thing about a Volvo fan is that it has a Taurus fan motor and the fan unbolts, making the only fan I know of that can be bolted to a shroud. Guys make shrouds and bolt them on. If you want to cover your entire radiator, then that would be the fan to get.


This is the volvo fan, Note the bolts around the fan edge.

A Taurus or Volvo fan would be more than enough for you. But most people want to be able to say: "I have a Mk8 fan."

 

All I can say is shrouds make a BIG difference, electric or mechanical.

 

Concur... a shroud should cover at least 80 percent of the radiator surface area.

In terms of the Mark VIII fan (or equivalent), the one ya really want is 19 inches in diameter. At high speed it'll suck a cat flat to the grill.

 

So then my thoughts were correct. I didn't measure this one at the JY and it really didn't even dawn on me until I was driving home that, man, that fan seems small to be so sought after. Sad thing was I bypassed about 3 of those fans from volvo's because I thought I needed the taurus. So I know where several volvo fans are, I'm guessing I need the volvo 850 fan also? I would have been a little more careful about the fan pigtail had I realized I might need to come back for that fan. DOH!

 

Or as another option so I hear....."yea the Lincoln Mk VIII two-speed fan, Taurus or Lincoln cars work nice".... BUT CHECK OUT a 95 Mercury Villager minivan with a 3.3L V6. The stock radiator for this thing was a gigantic three core all aluminum radiator. However, the fan for this was a gigantic 19" two speed fan. This thing is massive, bigger than a mark viii. Research says the 1992-2002 Villager is a rebadged Nissan quest"

 

I used the TYC 620950 2-speed Thunderbird replacement fan. It is working great in my truck. Since installing I have had no issues and my overheating problems when idling in hot weather are completely gone.

You can find at RockAuto for under $70. I got mine on Amazon Prime with free shipping.

 

Interesting. Yeah that's $67 on Amazon. I am torn. Do I want an OEM fan that is 20 years old or go new with something that may not last or move much air.

 

I like to think outside the box when I approach these questions. You're altering the characteristics of the motor as well. Less drag on the motor due to one less item spinning = greater increase in horsepower = a potentially greater increase in fuel efficiency as well. The drain will transfer from belt system to the alternator.

Yes, you may run into issues in the future due to electrical failure. You may also run into issues if a belt snaps or slips off and your fan tears a giant gouge in your radiator.

It's not a matter of what, it's a matter of when. Either could happen.

 

One thing to note, the TYC fan I am using is what Hollister Road was using. It moves nearly as much air as the Mark VIII fan and has the large integrated shroud. It moves so much air that the high speed fan has not yet engaged even in 100+ degree weather.

Only thing is you pretty much need the 3G alternator upgrade to handle the current draw when it is on.

 

I was referring to the OEM electric fan off the taurus, thunderbird, volvo, etc. All those would be 20years old in the junkyard vs a new one that may not be up to OEM spec. Usually I prefer new. for $67 that's pretty reasonable if it the quality is there. Same crossroads I'm at with my hydroboost. I can get a "kit" for $275 that has the brackets and is ready to bolt in or I can go $75 with a 20 year old junkyard find..... I'm probably going to opt for new since it is brakes, and I don't have an E-brake.

 

I don't know of any kits for rebuilding fans, but the hydroboost is rebuildable. There are kits out there for it.

I do like your point of new vs. 20 years old, but sometimes new things don't work like they're supposed to out of the box either.