I'm thinking of removing the clutch fan in my '04 E350 and replacing it with a thermostat-controlled electric puller fan. Anyone done this? Any decent fan recommendations?

 

Why would you want to do this?

 

See this thread for more info:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ctric-fan.html

 

Less load on the motor=better fuel economy, more free power
Less wear and tear on the water pump
No irritating clutch fan noise, especially at cold start-why does the fan operate when the engine is cold? Takes forever to get heat in the cab....

Need any more reasons?

 

> why does the fan operate when the engine is cold

Because most engines are designed for and need air moving over them. Without moving air you can have such things as the oil boiling on the intake manifold. The fan clutch is suppose to let it slip when it is cold and firm up when it is warm.

Just an electric fan probably would not be enough to cool a van without the most massive fan and radiator you can fit in. On a fan you probably need at least 2500 CFM and it is going to put at least a 30 amp load on your alternator, along with the A/C load. At idle, your stock alternator (assuming 100 amps) is only putting out 70 amps, if that. So, you are putting a big strain on the alternator and battery and will wear them out quickly.

 

You made that up! It doesn't make a lick of sense. If it was true no vehicle with an electric fan would work.

The fan runs when it's cold because it is a viscous drive. It uses oil to drive the clutch. When it's cold the fluid is thick, plus it has settled to the lower parts of the fan drive. It takes some time for the fluid to warm up and thin, plus it takes some time to pump the fluid back to where it belongs.

 

Try this one:

Will overheat the engine any time the van is loaded or towing in hot weather.

There is no electric fan that will fit in a vehicle that can pull as much air as the engine driven fan.

 

This whole issue is really getting me confused. I,m looking into doing this to my truck as I think it will add some power and get rid of the annoying noise.

My Kia Magentis uses 2 electric fans. Seems to work great. yes I know,...its a smaller kia but still.

I have no doubt the elctric fan does the job but my only concern is the life of the fan motors and the extra load on the alternator.

 

There's a useless comparison. Does the Kia haul or tow the same load as an Econoline?

If you run emtpy all the time electric fans will probably work. If you load an Econoline and don't have an engine driven fan, it will overheat. Believe me or not, it really doesn't matter. It's simply physics. Electric fans can't move anywhere near as much air as an engine driven fan.

 

I don't use the van for towing, and the most weight that's ever in the back is about 1000 pounds worth of tools and equipment.

 

Casey: You're thinking is WAY OFF. There are plenty of electric fans which will flow just as much or more than an engine driven fan. More importantly, they can flow at 100% capacity even with the engine at idle. Fans of any type are useless at cruise speeds where forced air provides the cooling, where you need fans is at low speed stop and go driving. Engine driven fans are still used for one major reason... they're much cheaper.

I've run an electric fan setup [Flex-a-lite 210] in my van for 5+ years, done plenty of towing [most often in the heat of summer] and had zero overheating problems. It runs cooler with the the electric fan, especially in city traffic as the engine is rarely over an idle and the stock mechanical fan barely turning... but the electric fan can pump it's little heart out as needed reguardless of engine speed. BTW: power wise it draws only 20 amps to deliver 2500 CFM.

Other benefits of electric fans? In the winter warmup is quicker and more heat can go into the heater core where it's needed instead of out through the radiator. In the summer the A/C blows cooler as it has much better airflow over the condenser. I also get another 1-1.5 mpg with the electric setup.

 

I like those flex-a-lite dual fan setups, they have some really nice ones. I'm not worried about the high amperage requirements, I have the Heavy Duty alternator with dual batteries. Now if I can just pony up the 400 bucks, I'll be good to go. I can't stand the clutch fans, at idle I get NO AC output, as soon as I hit highway speed it's ice cold. The electric fan will solve that.

 

Found this at another site. Interesting info but it is sales oriented.

Electric Fan

 

I work for Bosch in the lab where we test electric cooling fans, We make fans for many many vehicles including mustangs, crown vics, jeeps, and CHEVY TRUCKS (I hate chevy trucks but if an electric fan can cool one of those it will cool an Econoline), you WILL want a dual fan set up which will flow WAY more air than a clutch fan. and you should never pull 30 amps, I could see 20 to 25 but even thats pretty high. I have a flex a lite fan in my wrangler and it works great. Just get the highest cfm you can find to make sure you get plenty of flow. you won't regret it

 

The aftermarket electric fans are terrible, they don't have the airflow needed to replace an engine-driven fan.
The "double" ones seem even worse. By simple geometry they have even less area!

But... electric fans can be done. The 18" electric fan off a Lincoln Mark VII is nearly 4000 CFM. I believe it will out-cool the engine-driven fan, especially at low speeds. It should increase your air conditioning power at low speeds, too.

About $100 on eBay.

The electric fan is better than the engine driven not only because it pulls more CFM but its RPM is not limited by engine speed, so it can cool better at low RPM. And it can be better controlled to cool at the right flow for the conditions, but you need a good controller to change fan speeds to do that. I find it unlikely this is going to change your HP or mpg in any detectable manner.

On the other hand, it takes a crapload of current. I don't know about '04 but the earlier Ford alternators were absolute crap and couldn't take the load. In fact they could barely take the load of the headlights and all. The Motorcraft 3G is an impressive alternator, though! Might have that or better in a '04, I don't know.