I have a 83 f-250 but the motor is a 300 out of a 75 pickup. The fan blades are pretty bent up and I think the vibrations are going to take out my new water pump. I can't find new fan blades any where not even the ford dealer. It does have a fan clutch also. One guy I talked to on the phone said to try and convert it to a flexfan. Has any body else done this or is there a better way?

 

I've tried "flex fans" on several different vehicles and I never liked them. Too much noise. I'd try local salvage yards (take your old one along to compare). I've seen Ford truck fan blades for sale on eBay Motors auctions but I never paid any attention to which motors they fit. Or, check with your local radiator shop. They can probably order you a direct replacement fan.

 

When I rebuilt the 460 in my F-250, I ditched the factory fan set-up and put on a Flex-a-Lite fan on Hoss and I'm really happy with it. It seems to move more air. However, like Piffery1 said, they do make a lot of noise so if you want a quiet fan, stick with the factory fan. Take a look at my gallery to see the fan I installed.

 

I went to www.car-part.com and punched in a 1983 f150, fan blade, in Washington. They have two selections; a 19 1/2" and a 18 1/2". I picked the 18 1/2" and this is what came up.

1984
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F150 4.9,CARB,4x4,Hang-On A S080P $25 Kelty's Auto Parts USA-WA(Walla-Walla) E-mail 1-800-367-0238
1984
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F150 (5 blade), 18-1/2' dia- W/ CLUTCH MJ3288 $25 Olympic 4X4 Supply USA-WA(Snohomish) E-mail 1-800-752-9979
1985
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F150 XLT,6 CYL,2BL,4x4,Integral A R028P $20 Kelty's Auto Parts USA-WA(Walla-Walla) E-mail 1-800-367-0238
1986
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F250 EFI,4x4,Factory A 9335 $20 Randy's Auto Parts and Towing USA-WA(Okanogan) E-mail 1-800-553-4466
1987
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F150 XLT,5.8,4BL,4x4,Fact ory 8830 $20 Randy's Auto Parts and Towing USA-WA(Okanogan) E-mail 1-800-553-4466
1984
Fan Blade
Ford Truck 150 5E4861 $20 Walt and Verns USA-WA(Buckley) E-mail 1-888-829-1263
1986
Fan Blade
Ford Truck 150 6H5205 $20 Walt and Verns USA-WA(Buckley) E-mail 1-888-829-1263
1985
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F150 F121IG $15 Bills Auto Dismantling USA-WA(Spokane) E-mail 1-800-482-8480
1986
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F150 IN CAB HF0134 $15 Bills Auto Dismantling USA-WA(Spokane) E-mail 1-800-482-8480
1985
Fan Blade
Ford Truck F150 5.0 A328 $15 Alpine Auto Inc. USA-WA(Port-Angeles) E-mail 1-800-746-6603

 

The noise wouldn't bother me any as long as it moves the air good.

 

if you want to stay with factory setup
measure your fan then go to junk yard and find a later model
fan and clutch that meets the specs.
pull the fan blade and buy a new clutch for that model
the four bolt holes on the pump are a standard size and
will bolt on your pump with out any trouble
just watch that some newer trucks use a screw on hub
instead of the 4 stud design

 

when I swapped the motor I bought a new water pump. When I ordered it I told them it was a '83 so the water pump is a 83 style pump which is a screw on hub. I went to the parts store today and found a flex-a-lite fan blade that should bolt on to my fan clutch which seems to be in good shape. Is there any way to tell if the clutch is going out?

 

You can mostly (about 75% - 90%) block the airflow using a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator. Once the engine starts to overheat the fan clutch should shift from fluid drive to direct drive resulting in considerbly higher fan speed. Sometimes you can adjust the amount of air flow (by repositioning the cardboard) such that the clutch will cycle back and forth between fluid and direct drives. If the clutch doesn't
shift it's likely bad. Never seen a flex fan used with a clutch; seems like that would be defeating the purpose of both the flex fan and the clutch. It will be interesting to find out how that works out.

 

I was going to do away with the fan clutch and replace it with a flex fan. But the price of the fan and the adapter, that I would need to screw to the water pump and bolt to the fan, was going to be about 40 bucks more than if I bought another flex fan that the last parts guy didn't find. So I swapped fans and used the one that bolts onto the fan clutch. The fan is a Flex-a-Lite brand but its not an actual flex fan. Its says on the fan that its only rated up to 4000 RPMS. I don't think I ever run it that high but I don't know, no tac.