Ryan Mills

Hello folks, I'm working on a 1997 S10 with a 5.3, and I'm looking into the fans at this point. I only have 2.5-ish inches between the radiator and the truck water pump pulley, so I've been wondering if people have been using fans without a shroud with any sucess. I'm using the 4.2 HD radiator, and was looking for something that would fit in between without any issues, and two 11" fans would be easy, but I would love to know if that will work before dumping some hard erned money. Well, thanks in advance for any info!

chuckd71

iTrader: (23)

Could you put fans on the other side of the radiator as pushers?

gofastwclass

iTrader: (2)

I wouldn't run non-shrouded fans, it is throwing away good airflow. Pusher fans are an absolute last resort due to poor efficiency.

Another member showed me this article about cooling systems. The article covers every aspect of the automotive cooling system - including mechanical and electric (pusher and puller) fans. This was written by an off road guy but the information still applies to the street or track.

1981TA

iTrader: (7)

I used a fan that I harvested from a late 90's Bonneville in the junk yard. You'll see from the pic that it does not cover the entire surface of my radiator. It moves A LOT of air, and cools things perfectly fine. The aluminum blackets were a garage sale purchase for one buck. They are electrical conduit retainers for 2" conduit. Because the fan doesn't have to cover the entire radiator surface to do the job, it can actually by offset to one side or the other in order to clear things like the water pump. I think a similar fan can be pulled from Cadillacs from the same era. If you're looking for a decent pusher fan, look at Hondas.

The radiator came from Rock Auto, $109 delivered.

oldgoat69

Do you have for a dual fan from a late F-body? I bought this one for $50.00 delivered. I can t remember the dimensions but they work great and are quiet. A pusher is only 50% as efficient as a puller due to the static drop.

91sonomast

Have you checked out s10forum's LSx discussion? Cruise through there. Many people are using SPAL 11inch fans with good success, also using F-body fans and Intrepid fans.

Strokinit383

iTrader: (22)

Im running two pullers and one pusher for my turbo setup. Didnt really have any other option. Without shrouds, they just arent as effective.

1976CamaroGuy

iTrader: (8)

When I did a V8 s10 swap I used the tip from the "V8 into S10 handbook" and bought a 4th gen corvette aluminum radiator, did the modifications to the core support to push the radiator into where the condenser would have been.

Then the condenser bolted on the front of the core support with modifications to the hood release bracket.

I then ran a basic flex fan with an aftermarket shroud....worked like a charm