sweethomealabama

My electric fan isn’t keeping up at slow speeds. I’m thinking of going back to mechanical fan. Does anyone k ow of the stock truck setup will work if I have 3” of clearance from the threaded portion of the pulley to the rad?

G Atsma

Which vehicle is it? Is there room for a pusher fan in front of the radiator? Otherwise there are thinline fans that might work.

dannyual777

What electric fan are you using? I know at least one aftermarket electric fan has had a bad reputation for at least 15 years.

There are many very good electric fan options out there. It seems to me that many OEM electric fans perform very, very well. I've got a Fox body Mustang and I've used an electric fan from a 1990's vintage Lincoln MKVIII. These fans were very popular in the Fox body Mustang world 15-20 yrs ago. That MKVIII electric fan did wonders for my Mustang's AC system's cold air when sitting at a stop light at idle speed as it moves a tremendous amount of air through the condenser. I do have a high output alternator that provides 90+ amps at idle. Personally, I would not go back to a mechanical fan.

These days, I hear a lot of people are successfully using Ford Contour fans as well as 4th generation F-body fans. There are probably others as well.

One last thing. Greg recommended a pusher fan but from what I know, electric fans are good at "sucking" air but they're not very efficient at "pushing" air. I proved that to myself several years ago when I built a temporary paint booth. I tried to use my garage, barrel fan to push air through my big filter. Very little airflow. When I moved the fan in front of the filter so that the fan could suck the air through, I easily had double the airflow and it actually pressurized my clear plastic sheet paint booth. I'd only use a pusher fan as a last option. Just my opinion which isn't even worth 2 cents!

G Atsma

You are correct in that pusher fans are not nearly as efficient as pullers, as a shroud allows pulling thru the entire core, but pushing thru a core does not really allow that.

LilJayV10

iTrader: (39)

WTF you working on would be helpful...

sweethomealabama

Sorry for the slow reply.

I'm working on a CJ5.

I'm going to try the Contour fan. I had no idea how popular this fan is... back in the day it was the Taurus fans... Anyhow I ordered a fan up and should hopefully get it installed in a few weeks!

I have a pusher on it and its definitely not enough at slow speeds.

dannyual777

sweethome, I think that you made a very wise purchase. In fact, you may not need that pusher after you install the Contour fan. Please don't forget to come back to this thread and update us on your results after you install your new fan.

BTW, you still didn't tell us what electric fan you've been using.

sweethomealabama

I have a 16" flex-a-lite reversible.

I also ordered a factory style aluminum rad with Chevy bottom port location off ebay the width of the core matches the size of the contour fan and has more overall area but its 3 core instead of the 4 core in there now. Hopefully it all works correctly, if not there is always the more expensive LS swap rads...

I'm also going to add some louvers to the hood to let some of the warm air out.

Right not I think my issue is sub optimal air flow.

dannyual777

Thanks for letting us know what fan you've been running.

I did a quick internet search and looked at this: 16-inch Flex-Wave Reversible Electric Fan It says that your fan is rated at 2660 CFM. The highly recommended OEM fans will easily outperform that fan. You should be happy after you get the Contour fan installed.

Do you have a high output alternator?

sweethomealabama

I'm running the DR44G alt without an exciter, I am thinking of swapping out the regulator to get the max duty tied into the second fan relay but that will be after getting this all hooked up and the fans running off the Holley Termx.

user 4737373

If you are planning on taking your CJ5 off-roading, be sure whatever electric fan you choose to use has a sealed motor.

sweethomealabama

Thats a good point, I wonder if the contour fan motors are sealed?

G Atsma

I THINK most OEM fan motors are sealed, to withstand rain, etc. to blow thru without causing mayhem.

dannyual777

145 amps of output. It should put out plenty at idle as well. It should supply your new Contour fan with plenty of electrical power.

sweethomealabama

I think so, Fan is the only real draw on this build. Headlights etc are all LED.

user 4737373

Yes, many of the the OE fans are. I put the info out there in case he starts looking at aftermarket fans, which have unsealed motors in many cases.