Stevec

Was just looking through a summit catalog and became curious about electric cooling fans.
What should I look for as far as features?
What would you guys who have installed these recommend and avoid?
Single or double fans?
Push or pull?
Do I still run a fan on my water pump?
It's a street driven car,any input?

Thanks guys!

oldcutlass

Are you having cooling problems now. I'm not a big "fan" of electric fans in general. There are exceptions when space is limited. There are some late model Ford dual fan units that people have used in the past that are way less expensive to set up and work better than some aftermarket setups.

TripDeuces

http://deltapag.com/

Saw these the other day for the first time. Don't know anything about them but they look decent.

z11375ss

I just went with dual electric fans and a bigger radiator. The car was running at 180 and creeping higher when the weather was cool. I figured I would cut the head off the monster now instead of mid season. The car is not on the road yet so I don't know how much it helped yet. I will let you guys know. I am not a big fan of these fans, but if it's the solution, well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Erinyes

My current plan is to use an aluminum radiator coupled with a Taurus dual speed fan, which I picked up at a junkyard for $35. It's a puller, has an integrated shroud and moves a lot of air (in the neighborhood of 6000cfm at high speed), and is about four inches deep total. At that rate there's no need for a mechanical fan. You will need two temp sensors, or a dual temp sensor. Here's a write-up someone did, with part numbers: Budget Dual Fan Controller Setup / Taurus Fan Setup

Lots of people have done this; no reason it won't work in an Olds.

Stevec

I'm not having issues at the moment,I will be installing a new 455 hopefully this year. My present 400 engine is running a Be Cool Oe series radiator and it does the job well but I notice the temp starts to creep at red lights on real hot days.

As I said I will be installing a new 455 and I'm looking for some insurance to protect my investment.

oldcutlass

It's normal for the temp to creep in traffic or at idle. I don't see a lot of difference going from a 400 to a 455. So a wait and see if problems arise would be my plan of attack.

Stevec

I think I am going to wait till I get the engine in the car and see how it goes. Those dam summit catalogs! Every time I read one I want to upgrade something.

Olds64

I've heard about this upgrade as well. For $35 and a few sensors that is a deal. I will definitely do this to my 71 98 eventually. I like goodies!

70cutty

After reading this thread I went to junkyard today and found that late 80s and early 90s cadillacs have a setup that looks like it's going to be easy to install. there is 2 fans 1 bigger than the other so I pulled 2 bigger ones from 2 different cadillacs. There is a complete wiring harness on ebay. For everything $80
Fans_zps6a7294d9.jpg

Lady72nRob71

For a street driven car, i would stick with the factory fan to keep it simple and costs down. When everything was there (like shroud) and working, it worked well.
I would wait until after your engine swap to see how it cools. If you are having creeping at lights, verify the fan clutch is engaged and lots of air is moving. Not engaging is a very common failure mode of clutches.
As you have noticed, the marketing dept at Summit is doing their job well...

s i 442

I buy a brand new EBAY aluminum radiator ,a 16 inch electric fan and a water temp switch and it works great. I have used this on 3 of my last set ups.

Don Roberto

How high is normal in traffic on a hot day, let's say 85-95 degrees? My 455 tends to go 210-220 while idling in traffic, but quickly goes down afterward. I was thinking about an aluminum radiator. I have no problem at low temps. My current fan is a 6-blades one.

oldcutlass

210-220 is not extreme with ambient temp near 100 as most cooling systems are designed to maintain temps of 100-120 above ambient. This is a problem that most people get in their heads when they buy an aftermarket temp gauge setup. The first time they sit in traffic the gauge slowly rises and they go OMG I'm overheating. The temp light comes on at around 245 ish, pressurized antifreeze mix brings the boil point to around 265.

What I would do since it recovers quickly at speed is to check the fan, clutch, and shroud.

brownbomber77

You can get a Ford Windstar dual fan for like $40 off Ebay, that's what I did for my Ford truck. The F-bodies also came with dual electric fans

Don Roberto

That's right I have a set of after market gauges and they behave as you stated. LOL. You were right on the money with that comment. I'm gonna have the cooling system checked out and will see. Thanks

Don Roberto

Issue resolved. The car had a bad fan clutch.

Lady72nRob71

Happens often and is sometimes hard to diagnose.
Glad it was a cheap easy fix!

Don Roberto

Thanks. She runs great now.

oldcutlass

Wtg!

Don Roberto

Thanks. Putting together an album showing off my new Legendary interiors

delta7388

"In my Opinion" There is really only one choice when it comes to electric fans and one model in particular - the SPAL Twin 12" Fans model number #30102130 link below
http://www.a1electric.com/Merchant2/..._Code=30102130

oldcutlass

An electric fan setup using windstar or other junkyard finds have been done for under $100 and function just as well as your suggestion.

delta7388

function just as well, who are you fooling? you want to recommend to another member on this sight that they build their cooling system with junkyard parts__ building a rat rod sure why not a windstar fan from pick n pull -- want the Best get a SPAL - the biggest radiator that will fit and make sure to use a shroud -- protect that investment -- don't skimp when it comes to cooling the horsepower -- SPAL fans are the Coolest

garys 68

Curious why you think the Spal is better than Windstar? Does it move more air, more efficient?
My experience is that parts with large production numbers tend to be more reliable.
And if a Windstar fan does fail, you can pick one up at Autozone the same day.

Erinyes

Thought I'd post a comparison test between Lincoln Mk VIII dual speed fan and dual 11" SPAL.

mk8w-sys.jpg

Picked it off a Corvette forum, here.

Bottom line seemed to be that barring cosmetics, the two fans are basically comparable in terms of both airflow and current draw. The Taurus fan is generally comparable to the Mk VIII, from everything I've been able to find.

Hope it helps.

garys 68

Wow, someone went to a lot of trouble to evaluate those fans.
I know quite a few people running the Windstar fans since they fit the Olds radiator perfectly and they seem to work great too. Btw, Rock Auto has them new for about $80.
One other thing to take note of is the current draw of the fans. An alternator upgrade might be needed on these old cars.

matt69olds

Its really hard to beat factory engineering, doesn't matter who is doing the designing. Automotive manufactures cant afford to build cars with junk and have to eat the warranty repairs. How often do you hear of electric cooling fans failing, or late model cars overheating (without engine problems). I would think any late model fan with a shroud would be comparable to a top of the line aftermarket fan and probably cheaper.

brown7373

gary, your comment on alternator upgrade is on the mark. Our old cars were not designed to run 1 or 2 electric fans all the time, as well as everything else. I too have seen problems with stock charging systems unable to keep up with higher demand and would probably benefit with a better alternator.

delta7388

What Fan does Ron Davis use? What Fan does C & R racing use? 'nough said

380 Racer

I will cast another vote for the Windstar set up. Has worked better than great for me for many years .

garys 68

That's not possible! Otherwise Ron and C&R would sell a Ford fan instead Spals at 4x the price

jag1886

I don't get these electric fan set ups. I tried it once and they don't work any better (on a street car) than the good old factory set up if it's working properly (PLUS you have to worry about the charging system also). I always look at cars at the car shows and everything is looking good until I see that electric fan set up and I always think why didn't you spend the little extra time it takes to get the factory set up to work for you.
Sorry I'm a little bit of a purest at heart but I think a lot of these fan set ups are just the lazy way around a problem.

Lady72nRob71

I agree. Cooling issues can be difficult to diagnose and many jump on the electric bandwagon.
Fan clutches often go bad by not engaging when hot. They turn but not fast enough. And the right clutch is important so that it does not stay engaged when it should not. Replacement takes 15 minutes.
Electric is fine for the track where every bit of power counts. On the street, a proper working clutch setup can't be beat.

Boldsmobile

They use what they can source. That's not proof it's better.

75cutty455

I have an electric fan from a Lincoln Mark VIII on my 75 cutlass powered by a 68 Toro engine. I went to the electric fan just because I like the idea of having it on there.

After my research I knew the fan would pull more juice. So I put an 110AMP high output alternator on it (I also have a 2,000 watt sound system in my car) and went to http://www.hollisterroad.com/proddet...?prod=MarkVIII and got the wiring harness with the 185F sensor for the low speed and the 200F sensor for the high speed. I live in Alabama and I never have experienced the high speed come on.






JMO & experience

hessdawg

You probably wanna upgrade your "big 3" to 4 ga wire

hessdawg

My 17" mk7 fan

b085e98d.jpg

With BMW dual temp sensor
Volvo high amp relay
2 Gm relays. 1 to kill the low speed fan when high speed kicks in and the other to like the fans when ignition is turned off

b5162bba.jpg

matt69olds

That does look pretty clean. If a electric fan is really wanted then a GOOD OEM fan (like the Ford part, the twin fans from a late model F body is another easy swap from what I hear) is the only way to go. The OEM cant afford to have their cars overheating on the road. Making a factory fan work is cheap and reliable.

oddball

Electrics have a few of plusses:
No engagement while cold. Clutches tend to be engaged until they warm up. Not a big deal, but hey.
Ability to speed up when A/C is engaged but before the heat gets into the radiator. For A/C users in hot climates that helps A/C performance.
With appropriately smart control, you get well regulated temps. Granted, there are very very few smart controllers and they either are aftermarket with terribly limited use, or complicated homebrew.
Doesn't transition from "hum" to "jet engine" like the clutch.

My setup is a Lincoln LS fan (variable speed PMW control with controller in the motor) regulated by an Arduino.

Frankly, I trust some junkyard parts more than aftermarket parts. I don't think there's any reason to spend more than $80 at the most on a fan.