The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay electrical fan- vs- manual fan

Has anyone out there ever put an electircal fan in a 67-72 chevy truck. I have 73 caddy 4 core radiator and an electical fan mounted inside a 2wd shroud with no manual fan. The truck ran fine w/o a plow but with plowing yesterday she ran warmer than I would like. Should I run a pusher fan on the front of the radiator as well.
My question is should a 4 core adequatly cool the truck in extreme work condition or is my electrical fan just not keeping up. The fans out of a 90 Seville, i'm not sure of the cfm but it is approximatley 2 feet across the blades and mounted flush to the radiato.
thanks for any and all help on this not so serious of a problem as my last one with the charging system.

I have both electric and manual fan. When I get in traffic with the air on in the summer. I need to kick on the elec one. Helps a lot.

I put a Walker Z-Cool radiator in mine with a 16" electric fan ... I can't imagine it getting hot now under any circumstances!
See Here

Also, wiring it with double relays and a fusible link, instead of a circuit breaker, made a huge difference!
Here\'s How

I'm not sure why you would want to use two of those small wimpy relays. I've seen too many of those things cook! Why not a big one that will handle the full load?? The web site says you can't readily find those bigger relays at a local parts store??? That's gonna be bad news for those Ford guys when they want to replace the starter relays in their old Fords! Guess you just gotta know where to look!!

Is everything else working properly?? Water pump providing flow? Thermostat holding fluid in the radiator long enough for the radiator to do it's job? Antifreeze won't cool if it doesn't stay in the radiator long enough. Fan probably shouldn't be flush. All aftermarket fans I have bought have recommended a gap between the fan and the radiator. No slug or port blockage? Radiator fins are clean so air can pass through it?

Ranger,

The harder the engine works, the hotter it gets..that physics for you. My question would be what is too hot? If the truck gets hot, but cools down immediately, that seems like it would be ok. Would it be possible to lower the "turn-on" temp of the electric fan. You might be able to keep the system from heating up if you could start the cooling process earlier.

The plow itself or piled snow isn't blocking the flow of air to the front of the rig is it?


Stuart

The fanis not flush as I stated there is a gap of about1/2 and 3/4". I am running it through a relay. The fins are clean, snow is not blocking the air flow although i am relying on the electric fan due to the speed of the vehicle. I am plowing my park and not traveling fast. I am not sure about the thermostat as it is new but you know how that goes, new hoses and water pump and heater core. The start temp on the fan switch is 175 degrees. I am thinking the rad needs cleaned as I got this used and is the only part I have not recently put in. Caddy's used to pull trailers before trucks were popular so i think the 4 core should handle the job. more later....

What is your average / usual temp? What was your "warmer than I would like" temp? Might still be in range, might not.

I'm not saying this is your case, but some folks get comfortable with the needle sitting in one place. If it bounces up to the higher range of normal, they think there is a problem.