Electric Cooling

[dunerunner]

Has anyone modified their series with a Kenlowe cooling fan and/or Davies Craig electric water pump? It looks as if you could spend an easy $1000 on the conversion, I was curious as to whether there were any performance or reliability issues.

[Paul Rossmann]

I looked at the Kenlowe, but ended up going with the Flexilite (much less expensive). The result was that once the engine fan was removed that it was quieter. Supposed better gas milage, but my speedo is broken and I havent fixed it yet (I know I'm not speeding!) The thermostat for the fan gave out after a couple of years so I just popped the original fan back in until I could order one.

[TedW]

I installed an electric fan in '93...

It's an Imperial brand fan, available at most auto parts stores. You get more power or better fuel economy (you choose - can't have both!), and a quieter motor (no fan noise). Also, warm-up is much faster - very important up here. IMO it's a great mod to make.

I made a couple of brackets out of bar stock to hold the fan in front of the radiator - will send you fotos if interested.

[SafeAirOne]

I don't have a Kenlowe fan, but I do have a huge electric fan from an auto parts store. There is no thermostat attached--it runs whenever my key is in the "run" position.

The only drawback is that the fan only sucks air through the radiator directly in front of the fan. There is still a lot of radiator area that does not get the air sucked (or blown, depending on where the fan is mounted) through it. No problem for normal use, but driving through soft sand in the desert or climbing mountains in the desert required stopping at regular intervals to cool down.

If you live in a moderate climate, this MAY not be a problem.

When I had the rediator re-cored, the guy at the radiator shop said the best thing I could do would be to reinstall the engine-driven fan and radiator shroud. With an un-shrouded electric fan, I am not using the radiator to its full potential.

[greenmeanie]

'Lecky fans are like freewheeling hubs. There may be some benefit in reduced fuel consumption but you'll never recover your money on your stated investment unless you drive a LOT of miles.

A well maintained stock series cooling system is very good and if anything overcools the truck. You should not need any conversions anywhere in this country to keep up with removing heat. I'm in Phoenix and get to do that experiment every summer.

From a reliability point of view it doesn't come much more simple than the stock pulley fan. No electric motor, addtional thermostat, switches and other electric doohickies to go wrong.

A shroud for your radiator is the most underated cooling aid on any vehicle. Air will always take the path of least resistance.

It will reduce noise and it will give you faster warm up times up in those cold northern climes. A radiator muff helps that with the stock fan though.

Unless your planning an engine conversion or your ears are sensitive to fan noise over the rest of the series cacophony then I wouldn't bother. Better spendig the money on gettign the existing system up to snuff.

Cheers
Gregor

[dunerunner]

Great advise, I've decided to stay stock. My radiator is a five pass and I'm sure, although I haven't looked; that the thermostat is either stuck open (better than the other way) or has been removed as my temp barely climbs to 150 deg. Enough to make the Smiths about cook my right foot off.

[greenmeanie]

If you can access one, one of those fancy hand held thermometer guns makes an excellent diagnostic tool. It can easily find cool spots in a radiator and hoses and is less burny than using our hand.

A good and cheap excersise is to check the accuracy of the temp gauge. Boil some water with a thermometer in it. Pull the coolant sensor out the head and place it in the boiling water. Check your gauge reading against the thermometer. It helps to keep the gauge honest you know. It also can save you a bucket of cash to know it is your gauge before 'fixing' your cooling system.

Cheers
Gregor

[dunerunner]

Thanks, I'll try it! The boiling water thing, I don't know any one with a hand held pyrometer, used to when I worked.

[adkrover]

I was recently messing about with my radiator for other reasons and while i had it out, I fabricated a fan shroud using light gauge sheet metal and a pop-rivet gun. It was basically a shallow box the same size as the radiator with a round hole in the middle for the fan. I made it a bit more trick than that but if your not real handy with sheet metal, that's all it needs to be. I found it made a HUGE difference in my radiators cooling ability. if you're just having cooling problems and don't currently have a shroud, definitely add one. It's most likely all you need.

[dunerunner]

I fabricated a fan shroud using light gauge sheet metal and a pop-rivet gun. It was basically a shallow box the same size as the radiator with a round hole in the middle for the fan. I made it a bit more trick than that but if your not real handy with sheet metal, that's all it needs to be. I found it made a HUGE difference in my radiators cooling ability. if you're just having cooling problems and don't currently have a shroud, definitely add one. It's most likely all you need.

Thanks...Cooling hasn't been a problem, the ambiant temp here is around 60 deg except for two days a year that we call Summer. I get plenty of heat but it takes a while as I believe the stat is either stuck open or has been removed. The shroud is a great addition, thought about adapting a Defender shroud but darn thing is too big. Your idea is something to log in the memory bank!!

[thixon]

A shroud for your radiator is the most underated cooling aid on any vehicle. Air will always take the path of least resistance.

X2

Well put, and exactly right.

[Tim Smith]

Any one know what temperature an electric fan should be set to turn on at with a thermostatic switch? Is it something like 5 - 10 degrees higher than your thermostat or am I way off on this?

[Paul Rossmann]

Any one know what temperature an electric fan should be set to turn on at with a thermostatic switch? Is it something like 5 - 10 degrees higher than your thermostat or am I way off on this?

My thermostat doesnt have numbers, just a knob. I set it to go on when the temp gauge in the car was 3/4 of the way to red.

Ran the engine with the car sitting still and when the temp gauge was where I wanted the fan to kick on, I turned the thermostat knob until it did.

They can be adjusted to run warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

[Tim Smith]

My thermostat doesnt have numbers, just a knob. I set it to go on when the temp gauge in the car was 3/4 of the way to red.

Ran the engine with the car sitting still and when the temp gauge was where I wanted the fan to kick on, I turned the thermostat knob until it did.

They can be adjusted to run warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

Thanks Paul. Do you know what make your thermostat is and where you got it? I've got the fan but no thermostat.

[Paul Rossmann]

Thanks Paul. Do you know what make your thermostat is and where you got it? I've got the fan but no thermostat.

Summit Racing (online) is where I bought mine. The fan is a Flexilite and the thermostat came with it. They do sell the thermostats separately for around $25.