How difficult is it to convert the stock clutch fan to an electric setup? I know there are kits around $300 but I think you can pick up an electric fan, like a Hayden 3690, for pretty cheap and rig it up somehow. Also, how much benefit is there if it is done? I've seen claims for the kits to improve 2-4 mpg & 15% more power.

you can run a theremal switch bolted the intake. or a toggle switch on the dash.

im running a single perma cool fan with a switch on the dash. need to well i want to get thermal switch pluged into the intake, id have it click on at 190is. that way shes gets running before it gets to 210.

my motor seemed to be difrent than most. i was haveing hard time getn it to run at 210 wich is pristene. summer tiime heat id run the fan in the fast food drive throughs and crawling in the desert. acasionly pulling grades with the bobcat in tow.

empty crusing down the interstate she runs at bout 190. and i never use the fan, not even in town.

as far as noticeing any mpg or hp gain , theres wasnt any.

if your currrent set up is keeping it cool enough with the clutch fan id leave it. the only reason i have an eletric fan is because the bearings in the clutch fan took a dump so i yanked it off and ran fanless all winter then tossed a eletric on it as spring came. the eletric was handy and easy. so thats the route i took.

Evan

You can get fans for chevy V-8's at any auto parts store for around $60 or so, or just start scrounging the junkyards. The other thing to do is to find one off a car that would be compatible and run that.

Thanks for the good info. I was figuring on some gain at least but am questioning whether I should do it if you say there wasn't any. I figured it had a slight load on the engine anyway. Maybe not as much as the air conditioning compressor but some kind of load. I have found a fan at advance for about $60 and the control module is about $40-$50 but maybe it isn't worth it.

Yep, those are the prices, I checked them out at my local Advanced. There's supposed to be about a 5-10hp gain by ditiching the stock fan. Also it'll put less strain on the motor and make it work easier with out always having to spin a fan on it. I plan on doing one after I get my new motor in my truck, because apparently knock sensor wires don't like shorty headers/heat [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

<font face="Comic Sans MS">Why not go to the local parts yard/salvage joint and see if they have any front wheel drive cars with V8's in them. Those are sure to have good sized electric fans. If you play it right you might be able to get the thermostatic switches with it as well. I suspect it might be a little less costly than buying a system and getting it set up. Plus the ones already in vehicles should already have a nice built in fan shroud system as well so you won't have to rig something up...</font>

I took the fan off and since it is sorta cool here right now, am running without a fan at all to test the mpg change. I filled up yesterday and will drive a few days and post what I find. Even if little change, there will probably be a better gain during summer months since that is when the fan would be working more/harder. Just after one day of driving, I seem to notice a little difference now it isn't there.

I installed 2 16" fans from autozone a couple of months ago and my gas mileage went from around 13 mpg to 15mpg the past couple of months. I haven't done anything else to contribute to this gas mileage gain so it was definitely the electric fans. I could not get my hands on a thermal switch so I just used a kit designed for accessory lighting (wires, relay, switch). The lighting kit was $9 while the fan kit was $15. The fan kit came with the thermal switch but I could not get it to work. I even called the manufacturer and they said they had been having trouble with those switches. This was the second kit I had tried. I installed one 2 years ago in a CJ7 I had at the time.

Verdict is in for me as well. All conditions being relatively the same (gas station, driving habits, etc.), I went from 14 mpg to 16 mpg. Pretty much the same as blabhern with a 2 mpg increase. I will continue to monitor, as I always do and post with updates. Of course, our gas will switch sometime soon I think to summer gas (non-oxygenated). Even though they say it doesn't affect mpg, I do lose some mpg during the winter and not just because it is colder and changes that brings.

I might try this as gas prices keep going up. I would love to hear more people post success stories before i shell out the dough.