Cheap Electric fan conversion - any one done one?

[stuntman]

Hello everyone, I did this conversion on a volvo 240 from a while ago.

I used a switched relay to run the high speed, the low speed was run from a temp sensor which was also relayed.

Has anyone done anything similar on a disco?

I have air con so I would need a fan the 'sucked' rather than 'blowed'?

I really want to get rid of the viscous fan to make some room in the engine bay and release a whole raging pony (bhp)!

 :twisted:

[wizard]

I used a fan i picked up from a breakers for £5 and one of my own thermostats.
total cost was about £27

wizard :twisted:

[stuntman]

Are they on your site wizard?

[Range Rover Blues]

I was after a Kenlowe, or in fact a hooge pair of Pacets I picked up from RPI for £40 each.

But when I spoke to Kenlowe direct they advised I didn't remove the Viscous as no electric fan could move as much air and for towing my caravan that's what i wanted.  Spent the money on a new viscous and radiator.  The viscous now idles slower than the old one and locks up better too.

They do say that a viscous will eat about 5BHP with a fan that big though.

Anyhoo, if you have 2 fans like I do on Blue then you can wire them parallel/series to give you 2 speeds, you need a changeover relay plus one relay for each fan.  Mine come on full bore with the ignition on or half speed with it off.

[Evilgoat]

Hmm, more ideas forming in my head. Wonder if I can get some onf those huge Papst ones used for cooling cellphone transceivers...

[Yoshi]

I picked up an electric fan for a fiver from the local breakers, with a bit of sawing the plastic cowel one from an astra fits like a dream :D

[wizard]

ere you go

thermostats


wizard :twisted:

[J B]

i fitted the kenlowe, but i had to get the rad re-cored first ( £90 )

the electric kit worked well, once i set up the thermo control properly :roll:

but when i moved the kit over to the 5 door, the thermo switch had given up, so fitted a manual control on the dash board, the only time ive ever needed the switch it on, was when i was winching for an hour, with it idling 8)

[stuntman]

The volvo 960 fan is very versatlie and is used on alot of kit car installations, I may see how it measures up as it is a sucker fan.

Thanks everyone for the quick responses, as you may have guessed I really want to change alot of the truck from standard!

Andi K

[skip]

I'm with RRblues, I messed about with electric fans on a few of my cars.

Thing is there fine just day to day but when your asking that bit extra, like when towing up a steep hill. That's when they become woefully lacking and forever after you'll have one eye on the temperature gauge.

IMO they're just not worth the hassle and expense.

[Sharpshooter]

I'm with RRblues, I messed about with electric fans on a few of my cars.

Thing is there fine just day to day but when your asking that bit extra, like when towing up a steep hill. That's when they become woefully lacking and forever after you'll have one eye on the temperature gauge.

IMO they're just not worth the hassle and expense.

I have a kenlowe fitted to my disco. I also have a full width allisport intercooler infront of the rad. I tow a transporter trailor and landy on the back, and have never seen the temp gauge move. I do have the larger of the two kenlowes fitted, but that shouldnt make that much difference.

It is niceto have a hot heater blower in under half an hour too. :)

[Range Rover Blues]

The type of fan you have shouldn't make any difference to how quickly it heat sup though, that's what the thermostat does.

Admittedly the TDi runs cool most of the time, Julie's had lost most of the fins on the rad and it was still woring fine, 'till it bust open on the motorway and cooked the head :roll:

My overheating problems were with the LSE, I tow a big 'van and often have the airconn on too, the electric fans on that are useless (for some reasn they only fitted 10" fans to the soft dash).  Even though I'd flushed the rad out I eneded up replacing it and the viscous hub, I'm happy to report it now runs quite cool, unless you deliberately make it overheat.

There's no denying though that the best airmover is a viscous fan that works properly.

[Sharpshooter]

It will make a difference, as the viscouse fan is always turning over. Thus fanning the engine bay.

[skip]

I have a kenlowe fitted to my disco. I also have a full width allisport intercooler infront of the rad. I tow a transporter trailor and landy on the back, and have never seen the temp gauge move. I do have the larger of the two kenlowes fitted, but that shouldnt make that much difference.

It is niceto have a hot heater blower in under half an hour too.

Your running a diesel of only 2.5 litres. Now try it with a 4 litre jeep with an already marginaly sized but brand new rad with an air con rad in front. Fine for the most part but ask it to work hard and the 2 electric fans just couldn't shift enough air.

The main electric fan I used was the biggest and most powerful I could find, a pacet profan that shifted 2139cfm @ 3.75mm static, compared to around 3500cfm for the viscous fan. The second electric was the original aircon fan.

I did my homework and spent my money, time and effort. TBH it was a waste of time, had I just replaced the viscous coupling I would have had more money in my pocket and a whole lot less worry. oh! and I never saved a penny on fuel :roll:

In fairness my 3.9 disco seems to be overcooled (non aircon model) and I have run it without a fan at all, which was fine if I didn't get stuck in traffic for more than 20 minutes. but for the sake of £50 and an hours work is it worth all the hassle of trying to fit an electric fan then set it up to come on and off at the right times etc, not to mention the wiring in of override switches.

I'm not trying to start an argument, i'm just making the point that the cost versus gain has to be carfully looked at, that why I put a new couping on my disco instead of electric.

[Sharpshooter]

I have a kenlowe fitted to my disco. I also have a full width allisport intercooler infront of the rad. I tow a transporter trailor and landy on the back, and have never seen the temp gauge move. I do have the larger of the two kenlowes fitted, but that shouldnt make that much difference.

It is niceto have a hot heater blower in under half an hour too.

Now try it with a 4 litre jeep

 :?  :?  Why would i want to drive a Jeep ?  :?  :?   :lol:

[redhand]

I have a kenlowe fitted to my disco. I also have a full width allisport intercooler infront of the rad. I tow a transporter trailor and landy on the back, and have never seen the temp gauge move. I do have the larger of the two kenlowes fitted, but that shouldnt make that much difference.

It is niceto have a hot heater blower in under half an hour too.

Now try it with a 4 litre jeep

 :?  :?  Why would i want to drive a Jeep ?  :?  :?   :lol:

Well if you ever wanted to blow up an airport it'd come in handy  :lol:

[Sharpshooter]

I have a kenlowe fitted to my disco. I also have a full width allisport intercooler infront of the rad. I tow a transporter trailor and landy on the back, and have never seen the temp gauge move. I do have the larger of the two kenlowes fitted, but that shouldnt make that much difference.

It is niceto have a hot heater blower in under half an hour too.

Now try it with a 4 litre jeep

 :?  :?  Why would i want to drive a Jeep ?  :?  :?   :lol:

Well if you ever wanted to blow up an airport it'd come in handy  :lol:

[-X   :(vamp):  :(vamp):

[skip]

 Why would i want to drive a Jeep ?  

Cos you can do this without a snorkle and it'll just keep going  :lol:

[africanpete]

Has anyone considered fitting one of those bonnet scoops that let the air out, I was thinking of fitting one to the bonnet just above/around the turbo area so that the hot air in the engine bay has an easy route out.

Looking for a scoop at the moment that won't make my D2 look like a errr, ermm, well, chav.

Is it worth doing?

[redhand]

Has anyone considered fitting one of those bonnet scoops that let the air out, I was thinking of fitting one to the bonnet just above/around the turbo area so that the hot air in the engine bay has an easy route out.

Looking for a scoop at the moment that won't make my D2 look like a errr, ermm, well, chav.

Is it worth doing?

No the air been spun about by the fan keeps the air circulating anyway. I doubt an air scoop would make much difference unless it was a huge one. (An that would look chavvy) In the same way that ram air tops on snorkels make absolutely no difference to the performance of the engine when compared with a mushroom top.