Electric fan vs. mechanical
I've been tinkering with the idea of replacing the stock fan with an electric unit, any sugestions? would a 2-speed Ford Taurus unit work OK? or should I shop for something bigger? I've heard those Taurus fans can move a lot of air.
Ed
Ed
alriggghty. This is my topic baby!
Taurus fans are GREAT.... With some exceptions.
A) You might get the wrong one. Only a few models of the taurus actually came with the "TAURUS" fan... 3.8liter motor ONLY
B) They pull
loads of amperage on startup. (think between 35-50 amps)
Now that being said... the same Motor assembly is the Lincoln Mark 8 fan. Easier to find in a junk yard. Taurus has a more effecient blade design, but the the Mark VIII fan is larger, and overall pulls more air anyways. 18" vs 16". It is also a little thicker, and larger shroud body.
Now that being said... MY FAVORITE fan to use on all my projects is the fan assembly out of the Ford Contour. Killer fan. Wide, but not too tall. Dual fans, I believe 12". Motors pull super low amount of amperage on start up... (15-30) amperage. Dual speed, and the greatest is they are SUPER thin. almost 2" thinner than the other two fans. Easy to find, super cheap. Nobody uses these.

Taurus fans are GREAT.... With some exceptions.
A) You might get the wrong one. Only a few models of the taurus actually came with the "TAURUS" fan... 3.8liter motor ONLY
B) They pull
loads of amperage on startup. (think between 35-50 amps)Now that being said... the same Motor assembly is the Lincoln Mark 8 fan. Easier to find in a junk yard. Taurus has a more effecient blade design, but the the Mark VIII fan is larger, and overall pulls more air anyways. 18" vs 16". It is also a little thicker, and larger shroud body.
Now that being said... MY FAVORITE fan to use on all my projects is the fan assembly out of the Ford Contour. Killer fan. Wide, but not too tall. Dual fans, I believe 12". Motors pull super low amount of amperage on start up... (15-30) amperage. Dual speed, and the greatest is they are SUPER thin. almost 2" thinner than the other two fans. Easy to find, super cheap. Nobody uses these.

Last edited by RAW; Sep 16, 2012 at 01:30 PM. Reason: Profanity
Nice pictures and info!
I have been thinking about an electric fan clutch from a 3rd gen Dodge into my 2nd Gen. You won't have to worry about a reduced amount of CFM's from electric fans, but get control of fan activation. It will be a winter project for me.
I have been thinking about an electric fan clutch from a 3rd gen Dodge into my 2nd Gen. You won't have to worry about a reduced amount of CFM's from electric fans, but get control of fan activation. It will be a winter project for me.
I would not be surprised if any and all of the above mentioned fan's pull more CFM than the original mechanical. Ford doesn't play around when it comes to cooling their iron chunks.
But thats just my opinion.
But thats just my opinion.
The advantage of the Contour fan over the taurus or Lincoln mark 8 fan, seems to be that it is much thinner and draws less amperage. All supposedly pull ample air.
No electric moves even half the cfm of the stock unit. That being said, I have run with no fan and it cooled just fine. If you tow, I would stay with the factory version, but if you don't you can probably get away with whatever.
I am researching an electric fan for my 92 ram. picknpull has the Ford Contour duel fans for $42. What I have found so far is that you should pick up the fan wiring harness when you get the fans, because of the connectors. Many use the Flex-a-lite adjustable fan switch, P/N 31147, it is a probe type. and an 80 amp relay, ($5 on ebay).
The advantage of the Contour fan over the taurus or Lincoln mark 8 fan, seems to be that it is much thinner and draws less amperage. All supposedly pull ample air.

The advantage of the Contour fan over the taurus or Lincoln mark 8 fan, seems to be that it is much thinner and draws less amperage. All supposedly pull ample air.

I just realized that when my fans kicked on, so did my A/C pump. Luckily when I got the fans from Pick N Pull, I took all the wiring. there was a one way diode in the wiring harness, so I put it into the wire from the A/C to the fan controller, all is good now. this was also why I wanted to delay one of the fans because of the amount of voltage drop and the clunk when the fans kicked on, this was mostly caused by the A/C kicking on at the same time as the fans.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MREILLY
12 Valve 2nd Gen Dodge Cummins 94-98
2
Apr 8, 2015 01:27 PM
Diesel Bombers
Latest Automotive Industry News
0
Dec 6, 2014 11:00 AM





