It's about time...............

[MarkBall2]

The past couple of weeks, I've been working on installing electric radiator fans on my Dodge Ram truck.

I bought the 14" electric fans off E-Bay in 2008, just now got around to making the shroud a couple weeks ago, last week got the dual fan controllers (Hayden) off Amazon. Each fan is rated to move 2300 CFM & they are single speed. I knew I needed new radiator hoses, so I went ahead & bought the upper, lower & bypass hoses Friday. Pulled everything apart Friday afternoon, then pulled the radiator to back flush it.

Let me tell you the clutch fan is a biotch to remove. I ended up cutting the nut with a dremel on two flats, then it still took two of us to unscrew it. The tools that I rented from Autozone, the 36mm wrench flats had been spread. Off to Sears to buy a 1-7/16" wrench. Had to use a cheater on that wrench & the tool used to secure the water pump pulley. Cannot remove the original shroud without pulling the fan. And the original shroud & fan set up sticks out so far, it's not funny. Anyone with a 2000's Dodge knows what I'm talking about even if they don't take off that stupid clutch fan.

Idiot that designed it should be shot!!!

Anyway, the electric shroud is 2" deep, the fans sit another 1.5" off the shroud for a total of 3.5". I have over a foot of room left after putting this in. I cut out the overflow tank & windshield washer tank brackets from the old shroud & they bolt to the mounting bolts of the new shroud. Not much movement & no extra bracing is required. The Hayden dual fan controller was mounted under the radiator support, left fender beside the battery. Made a bracket to mount the fuses for the controller, which is easily accessible. Makes for a nice clean installation.

Why did I do this? Well, here in AZ, sitting at a stop light with the A/C on, the A/C will start blowing hot air, as there isn't enough airflow over the condenser. And the motor heats up too. The truck has over 150K on it, it still had the original hoses. So if I wanted to fix it, I put electric fans on to fix the A/C issue. I also installed a 180* thermostat.

When the truck is running the fans come on at around 190*, shut off at around 175*. If the A/C is running, the fans are running. Haven't had time to test drive it, as it was late last night when I got finished. I'll test it today, supposed to be mid-upper 90's today. Next week we should be hitting triple digits.

1. Drivers side
2. Passenger side
3. Look how neat the shroud fits to the radiator
4. Hayden dual fan controller, it's adjustable too.
5. Look Ma, look at all that room!!!

[allessence]

Nice upgrade..

I haven't found any newer truck mfg that makes any of this stuff easy..

I usually notch the bottom of the fan shroud so it's easier to remove..

If I'm feeling industrious I will mate the 2 back together with a little metal bracket and some sheat metal screws..

If not I just leave the bottom off..

[milomilo]

That should also make changing the serpentine belt simple.

[MarkBall2]

I can actually stand between the fan's/shroud & pulley's. Can't turn a wrench in there, but I can stand.

I drove it around town today, temp climbed up where it normally did on the dash gauge. I parked at the parts house & let it idle while I popped the hood. Took a bit, but the fans came on & shut off after running about 4 minutes.

Checked the coolant level, the overflow tank is right on the money & mixing the water/coolant I put in last night.

We shall see if the truck mileage goes up too. I've read these clutch fans can rob about 10-15 hp from the engine. At 150K miles, I would like gain them back.

[digr]

Nice job!!! You never want to rush into a job like that you have to think things threw first

[Scrapper Greg]

Nice job, Mark. I'd throw a new belt on it while I was at it. Looks a bit seasoned.....

[MarkBall2]

Originally Posted by Scrapper Greg

Nice job, Mark. I'd throw a new belt on it while I was at it. Looks a bit seasoned.....

My Dodge service manual shows the cracks going side to side - the belt is still servicable. If they were at an angle, it would need replaced.

I looked it over pretty close & the cracks do not extend from side to side in a single crack. Just random side to side cracks on the ribs.

I'll wait a while before I change it, but with the new shroud & fan combo, it's going to be a piece of cake to change.

Thanks Greg for the observation. I figured there might be a question or two about the belt.

[SmokinDodge]

It sound like you have found a happy medium. If you need Id prolly make one fan come on any time the ac is on and leave the other one on the t sat.

Sent from my ipotato

[MarkBall2]

My original intent was to do that.


Buuuuuuuuut, this Hayden dual fan controller only works with both on or off. There is a tap connected to the A/C hot lead, when the A/C is turned on, both fans come on.

With both fans on in mid 90* heat, it got downright cold in the cab at idle. Time will tell if I need to change to a different controller setup or not.

[cramd]

I had considered changing to electric fans on my '06 GMC, but discovered that even with 2 fans, there is nowhere near enough air being moved to equal what the OEM clutch fan moves (in the neighborhood of 10,000+ CFM at 3000 RPM). I have a 6.6 DMax under my hood and tow heavy when my fifth wheel is on the back, so need all the air flow I can get.
Nice job on your truck, and should definitely give you back a bit of horse power.