V6  3.0  Electric Fan Install
2/14/2003


Chris (Churnd on the forums) shows you how he installed a electric fan on his '94 truck with a 3.0 V6


This write-up is for those of you who want the benefits of installing an electric fan, but don't want to fork over the $250 for a Flex-a-Lite.  I installed this on my 3.0L V6, but it would also work with the 2.4 and 2.7L I-4’s.
The only fan I know of on the market for a 3.4L is a Flex-a-Lite, but theoretically if you could find 2 small fans rated to cool a 2.0L and will mount to the radiator, it could work.
 
The stock belt driven fan and clutch assembly weighs an estimated 15-20 pounds.  That doesn't seem a lot but it does take away power from the engine to turn it.  The fan I bought is a universal fit Imperial electric fan.  I think the part number is 226116, but any universal electric fan rated to cool from 2.4-3.0 liters of displacement would work.  Here is a parts list of things you will need:

1. The fan (duh).
2. A fuse holder and a couple of 30 amp fuses.
3. A 30 amp relay (optional).
4. An adjustable thermostat (it should be in the same place as the fan).
5. 8 washers for the fan clutch studs.
6. Wire and connectors.
7. Wire cutters/crimpers.

First thing you need to do is remove the stock fan and clutch.  This is done by removing the 4 bolts from the studs that hold the clutch to the pulley.
You will also need to remove the fan shroud by unbolting it from the radiator.  I got them both out without removing the upper radiator hose.  Now get those washers and, using 2 per stud, put the nuts back on.

Before installing the electric fan, it's important to find out which polarity you will need.  You want the fan to be a puller, not a pusher, and in my case it was necessary to unbolt the fan itself from the motor and flip it around so it would pull.  Next, the fan is attached to the radiator by passing 4 plastic rods through the radiator and through their catches (works like a zip tie).  For some reason I'm not aware of, it's important to not pass the rods through the AC condenser (sits in front of the radiator), so they will need to be trimmed.  This can easily be done by unbolting the top two upper bolts from the radiator mounts and tilting it forward.  The bottom rods don't interfere with anything but I trimmed them anyway.  This is how the fan should look.

Now you're ready to wire it up.  Here is a badly drawn schematic that shows how I wired mine.

The wire I tapped into from the ignition was colored black with a yellow stripe.  All I know about this wire is that it goes hot when I turn the key on and cold when I turn it off.  That's all I needed to know, as it's only acting as a switch for the relay.
If you don't have that wire, get a circuit tester and find out which wire in your ignition behaves like this.  The rest of the wiring is pretty self explanatory from looking at the schematic.  I attached the bulb/probe from the thermostat to the radiator by just sticking it through the radiator fins.  Here's a picture of how I mounted my thermostat.

All that's left to do is set the thermostat.  Don't forget to put a fuse in the fuse holder first!
Crank the engine and let it get to normal operating temperature.  Then go over to the thermostat and adjust it to where it'll cut on right at that point.  That's the last step so take it for a spin and enjoy your new found power.

If you choose to do this mod good luck and if you have any questions  (Churnd) on the Yotatech Forum.

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