I was driving around the other day, and I started thinking. Is it possible put a small electric fan with an on/off switch in front of the radiator to help the stock fan? If so has anyone ever done this?

 

So your wanting to try to install a little pusher fan outside the radiator, to push air across it while the stock fan pulls air from inside the engine bay correct?
Are you thinking putting this fan between the grill and the radiator? Is your A/C condenser a factor?
Why not just install an e-fan in place of the stock fan if you want to go electric?
And last, but definitely not least, is there a reason you want to add a second fan? Are you having cooling problems? Or just trying to run a little cooler? Because it would seem a cooler thermostat would help that out better, because no matter how efficent your electricpusher fan is going to be, the stock fan will still be on all the time, and move the same amount of air...
Just some questions to see exactly what we are working with here...

 

Yeah, just eliminate the clutch fan altogether and put in an electric. That's one of my future projects.

 

I see a lot of folks on this forum installing electric fans; however, I've NEVER had any issues with the stock fan, to include sitting in 100 degree heat with the A/C going wide open. It has never gone past the middle of the gauge. If yours is getting hot, you probably have something else wrong causing this.

 

The reason I want to do this is because when Im driving around town a lot(stop & go traffic) Then I stop somewhere for alittle, then get back on, the temperature creeps up past the half way to about 3/4. But as soon as I take off, it goes back down to normal little by little. But driving on the highway it is perfectly fine. I was planing on putting it behind the grill in front of the radiator with an on/off switch to use when Im driving around town.

 

It sounds like your fan clutch is going south. Replace it and you shouldn't have any more problems. By adding an electric fan, you're only taxing your already overworked/weak 60-amp alternator. I know I will probably get flamed


for poo-pooing electric fans, but I've found that the less you change from OEM, the better off you are from a reliability standpoint...

 

If your going to go through all the trouble of installing an e fan anyway, just replace your stock fan with an 18" Perma Cool Fan (fits inside our shrouds perfectly. and put the variable controller on it. Bamachem has a great writeup on it, he actually used a Volvo S80 Fan, and (I think) a hayden variable speed controller, I know thats a little pricey, but TYOTA did a great install of the perma cool fan, and I think he just went with the perma cool controller, it will keep your engine to whatever temp you set the controller, so the fan will come on and off on its own, instead of you switching it, and it has a relay to the A/C to make it run all the time when your A/C i son, its nice. But for your issue, sounds like a rad flush and a new rad cap may be in order, or try a lower temp thermostat. Those would be my thoughts.

 

I agree with this. Electric fans offer small performance gains, but less reliability. Several have gone back to mechanical for the peace of mind it provides. Sounds like a new clutch will fix your mechanical fan's problems.

 

i'm running flexalite fans in my tacoma and 4runner, and althought the engine performance gains are small, there are other benefits like cold ac in traffic, manual switching for water crossing, less wear on the water pump.

however i respect OEM centric ideas too. another compromise is an aluminum flex fan. i almost decided that way for my 4runner.

 

HIJACK
BK, how do you like the FAL fans? I've heard some people say they didnt like than at all on the taco's.

 

works pretty well, better in the taco than the 4runner in terms of engine performance - i noticed a gain in throttle response. amazingly, the fan rarely comes on, and the engine temperature rarely deviates from its normal (1/2) position. I think tacomas (at least the 2.7L) are well designed for cooling. when it does come on for cooling, it is quiet and pulls hard. if you want more 411 give me a PM.

UN-HIJACK

 

Thanks everyone Im gona check my fan clutch. Anyways to do that with out removing it?

 

Some people say to crank it up, and let it run and get hot. Then turn it off and give the fan a spin. If it spins more than 2 rotations, it's shot. Others say probably the best test is a comparative measure of airflow through the engine compartment with the hood open when the engine is hot and cold. If you can't feel any difference the viscous clutch is probably shot. They're pretty cheap, so might wanna go ahead and replace it.

 

I've heard that even spinning a fan while the motor is off can crap a fan clutch out.

 

personally, i think going to an e-fan is perfectly fine from a reliability standpoint, if using the correct parts. i went with the volvo s80 fan, made by bosch, i highly doubt the fan itself will fail, every front drive car on the road has e-fans, so im sure the fan motor itself will be ok. i think the main problems stem from how the fan is controlled, and how its installed. first, you really need to use your stock shroud with the e-fan shroud, called nesting. you dont want any portion of the radiator to not be covered by the shroud(just like oem), and you dont want to big of a gap between the fan blades and shroud, this is all for airflow reasons. second, i personally feel(and will probably get a little flamed for this) that if your not going to use a variable speed controller, dont change from stock. i see so many posts on here with people using 2 speed fans, and having all sorts of problems with relays, wiring, or something else. i use the same controller as bamachem did, and it works flawlessly. just my 2 cents.