I'm considering a electric fan for my 90 4 runner 3.0 and I'm wondering if anyone has done this and has a fan and size recommendation for the 3.0 that is a simple bolt on or easy custom fit. Any thing anyone has will be helpful at this point so please bring on the info.

 

You can use an electric fan out of a Ford Taurus

 

The Black Magic brand of electric fan by Flex-A-Lite is a simple bolt on for the 3VZE.

Here's a link of a review and installation of said product.

http://toyota.off-road.com/toyota/ar....jsp?id=186521

 

I installed a Taurus fan. Do a search of taurus fan for exact years, but it's the fan from any 3.8liter from mid-eighties to mid-nineties.

I used several layers of duct-tape to close-off a crescent-shaped opening on one side of the fan shroud. Some part of a taurus used to fit there.

I used the Hayden shroud-mounting kit, & the Hayden 185-170 fixed temp probe with relay kit.

I used 1/4" x 9/16" weatherstripping stuck to the fan shroud (2 layers on the one side with a raised lip) to give the fan assembly a good airtight fit to the radiator. This was a very quick and easy step, much simpler than it sounds.

I use a hacksaw to cut a small plastic tab off 1 side of the shroud which i discovered was an interference problem when mounting.

One bolt hole of the taurus shroud actually lined up with a mount hole on the 4runner.

I used the 4 Hayden zip-tie contraptions to secure the fan snugly to the radiator, compressing the weatherstripping a bit for a tight fit.

The taurus fan has three leads: ground, lo, and hi. I used the ground and low-speed only.

General approach -remove the battery, remove the Toyota fan, drain and remove the radiator, install the Hayden temp probe and Taurus fan on the radiator, reinstall the radiator, install the relay on the passenger fenderwell near the windshield washer reservoir, wire up, install battery.

The Hayden yellow wire provides switched 12v power to the temp probe. When the probe gets hot, its circuit closes, allowing the 12v on through to the relay, which then sends power to the fan. Fan power comes from the pos battery lead. Temp probe power: I ran the yellow wire through the firewall where the main harness bundle goes through in the upper corner passenger side. I pushed about 18" of wire through that rubber seal. I removed the glove compartment and the small panel by passengers right foot, and I found my yellow wire and used a spade to stab it into the open butt of a switched 12v lead in a plug assembly that is near the passenger's right knee.

The hayden green wire is an alternate 12v power to the relay, which they intend for you to attach to the relay on your A/C compressor. Thus the e-fan comes on whenever the A/C compressor comes on.

I chose instead to run the green wire through the firewall with the yellow one, splice a toggle switch into it, and terminate it in a switched 12v source near the e-brake. I hit something in the ign bundle. You coul dalso hit the cig lighter. Thus, my fan comes on if the temp probe gets hot, or if I switch my toggle switch on.

I found only one source for switched 12v in the fuse box under the hood. It's the 7.5 amp fuse, can't remember its name. Initially, I hit that for power for the yellow wire. But i got voodoo with it. Everytime the temp probe got hot and closed to cycle the fan relay, 3 or 4 warning lights came on sort of dim on the dash, and stayed on until the fan went off. So don't use that. I've had no problems with the 12v supply locations described earler.

When i was researching e-fan options, the widely held opinion seemed to be that Hayden and Flexalite fans were far inferior to the low-speed setting of the Taurus fan in terms of cfm of airflow. The Taurus fan really moves some air. The others sort of don't.

I mounted my hayden temp probe just above the radiator OUTLET (lower radiator hose). The only time my fan will come on is when the radiator has failed to sufficiently cool the fluid just prior to it's reaching the exit. Also, at high water crossings, the river water will touch the temp probe before it touchs the the fan. Thus, my fan should never have water impact while running.

Finally, as described in my sig, I chose to eliminate the hub assembly from the water-pump-cover-bracket entirely, and switch to shorter belts. To do this, you must remove the pulleys from the bracket. I used a combination of wheel puller, heat cycles, big hammers, and after I got pissed off, I plunged an arc welder stinger into the shaft center and blew stuff every where. None of that worked. I drilled a recessed hole into a 4x4, laid the bracket over the lumber, and I hit the shaft really really really hard with a 2 lb ball-peen to try to drive the shaft anywhere while the metal was still really hot from the welder. I missed the bullseye, struck a glancing blow, and broke the shaft clean off just at the bracket nose...

Okay. Perfect.

I used a grinder to remove a small amount of material from the nose of the bracket nearest the belt, then reinstalled the bracket with the 3 bolts only. Don't use the 4th bolt-with-nut-for-a head. The bracket is nothing more than a dust cover now anyway.

To summarize the last few paragraphs - I really like my shorter belt set up. But i caution you to not underestimate the difficulty of modifying the bracket assembly by removing its pulleys and shaft. Think WWIII. That thing was not made to come apart. That must be why they want $500 for a new one at the dealer.

In conclusion, during my 20 minute idle test with EVERYTHING on (lights, A/C, radio blaring, hazards, frigin everything), the fan came on 6 times, and was on for less than 40 seconds each time. It was about 70 outside.

I've had it for 6 weeks now. No probs. Works fine. Very quiet. No obvious electrical drain. Rarely comes on. Never stays on for more than 40 seconds.

I think the most important aspect may be taping and weatherstripping and sealing. If the air can only pass the fan by being drawn through the radiator, then the system will work very efficiently.

Good luck!

Sorry so long!!

 

I used a Davies Criag 16" fan, with a simple thermatic switch and 3 way dash mounted switch "On, Off, On with ignition only" It gets rid of that nasty drop in power when the clutch fan kicks in and does make a noticeable difference to power.

Cheers

 

I'm experimenting with a 2-speed fan from a 95 3.0 Taurus, wired to run on the high-speed side with a DCC variable speed controller.

 

I'm planning on putting a Ford Taurus (3.8L) fan on a 3.0 radiator. It's a 2 speed fan with lots of airflow.
It's also cheap, $20 at the local junkyard. It fits over the radiator pretty well. I also picked up some big blue relays out of Nissan cars. They are for a starter solenoid in the Nissans and can handle a good amount of current.
I'm just waiting till I can shell out the coin for a new radiator (my current one has a small leak) and I'm going to put this together.
I'll have a ON/OFF/ON toggle switch taking power from a source that is activated from the ON position of the ignition. That way it only runs when the truck is on.

I'm going to be using a temp sensor that activates the low speed.
Summit temp gauge
So at temp of 200?F it will turn on and cool it down to 180?F and shut off.

The high speed will be on the other side of the toggle switch, and always on (with key in ON) when in that position. That way if things get too hot I can just flip it over to the high speed.

I have a diagram of how I'm going to (probably) wire it up:


If I blow a fuse or relay on one side, I'll be able to switch over to the other speed since they both use separate lines.

 

Do a search! This question has been asked before!

Here's a thread where I show pics of my setup and a brief description of it.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115/electric-fan-questions-111675/

 

3.8 Taraus fan from oh let's say 90 to 98 will work just fine and it's cheap too.