Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Fan alternatives

[terrywerm]

I have seen and am aware of some of the alternative cooling fans available, such as the Horton. Personally I think the Horton fan would be ideal, but they are a bit expensive, not to mention that they no longer have a fan blade available for our Dodges, which creates yet another problem. So for purposes of this thread, I will leave Horton fan clutches out of the picture.



Here is my real question: Has anyone tried electric fans when they found that they needed to replace their fan clutch? If so, how have they been working out, what pros/cons have you experienced? Anyone else have any thoughts?



Thanks!

 

[WestTN]

I tried electric fans on my old 1989 and was completely dissatisfied. They were shrouded but still provided inadequate cooling. The A/C never worked as well as with the stock fan. And, since maximum cooling is seldom required the electrics never saved any fuel. The stock fan clutch only uses extra horsepower when you really need it to. When I got fed up with the inadequacies and unreliablity of the electrics I went to the Dodge dealer and bought a new fan clutch and blades and shroud and restored the truck to stock condition. The A/C worked perfectly after that. And the fuel consumption did not increase, proving that no fuel is saved with electric fans.

 

[RustyJC]

I tried electric fans (Flex-a-Lite Model 350 dual pullers) on my 1996 3500 V10/47RE. They couldn't cool the engine towing a 5th wheel in Houston traffic in the summer. These electric fans drew 50 amps. 50 amps x 12 volts = 600 watts =~ 0. 8 BHP. If the engine-driven fan draws a minimum of 8 BHP (the lowest number I've seen posted), then it becomes apparent that the electrics can never move the air that the engine-driven fan can, even if the airfoils on the electrics are significantly more efficient.



Most of those who have success with electrics don't work the engine hard in extreme temperature conditions like I do.



Rusty

 

[nps]

I've been thinking of some sort of fan alternative, or maybe a higher temp clutch.



Yesterday in Vegas it was 103, and under the hood of my black truck the OAT read 116 off the overhead temp at cold engine startup (as cold as an engine can be when 116 under the hood). The fan clutch was engaged all the way home - about 45 minutes - and never shut off.



Don't know what the threshold temp is for the fan to kick in, but generally it runs constantly when the outside temp is above 100. My son has an 01. 5 and he also sees the same thing (dad - did your fan stay on today? Does it feel like you don't have any power?)



I'm not convinced the fan is needed even at these temps because the engine temp never climbs above the thermostat value (180 thermostat). As WestTN states, maybe the A/C needs it, although probably only when stopped.



Thought about a flex fan, but I'm concerned about the low RPMs of these engines and whether it will do more harm than good. And WestTN says the electrics are no good - so



The forecast is for the temps to drop below 100 for the next week. Maybe when the next heat cycle comes in I'll take off the fan and drive around in the heat to see how it behaves with no load and no fan.

 

[terrywerm]

Thanks for your input, guys. What got me started on this was the same problem that NPS experienced - on hot days the fan would never shut off.



Case in point: Last year, travelling across South Dakota on I-90 eastbound, headed for home. Had our 28 foot travel trailer in tow, and were bucking a very stiff wind out of the southeast, and temps were in the 90's by lunchtime when we left Rapid City. The temps reached about 105* out near Wall and Kadoka, and the wind was relentless. To reduce the fuel consumption, I kept the speed down to 65 or so, but the engine fan never shut off all that day. The engine temps were fine and the fan certainly wasn't needed, especially at freeway speeds and going into the wind.



In my mind a Horton fan clutch would be the ideal, and I loved them on semi tractors and such, but currently they are not a viable solution due to high cost and lack of a fan blade that will fit our trucks.



Guess I will just have to live with that loud roar on hot days.

 

[jayhawktrailers.com]

Isn't there another fan that could be used with the horton. They will still sell you the clutch. On their website the had a fan called the windmaster I think. I never got a reply when I inquired about using it with the horton in a dodge application. I'll bet there is at least one inquiry a day a horton for this application Why don't they get a new vendor for the fan and fix our problems

 

[Huff N Puff]

Been running electric fans for the last 2years. One puller and two pushers. I use the flex lite fan controllers they seem to run the fans faster using less amps. Whats really nice is the pushers are always on with the A/C keeps the A/C really cold. I have the stats staggered with the puller coming on first,if the heat keeps rising the pushers kicking on. Note I do not tow any thing really heavy,the heaviest Ive towed is a 3500lbs slide in camper,it worked well on that trip.