Anyone switched to electric fans?
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opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:I have been told that they work great for daily driving but cant keep up with towing. One of my friends had a kit that came with two fans and aluminum shroud on his 98. I would imaging that there are some benefits when it comes to MPG since the stock fan can suck up a powerstroke on the way by.
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1,248 Posts
i have a 98 12v, 160* thermostat. The flex-a-lite dual fans don't stay on all the time. They only come on when the A/C pump turns on, or coolant temp has reached a determined temperature.I couldn't be happier with mine in the MI winters. Fast warm-up.
MPG Increase was very minimal at best, but no loss. I'm expecting cooler/steadier A/C this summer. As far as towing, i've towed combined 17,900 30 miles on the hiway and the truck never thought of getting hot, nor did the fans come on (that i know of, i can't hear them in the truck) Outside temp was around 50 degrees.
I can't be happier with their performance.
Curtis
MPG Increase was very minimal at best, but no loss. I'm expecting cooler/steadier A/C this summer. As far as towing, i've towed combined 17,900 30 miles on the hiway and the truck never thought of getting hot, nor did the fans come on (that i know of, i can't hear them in the truck) Outside temp was around 50 degrees.
I can't be happier with their performance.
Curtis
the fans that came off of some of the ford taurus' are really strong. I ran one in my off-road built jeep and it kept up with the slow moving of rock crawling and the heat of Texas and that was only on the low setting (jeep was running an AMC 360, so it wasnt really a small engine either). With the high setting I dont see it being a problem for our trucks, hauling or not.
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120 Posts
I have had the flex lites for almost 2 years and LOVE them they have picked up mpg for sure no robbing of hp when pulling and I still run the same temps racing or pulling. Also heats up quicker in the winter time James
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565 Posts
I don't see any way mine turns on and off by water temp. I could be wrong, but my fan is always on. And if you think about it, shouldn't it be always on cooling the intake air through the intercooler?
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565 Posts
Now that I recall, my fan is on all the time and it moves A LOT of air. This morning I took a sprayer nozzle to my radiators/intercooler to remove stuff that might be plugging it. I thoroughly blasted them out. After doing this I didn't realize the amount of water in all the cooling fins. Well, I started the truck, and as soon as it fired it instantly sucked in all that water. I mean right now! I didn't think that fan had that much suction! It sprayed water all over the engine compartment within one second of firing. It was pretty amazing actually at how much suction or CFM that fan has.
But anyway, yeah it operates the same, cold or hot. At least on my truck.
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1,248 Posts
Your factory fan should NOT operate the same as if cold or hot.
The factory fan isn't hooked directly into the cooling system, it has a thermostat mounted on it and as the air in the engine compartment (at idle) gets hot enough it locks up a clutch inside and turns the fan on full boar. As your moving down the road the fan does NOT have to be on to keep the intercooler cool, the air force from speed does plenty, as well as the hot air that is moving through radiator does the same as described above.
Elec fans are much better than manual fans, unless you're towing well over your vehicles gvw.
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34 Posts
where do u get a kit for our trucks at? and how much do they cost? would be a nice investment for down the road seems like.
Brian
Brian
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120 Posts
check out Flex-a-lite Consolidated Performance Products its where I got mine around the 500 mark James
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271 Posts
The spring in the stock clutch fan tightens as it encounters heat from the air that passes through the inter cooler and rad.
I can hear mine cut in and out as I climb a steep grade. So it is working fine.
When starting a cold engine the fan begins engaged and then you hear it go silent as the clutch releases it.
This is normal operation.
When buying a new fan clutch there are three duty levels. Light, medium, heavy.
If you use the Heavy duty it will run in the engaged mode more often than not.
Sounding like a blinking airplane prop.
The fan being set at such a high pitch it is not meant to run constant.
I prefer the light duty. Free wheels most of the time and engages only when rad temperatures increase.
I can hear mine cut in and out as I climb a steep grade. So it is working fine.
When starting a cold engine the fan begins engaged and then you hear it go silent as the clutch releases it.
This is normal operation.
When buying a new fan clutch there are three duty levels. Light, medium, heavy.
If you use the Heavy duty it will run in the engaged mode more often than not.
Sounding like a blinking airplane prop.
The fan being set at such a high pitch it is not meant to run constant.
I prefer the light duty. Free wheels most of the time and engages only when rad temperatures increase.
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7,953 Posts
i run the Flex-a-lite fans and they are nice.....i don't think any HP or MPG was gained but all in all a nice set-up
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the flex a lite web site shows models available for our applications -
94 - 02 year models - 262 Dodge Cummins Diesel
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03 - 08 year models - 264-diesel
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94 - 02 year models - 262 Dodge Cummins Diesel
03 - 08 year models - 264-diesel
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19 Posts
Will the flex a lite fan cool enough for towing in south Florida in august?
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