Gonna fit an electric radiator fan to the first gen cos the oil clutch has finally packed in on the original fan/windmill. Can anyone recommend a good one and a suitable size for a standard 12a. It seems Kenlowe have earned a good name for themselves but are typically more costly as a result. Would consider second hand if anyone has a suitable used one to spare.
Forgot to mention, decided to hold on to the first gen after having no offers on the sale. Looks like we were meant to be together :InLove
Ashamed I even considered parting with her :Nono!
Plan is to keep the car as original as possible with a few engine and suspension mods (decent zorst, dumpy muffler, weber, street/bridge port when money allows, and LOW :cool ).
Cooling is the be all and end all,get the best you can bud !!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY YOU ARE KEEPING THE BABY..............:D :cool
Dominic, it is good to see that you have seen the light and decided to keep the old lady. My Gen 1 Elford Turbo is fitted with a Kenlowe fan, and I would recommend that is the one fit, it may be expensive, but so is replacing the old engine due to it getting to hot.
Regards
Took the plunge and forked out around £160 for a 16" Kenlowe automatic fan (the biggest one they do!). Fits a treat on the standard rad and has freed up a load of space in front of the engine.
I think the old engine driven fan must have been completely mullered because the throttle response is WAAAAY better now. Blip the go pedal and the revs pop up far quicker than with the engine driven fan. She\'d sounding much better too. Havent driven her properly yet but I reckon several horses have been released, inadvertantly pulled a huge wheelspin when moving her up the driveway:Laugh I think the old engine driven fan must have been properly siezed, it certainly didn\'t stop or slow down after startup or when the engine was cool. Hopefully i\'ll get a few more mpg\'s too.
Verdict: Fit one
Will post pics sometime.
Hmmm, dont think mine ever stops either. Perhaps I\'ll invest too. 16" you say eh? How was it to fit?
Quote from: Don PamponiHmmm, dont think mine ever stops either. Perhaps I\'ll invest too. 16" you say eh? How was it to fit?
Pull out the windmill and fit one I say. Yup 16" fits perfectly with about half an inch to spare. Easy to fit just unbolt the old windmill and shroud, fit Kenlowe with ratchet pulls that go through radiator fins, connect up thermo control unit, wire up to battery and ignition. Everything you need is provided with exception of 30A inline fuse. Took me most of the day to fit but that was mainly due to the fact it wouldn\'t stop raining. Got mine from Demon Tweeks (think they need to order them in though). Make sure you specify the suction type fan if you are mounting it between the rad and the engine.
Pacet do cheaper similar units but build quality not as good, nor performance.
Having fitted the fan, fuel consumption has definately improved. Power seems to be better too, this is probably due in part to the reduced resistance on the engine but also because its running a bit hotter now.
As the old fan was permanently engaged, the engine temp was cool at about 1/3 of the way up the dashboard temp gauge. With the new setup, the engine is definately running hotter (needle approx 1/2 way up temp gauge) and the fan comes on after coming to a halt and idling for approx 1 minute then goes off after approx 30 seconds.
Could anyone advise if this is the normal position for the temp gauge or am I running too hot :confused:
i would set it so it comes on a little less than half but to be honest the stock gauge is old and they are all a little different. Mine is running a little warm at 1/2 way up.
It would be well worth fitting a water temp gauge. You want the fan to come on at about 88 - 90 degrees i would say. Even if you take the gauge off once you have set it up.
If you are looking for some bits, i have a full Racing Beat Exhaust engine back which is in very good nick, that will release some horses. You can come and see it or hear if you like as its still on the car.
Quote from: DominicHaving fitted the fan, fuel consumption has definately improved. Power seems to be better too, this is probably due in part to the reduced resistance on the engine but also because its running a bit hotter now.
As the old fan was permanently engaged, the engine temp was cool at about 1/3 of the way up the dashboard temp gauge. With the new setup, the engine is definately running hotter (needle approx 1/2 way up temp gauge) and the fan comes on after coming to a halt and idling for approx 1 minute then goes off after approx 30 seconds.
Could anyone advise if this is the normal position for the temp gauge or am I running too hot :confused:
Its normal for what you are seeing...the viscous fan blows so much air over the motor that it keeps al and sundryl cool,with the electrics it just seems that its all to hot .No probs,half way on the stock temp guage is only about 80 C.....no panic.I run VDO and stock gauge just to be sure.:guinness
if you bought a kenlowe, did you get the adjustable thermotatic switch with it?? then you can set it to come on at any desired temperature. I run an electric fan on mine, I rarely need to use it, even in the hot summer temps only after sat it traffic for more than 5 minutes do I turn it on, and it soon cools back down after 30secs or so, I think they have a fairly efficient cooling system and you need to keep the temp up to spec for the best fuel consumption and performance...
Thanks for the replies folks....
The fan does have the thermostatic control which I have set to come on as suggested in the instructions. I dont want to set the fan to come on any cooler because 1) the fan will come on when the car is moving 2) it will invalidate the warranty because the fan will be on too much.
I\'ve got an old temp gauge lying around so i\'ll temporarily fit that and see what temps she\'s running at. If too hot I\'ll take a look at the thermostat.
Ant, I\'m interested in your racing beat exhaust, ideally though i\'m looking for a long primary system. Is yours collected or long primary?
The system is seperated right down the length of the car, it doesnt join untill it reaches the back box. It has 2 slim mid silencers (1 for each pipe) and chrome tail pipes. There is no rust on it at all and the rear box is still has its original black paint. the two headers are huge, they must be 2" in diameter. I tried to find the system on the racing beat web site but i couldnt. Here is a picture of the headers though.
Perfect, that\'s just the job. Was looking into building up a DIY system to save some money but always liked the Racing Beat option.
How much do you want for it? If you prefer, PM me or send me an email: dom100@hotmail.com
Cheers
Dom
dominic, did you have any problems with overheating before fitting the fan?
Thinking about getting one as i think my viscous is fubared and she gets warm when you go over 110 for more than 2 secs which is not good!
Mark
if you want a cheap adjustable thermo-switch talk to these guys....
http://www.nfauto.co.uk/cbs_products_new.htm
have a look through the pages....
also there fans are fantastic so im told. Cheap too......
I have a thermo switch on mine...works a treat!
Thanks, did you drill and tap a hole in the rad for the thermo switch?
Mark
no need with the NFauto one.
Its not threaded....its a very fine wire with sensor on the end. You can put it into your top hose and clamp it in place with the jubilee clip holding the top hose onto the radiator.
Steve
you can see from this picture.....£24.50 is a bargain!
http://www.nfauto.co.uk/cooling_fans.htm
(http://www.nfauto.co.uk/images/fan_stat.gif)
Quote from: mpk490pdominic, did you have any problems with overheating before fitting the fan?
Thinking about getting one as i think my viscous is fubared and she gets warm when you go over 110 for more than 2 secs which is not good!
Mark
Mark, I had no probs with overheating whatsoever, if fact, because the fan clutch was mullered, the engine was running too cool due to the fan constantly turning at high speed. It made loads of noise and robbed power so fitting the electric fan was an alternative to repairing the fan clutch mechanism. I also wanted to tidy up the engine bay a little because the big shroud duct associated with the normal fan is a bit annoying...
It may be worthwhile checking your thermostat first, and the other components of the cooling system. You can check the standard engine driven fan with a stroboscope by getting the engine up to normal operating temperature and at 4200 rpm the fan should be doing approx 1400 rpm.
I do find the engine runs quite a bit hotter now (haven\'t set up a proper temp gauge yet so dont know what she\'s running at) but I think it\'s closer to what it should be. Before fitting the fan the temp needle on the dashboard used to be about 1/3 of the way up and very rarely went above this, now it runs about 1/2 way up the scale and goes up a bit at slow speeds/in traffic. The fan comes on after sitting for about a minute or so and sometimes when pushing hard. I think a more efficient/bigger radiator would be a good next step in combination with the electric fan.
No need to make hole in rad for thermo sensor with Kenlowe fans either, same system as NF auto through top hose.
Dom
if its overheating at 110 ... are you REALLY sure it is the fan thats at fault.
110mph air is going to be doing the majority of the cooling, cooling fans are for cooling at slow speeds. we\'ve run rally cars with manual fan switches and they are only ever used when stationary or when going sideways round muddy whites at slow speeds/high revs :Giggle
It just points to antother problem IMHO so a fan might be a waste of money that could be spent on the real problem.
have you tried it without the mesh in the front grille ?
i thought i had solved it with the fan belt but it could be the grill, the nose is coming off soon to be repainted so i will take the grill out and try that, shame i liked the look, to be fair the car is fine when i sit in traffic, think i was just looking for another answer when i knew all along it was the grill!
found a good 16" fan on ebay though £45 postage item number 110047960066
Thanks
Mark