electric fan

the air source for a pusher is more readily availible... i understand what you mean on the resistance deal.... but the resistance between the radiator and the fan will be different in each application... the blades of a fan, when spinning, create a vacuum on the output side of the fan, and the air in the back is pulled toward the fan because of this vacuum... with a pusher, that air that must be returned is there to be pulled in.. in a puller, there is more of a vacuum created behind the fan ("behind" meaning on the input side, "behind" the airflow) because of the higher resistance of due to the radiator, causing less air through the fan.... though, with a puller, ALL of the air being pulled through the fan IS pulled through the radiator... with a pusher, the increased pressure from the radiator will cause some air to be forced back out the sides of the fan in an outward force.... but.... the fan runs easier, and pushes a higher volume of air TO the radiator....

as i look at it now... it is a toss up.... what is better? 80% of a higher volume of air going TO the radiator.. or 100% of a lesser volume going THROUGH the radiator... i guess you can decide based on ease of installation and preference... I think if you go with a 16" fan, either way will be completely fine
 

when i get my electric fan again... even though i love the idle/low speed cooling properties of a pusher... i'm gonna install a puller just for the ease of installation
 
I really like my flex-a-lite cooling fan. This is what it looks like mounted in a 4cyl (ive wrapped the wires since). There will be much less room in the 6cyl though. It has a built-in adjustable thermostat and you can run a cutoff switch. Takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour to install and is pretty quiet with some noticeable hp gain. You can also buy individual parts to replace if one fails. Good Luck:)

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i like the flexalite... the ones at our autozone do not have the shroud, and don't pull from that great of an area.. but still work great
 

beach jeep, thats the same fan i have in my jeep, but i have a 4.0 I-6 and dont have as much room as you do. works great. the zone fan will rub holes if you do as much bouncing as my jeep does in the mud. the only way i get to get new stuff is to break old(the wife doesnt understand)! the only problem is that i cant get much more to break...we did get stuck this weekend and had to call a buddy to come and get me out, she has now decided that we need a winch, bigger fender flars, and lockers! to help us out of that problem next time. the drivers door had about 3'' of mud up the door and to the bottom of the body on the other side, talk abot high sentered! deep and soupy. but at the end of the day we had fun and you couldnt tell what color the jeep was, 4 hours latyer it was all red again.

JK
 
hey beachjeep, I am looking into a fan just like that and have a couple questions...where did you find that, I haven't seen any like that b/f....also does the original fan just come off from the water pump??? and howmuch more power did you get??
 
the original fan just unbolts right from the water pump... 10 minute job tops... 3 minutes if you have gear wrenches
 

I'm just trying to picture this, I just changed my water pump so I am familiar with that part, but the little mount the fan is on stays on the water pump?
 
Yep, pulley stays, the fan clutch and fan goes - just replace the bolts. Thats it. You get less resistance since the engine is no longer turning the blades. you do get some midrange power - unsure how much. Go to rustys online, they have it for less than 200. I paid 199.00 at summit racing.com

Definitely one of my best mods - couple it with a high flow exhaust and K&N filter and you will get a decent power boost.
 

200 bucks is pretty steep for an electric fan
 
Think the reason many fans are pullers, is the space conciderations. BMW installed many of there electric fans as pushers, many of there models, had plenty of space in front of the radiator. I had a junk yard BMW two speed pusher, in front of the radiator, for my 4.2 YJ, for years. High speed would really sing.
Having worked with pumps and air handlers of one type or another, I´ve always accepted, as an act of faith, pushing works better than pulling. For most any type of gas or liquid pumps, air movers included.
If nothing else, you got to figure, the denser and the more clean (unagitated) air a blade can grab, the better it is gonna work. And the slight vacume on the suck side of the puller, is gonna make the air a little less dense, while the radiator is bound to agitate the flow some.
One of the reasons for mounting behind the radiator, may be, to keep the blades from icing up, in certain weather conditions. Happens, used to regularly spray mine with teflon spray in the winter. The electric would vibrate pretty good, when the blades collected some ice, road crud or mud.
 

Nymisus said:
hey beachjeep, I am looking into a fan just like that and have a couple questions...where did you find that, I haven't seen any like that b/f....also does the original fan just come off from the water pump??? and howmuch more power did you get??

I got mine from Summit also. http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=FLX-475

I had the 2.5L and there was a noticeable difference in power. This was combined with other mods (removed airflow restrictor, gutted cat,dual tip plugs, and K&N drop-in) and I got 20 mpg on the highway with 32" tires. The higher price wasn't hard for me to justify, it bolted in in minutes to the factory shroud bolt holes, has a built-in adjustable thermostat, has a shroud, has an VERY low current draw, and it was designed for the wranglers so it has the correct size/CFM to cool the motor.

Yeah, it can be done cheaper, but for being able to click on a website and havit it here quick, combined with the above listed advantages, I spent the money.

here's mine:
PDRM0023JPG-1.jpg

PDRM0021JPG-1.jpg
 
what kind of wireing is done with one of those?? I think I will order one here in a bit, also, does it come with new bolts?? I only have 2 on my current shroud
 
Yes it came with bolts. I ran both hot leads to the battery and a ground to ground. E-Z. It comes with an in-line fuse, connectors, and wire (it had better for that price :wink: ).

Mine continued to run after I shut the engine off, until the engine cooled to my setting. You can wire it to shut off with the ignition instead, which wouldn't be much more difficult.

A kill switch can also be installed (for water crossings for example)

for reference, the fan I'm referring to is the flex-a-lite FLX-475
 

Refurb '90 XJ or Buy Newer One?

cool, thanks for all the tips
 
Thats what I'm talking about Twisted...simple install, replaceable parts, bolt up and no addt parts to buy like an expensive adjustable thermostat etc. I would do it again if I had to for some reason.
 
Spare Tire Relocation

I'm about to order the FLX-475 from Summit. Will I have to upgrade my alternator? It looks like it doesn't draw too much juice. Thanks!

M_J
 
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