Not to mention, the price of the 'kit' is $440.00 For that price I could install an inverter and an space heater and still spend the rest of the money on the 1-2 mpg that it might save (not that I would b/c it's a stupid idea). I was hoping to find something for about half of that. Looks like I will just search for parts, and engineer something up myself. If anyone knows of something else, I'm all ears. Thanks again for the help guys.

 

If you find a kit cheaper, that includes everything that the viper kit does, please let us know because I will jump at the chance.

 

First of all the clutch fan is filled with fluid that has a fluctuating viscoisty with temperature. So usually it is stealing only a little bit of power, not a whole bunch. Second there are two types of electric fans, helper fans and full blown cooling fans. So there is a difference. If you match up the diameter the same, they can still vary greatly on the CFMs they pull. I went with the plastic fan blade with out a clutch and I prefer it over the electric fan. The reason behind it is because I'm running a lot of electrical accessories and on a hot day that fan can draw almost up to 20 amps.

 

Do a search on viper fan upgrade, You can also use a flexalite but it doesn't pull as many cfm's.

 

I understand the difference between helper fans and cooling fans. I just wanted to put something on like what I had onmy Camaro, an electricfan that kicks on when the car gets too hot like from sitting in traffic on a hot summer day, and then is off for most of the time when the radiator gets air from going down the road or warming up. Protection when needed,allow the engine to warm up to temp quick by not haveing a constant breeze, and give a few HP's back to the engine for power and mpg.

Also, I did do some searching on this forum before I posted and read about the viscous clutch that these have and I'm very skeptical of the whole idea. If they are supposed to slipmore when it's cold and grip when it's hot (what is it filled with because thatgoes against all properties of oils and liquids), then why does the fan run just as hard at startup on a -20 day as it does after running errands on a 110 day? (I'm currently in Wisconsin, but previously lived in North Carolina)

 

an old test on a Ram that might be of interest,
but if I was to do this test again
I would use two trucks following one another
one without the fan, one stock
because the small gain (3%)
demands careful testing to get a reliable result
and even a small change in wind
can throw the result off
----
Following up on the air dam on/off MPG tests I did on Monday the 23rd,
today I did a MPG test run at a cruise-controlled 70 mph over the same stretch
of Interstate 40 without my radiator fan.

I filled up at the same gas station, set the air conditioning the same, and
the weather was nearly the same - 70-79 degrees. Today there was a 10-15 mph
wind coming from the west (more on that later).

The truck was about 4 lbs heavier because I was carrying the big 1 7/16 inch
wrench, hammer, and small 1/2 inch flare wrench I used to remove the fan
bolts.

By the Exxon gas pump I used 11.105 gallons of 87 octane.
By my (corrected) truck's odometer I went 218.5 miles.

MPG at 70 mph without the radiator fan was 19.68
Compared to 18.94 MPG on Monday's test with fan,
this represents about a 3.8% gain.

The Oztrip meter results from measuring fuel injector on-time were similar,
showing a consumption of 11.6 gallons over 218.7 miles
for a fan-less mpg of 19.34
On Monday with the fan the Oztrip had showed 18.86 mpg, or a gain of 2.5%

When I first started this test run at about 10 am, the Oztrip meter showed
surprisingly good MPG - about 20 - so I had high hopes for what fan removal
was going to do.

Unfortunately, I found that part of the gain on the southeast bound leg of the
trip was due to the 10-15 mph winds at my back.

When I turned around at Wilmington NC and headed back, the average mpg
steadily dropped as I now drove against a head wind. Looking at the Oztrip
trip computer numbers it seems I averaged 19.96 on the southeast bound drive
with the favorable tailwind, and 18.7 driving northwest with the unfavorable
headwind. This was the 1st time I had bothered to watch for what winds do to
mpg. Looks like they can raise/lower mpg by 1.6 even at a "calm" 10-15 mph
level.

As to the temperature of the coolant without the fan - it stayed very steady
at 180 degrees during the MPG test run even with the air conditioner on.

When I slowed to a stop at the end of the trip while turning back into the gas
station, the temp gauge indicated a momentary rise to about 195.

I actually took the fan off late yesterday afternoon and drove around without
it to experiment. As long as the truck kept moving the temp gauge stayed at
180. I parked the truck and let it idle for about 10 minutes. This raised
the temp gauge to about 210-220. I then put on the heater full blast to see
if this would lower the temperature back to 180. It did not - the temp stayed
the same and neither fell nor raised any more. I then drove the truck again.
Within 1 mile the temp had dropped to 200 and within another mile it was back
at 180 degrees F.

The fan on a 5.9V8 Magnum is kind of funky looking. It has 5 blades, but 2 of
them are bunched together and the other 3 are spaced out normally. There is a
stiffening wire embedded in the blades. It takes less than 15 minutes to take
this fan off, but if the fan had been made in two parts that split - you would
not have to take the big nut off the fan clutch - and the fan could be removed
in 5 minutes.

Instead of buying a 36 mm wrench {1.417 inches}, I cut two strips of metal
from a tin can. These strips turned out to be 0.010 inches thick. I taped
two such home-made 'shims' to the inside faces of my 1 7/16 wrench {1.4375}
which closed the opening up to 1.4375 - 0.020 = 1.4175 This worked fine to
loosen the clutch-to-waterpump nut. Make the shims 'fish hook' shaped and you
can tape them in place from the backside.

I may try to drive without the fan in city driving a bit to see what happens,
but I am carrying it with me just in case I have trouble.

I still have the Evan Cooling 'waterless' NPG coolant in my engine. This
won't boil over until 370 degrees so I have some safety factor that a normal
antifreeze would not have.

 

Hey Guys. It's been a while since I've been on the forum, but I finally found a kit to install an electric fan on the Durango.It's less than the $450 for the viper fan swap only costing $319 for the Flex-a-Lite kit. It's at www.stylinconcepts.com and just search for "electric cooling fan". I didn't buy it, but I thought someone else might like to know about it.

 

2000+ Durangos have an electric fan and the clutch fan. The electric runs when the AC is on or when it gets VERY hot. Why couldn't one add a temp switch at say 185 degrees to the stock electric fan instead of waiting on a hot situation or the AC being on. Then with the fan on coming on auto and controlled via the temp switch at 185 (assuming you already have a 180 stat) why couldn't that be all that is needed allowing the removal of the clutch fan. Think that would work instead of also using the clutch fan or instead of replacing the stocker with a Viper fan with out the clutch fan? I'd like to use what I have and just add a temp switch and take off the clutch fan if it would work. Thoughts?

IndyD

 

Ths stock e-fan we have can't do an adequate job of cooling on it's own but if you want to go the cheaper route of doing an e-fan swap then get a flexalite fan. It doesn't pull as many CFM's but will still get the job done for half the price of the viper fan upgrade.

 

I can vouch for what mean green said. When my clutch fan went out, my D was hovering around 210-220 on a given 100+ degree heat with the oem E-fan running. I know for a fact now that the factory programmed a fail-safe mode on the PCM to save the engine when it gets hot. Because when my D is running at this temperature, my performance is cut in half and MPG's sux. After replacing the clutch fan, now I am back to norm temps around 195 and D is running fine now. I agree with Indy, I would love the E-Fan to kick in much earlier, at least kickin within 5-10 degrees over operating temperature.

Now the bad's of the clutch fans, my aftermarket replacement, it is loud! very loud. It roars during cold starts and after driving a few miles, it will eventually slip and then quiet down. But when the clutch is locked, I can tell, I lost a few extra ponies when I need some power. The first replacement clutch was bad as it was locked for most of the time no matter what temp it is outside. 2nd aftermarket clutch is doing what it suppose to now. But I still don't understand as my clutch is supposed to be thermostatically controlled? If so, why is it locked when it is cold and not when it is warm?

Now I regret this replacement clutch fan as it is loud at times (cannot even have a nice quiet conversation in the cabin) and draws alot of power when it is engaged. But at least it is doing its job preventing my D from overheating. Wished I was aware of the electric fan upgrades before I bought the clutch at $100.

From the looks of the flexalite fan, it almost looks like it still can have clearance to leave the OEM E-fan in place? That would be a big bonus then as I hate to lose my OEM E-fan. I rather go with two smaller push fans in the front to supplement the back OEM e-fan. But I wonder if the D's electrical system can handle the extra amperage load?