heres the story, 2004 dakota quad cab 4.7 etc etc etc.

Has the stock factory electric fan in it, but i want to get rid of the belt driven clutch fan. Have this fan from a jeep cherokee

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/dcc-cbg4f250

I believe my truck to still have the 195* thermostat, do I need to get the 180* if i do not plan on running a fan controller? I plan to just plug and play with the fan because I already have the stock e fan, along with the clutch fan, so the bigger E fan should be sufficient enough to cool off the motor, correct?

It should also be more reliable than some aftermarket controller, that from my research can either work great or fail miserably from what i have read. The PCM should be more reliable than the aftermarket (flex-a-lite, etc) right?


also my temp gauge on the cluster does not have numerical markings, and i cannot find any information on which lines mean what. From reading the manual i believe 260 degrees to be the "HOT" zone. My needle never goes above half way on the factory gauge.

heres a very ghetto rigged computer drawing of what my gauge looks like, the 'i' is where my temp usually sits

\......l......i........l....../

 

I personally have a 98 with the 5.2L so I am not 100% on your temp situation but here are several things that my research has come up with.

Mounting of the new fan might require fab work, and a new/custom shroud. You can always run a fan without one but to be truly efficient it should always have one.

I have always ran a 180* Tstat, Ive tried both and get the same mpg so if I can run my engine cooler I always do.

I would personally run a controller, there are a lot of different ones and if you get a quality one you shouldn't have to worry about it. "You get what you pay for" applies to almost everything in the automotive world!

Not running a controller could cause user error and when your not paying attention for 5-10 seconds and you could overheat and cause damage to many different things under the hood. But to each their own! Not trying to put you down or anything, just going off of different threads that I have read on numerous sites.

If you do go through with this then please report back and post a thread of the "build" and lots of pics along the way!

 

RollerRed -- thanks!

for the fit, i will wind up fabbing something just using some brackets and mounts from a hardware store most likely, i need to see what the measurements will be once I slip it down there. I believe the stock shroud will work with this fan, it seems it will fit right back on once I get the clutch fan out.

Any reccomendations for a decently priced efficient controller? I've just heard about the flex-a-lite model that can be great or ****.

P.s. i have a build thread! https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ast-build.html

 

I cant say I know of on off hand. But My personal opinion is one that fits into your drain plug. Or one that is in your coolant. A submerged one would be moderately priced and work well.
Also one that you can customize the temp is best, I am having a hard time finding one that turns on at 190 and off at 180.

 

Shanker: like Red i have a 98 5.2. I read up on thread for months before i finally decided to do my swap. The best E-fan that put out the best CFM was a electric fan off a Chevy HHR. (from rockauto.com) I have a 180 stat and the fan does great with my set up. Now i thought like you when it came to the controller side. I thought well ill just keep a toggle and ill know and remember every time>>>..... Wrong, i popped my radiator cap. I quickly went to summit and got this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hda-3647/overview/

 

Mopar2108:
What year did you get the fan off of the Chevy HHR? Or does it even matter?
Also did you get one for a 2.2 or 2.4?
How did you bolt it up?

 

I don't mean to disagree but I must; I'm sure it worked for you I suppose but Down here in Texas where the Humidity is high and the heat is even higher the HHR fan fell flat on it's face. I had tried one rigged up just like everyone else did same mounting and everything. (I have a thread some where on it) if i remember correctly it barley kept the truck decent enough with no AC. Even on the most moderate of days; if you turn the AC on your SOL. Sitting in Traffic forget about it.

My cooling system works good; no issues there.. a little warm with AC on but yeah. AC adds heat to the incoming already hot air.. and in my region the HHR fan did not do well at all. I sold it to a guy that is up north; sure he had better luck with it than I did.

So for my region the better one that actually kept the truck at a decent temp even with AC on was the Jeep Recall Fan.

I had it rigged up on my stock shroud and worked pretty well. Sitting in traffic in really hot day high humidity with AC running she would climb up to around or just under 210 but never seen it go over.. so for me it works better.

When i did the rag test as well I can assure you the LIberty fan (which is 19" across I think) pulled alot more air than the HHR fan.

Remember; the HHR fan is designed for a little Aluminum block 4 banger; the Liberty Fan (AuX/AC fan) is designed for use on a 4.0/4.0 HO motor which generates about the same heat as a 5.2L>> The rag would not stay on the grill or condenser when put flat; vs. the Jeep fan it would suck right on and stay there.. thus showing the Jeep fan pulls the most air and better bang for the buck.

Even my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee ad its clutch removed and only the Electric fan on it and acted the exact same way as my truck did with it on.

Personally I want to upgrade my Rad to the rad from a newer model that pushes the Rad further forward; and then that will open up room for me to put my Jeep fan between the rad and the Clutch fan. being i will be doing lots of towing of my boat and I want the e-Fan just for the AC and added cooling ability of it in combination of the clutch fan. The difference on drag for my truck even with the clutch fully engaged vs with out is very minimal; and i can power through it anyways.

So in conclusion; if you live in an area that gets really high humidity and higher temps (Like 90-100's) i would go with the Jeep recall fan over the HHR fan anyday.

Here is a link to my thread on the Jeep fan.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...fan-setup.html

 

I totally agree with you JON. You need to use what works best for you in your environment. I personally have had no trouble out of my HHR fan and i believe the spec CFM was 3000? dont quote me on that though. We push low 100's this month here and i dont have any issue, but i have lived in Texas for a while also so i know that heat also! lol Also when i was doing mine, i read about the recall jeep fan, HHR fan, and also the Lincoln mark II fan were the best choices over the anything else. (Flexalite, ETC)
My HHR fan came from the 08 2.4L Part # 620951 . I mounted mine by just setting it up there and making a fab mount where it sat best.
I hope all this helps you make your choice, Also i use wetter water in all my flushes and what not and i do tell a difference, i keep a pretty close eye on temp with a ODBII reader since the amount of mods on my truck(I'd hate to waste what ive put into it already)

 

I know this goes against convention but I live up in Connecticut and run my '04 4.7 quad cab without the clutch fan and just the stock e-fan. I believe I have a 180* thermostat in there but I'm not sure, but no other modifications required. This past week was a hot one and I have the same gauge as you do, mine ran one dot (using your scale in your original post) to the right of yours when it was 95+* with the A/C on full blast for about an hour long ride. I do constantly keep an eye on my temp when the weather gets warm but I've been running this way since last summer without any problems.

 

Well yeah the North East think they have had a heat wave* well heat wave in relation to normal temps;;; come to Texas and you'll find out what a heat wave is when it hits.. LOL JK

Anyways yeah.. that's gonna happen; lost of people run with just that on that engine; cools alot easier than the Cast Iron 5.2L's.. I would say so long as on the hottest of days in traffic (Parking lot on the free way kinda stuff) your truck maintains around 210 or less and no warmer then your fine. If you find your self going over 210 and it cant keep the truck cooler than your in trouble.

210 is at the top of my scale.. personally.. I dont even want to get that point but its bound to happen in traffic on the hottest of hot days.. once you get over 210 your gonna accelerate temp in a hurry.

Hopefully you understand what im saying= and trying to get at.