Ok guys, here's my plans:
I have a e-fan from my mustang that I plan on installing. The shroud from it covers almost completely the radiator. I tend to run on the hot side already, which is part of the reason for the new fan. It is a dual speed, so I plan on running it on the slower speed and triggering it by a simple radiator-fin style sensor. At least for now.

Now, when I go towing/camping or the like, I plan on simply switching the wires to the high speed.

So, questions....
what cfm does our truck fan put out? I mean, I have overheating issued while towing at highway speeds (although, I still get 10+ mpg) and want to minimize this.

Should I eliminate the shroud areas that cover the rest of the radiator to allow it to blow through, or should I leave it covered so that it gets sucked out by the fan?

PS. I experience higher than normal temps while towing on the highway (60+ mph) especially on hills or fighting winds (camper), AND, when it's 90+ degrees out and I have the AC on and sitting in traffic.

PSS. I am hoping that this is effective enough that I can do a grille block at least in the winter, and yet have enough cooling during the summer months to beat the 90+ temps and towing with AC

 

Your truck sounds just like mine does...I've had it to multiple shops and they all seem to say, "well, nothing appears to be wrong as it's not overheating". I counter that with the fact that I can be cruising on the highway at 70mph w/ minimal hills and the truck slowly creeps past the halfway marker. About 2-3 ticks above even. Add a boat, ATV, or similar to that and the truck is at 3/4+ until the clutch fan kicks in. That does cool it...but it cannot be ideal. I think I have a jacked up radiator...but not sure.

 

Do a search in the forums for E-fan, there are several good write ups on installing one, and there are fan controllers that you can install that will control the fan speed based off temperature, whole setup usually runs about $150 and is the way to go.

 

have you checked and or changed your antifeeze - that stuff can go bad over time, make sure you are running 50/50 and the tank is full .. also try some of that additive "Water Wetter" make sure your Radiator is clean too on the outside ...

 

Too high a percentage of anti-freeze/coolant to water can cause problems also. The old "more is better" theory doesn't work with colant. IIRC concentrations over 70% (coolant) actually lower the boiling point of the mixture.

When troubleshooting cooling problems, always make sure the stock system is good. Ensure no coolant is dripping from the weep hole (if our trucks have one, IDK) of the water pump. A backflush (Prestone kit) with a chemical flush, new radiator cap, new thermostat, good belts (not shiny indicating slippage), operational stock fan, and the proper mix of coolant need to be verified. Once the vehicle is up to temp and the heater blows hot, check for any "dead" spots on the radiator with the back of your hand. Run the A/C and make sure the condensate dripping from the HVAC system onto the ground is clear. A leaking heater core or evaporator will contaminate the condensate. A bad heater core can effect cooling, a bad evaporater, not so much. If all that checks out, THEN I'd look for an aftermarket solution.

EDIT to add: If the A/C system has been re-charged with refrigerant that has dye (troubleshooting aid) a leaking evaporator will look like coolant in the condensate.

 

There are definite advantages to an E-Fan, one is that it frees up HP & torque, especially down at low RPM's where a clutch fan is very parasitic. I've seen some outlandish claims, but realistically there is about a 10 HP gain at the rear wheels.

The cooling advantage of an E-Fan is that it pulls a constant CFM no matter what speed you're driving or what your RPMs are. So again, the E-Fan shines when going at a slow rate of speed where a clutch fan isn't rotating as fast as it would at highway speeds.

I have one not only for the HP gains, but because when I hunt, especially hog hunt in the south Georgia swamps, I'll travel for long periods at very slow speeds. I also have a manual cut-off switch installed for traveling thru deep water/mud to not suck it up into the radiator fins. Haven't found myself deep enough to ever use it yet though.

You usually don't find CFM numbers on clutch fans because they are not a constant. Typically, a clutch fan pulls about 1200 CFM at 700 RPMS and will go up to about 5000-6000 CFM at 5000 RPMs.

You just gotta watch those Ford fans, I know the Mark VIII pulls something crazy like 70A on high and will not only have to be fused accordingly, but some find they need a larger alternator. Set to low, the fan draws about 45A. For all the electrical power it requires you'd think it'd pull really high CFM, but it's about 2500 on low and about 4200 on high. Never used a Mustang fan, but I'm sure you can Google the numbers on your.

My Flex-a-Lite 180 Extreme conversely pulls 18A while generating a constant 3300 CFM. I've found it to be adequate, even when I've pulled 7700# of tractor, rough cutter and trailer in the 100* heat. I do have a 180* thermostat however that gives the system a little head start on cooling over the stock t-stat.

Autozone has a controller for around $30 with probe that is identical to the ones Flex-a-Lite supplied with my fan...

 

Is anyone running an e-fan out in the southwest? I was wondering how they did in the dry/high temps we get out here. I think the e-fan would be a much better upgrade choice over a CAI for the money.

 

Dude I don't think what you described is normal for the stock cooling system. I live in miami and the truck usually stays below the center line. It might just reach the line when sitting on traffic in the middle of the adternoon.

Same goes for towing.

Are u turning off ur O/D when u tow?

 

I live in south texas and use the hhr e-fan with no issues what what ever.

 

I've said it once and ill say it again, CAI is the first upgrade that should be done. My truck loved that ****