HHR fan/Derale controller installed
Hey guys, had a beautiful day here today and when I woke up this morning I went outside to mess with my clutch fan...I sprayed some WD-40 on it and messed with an allen wrench for a while to try to lock the water pump pulley but I couldn't get it to work. I ended up holding my wrench up straight and wacking it with a BFH and the threads of the nut loosened on the second hit. So since I got my clutch fan off, I couldn't resist waiting to install my e-fan.
Installation was pretty easy..my biggest concern was mounting it in there without moving and having the fan's connector clear the water pump. I ended up wiring everything and then I used six zip ties..one on each corner, one top middle, one bottom middle. I used a 5/32" drill bit to drill holes into the fan that I needed for the zip ties. There is holes on the radiator already that make this super easy and when I finished "temporarily" mounting it I realized that the fan would not even budge out of its position. I am not planning on using nuts/bolts/brackets anything to mount it since it is held up so well as is. When I first started it up, the fan DID NOT kick on and I let the temperature go up to 190 it still hadn't started. I knew that whatever I messed up was going to be easy to fix so I took the time to pop the old panel back on that the shroud connected to and put 1/2" wire loom on all wires that were exposed. I knew if I made everything look pretty I would be motivated to fix the issue before the afternoon ended. The problem ended up being the position of the 20A fuse in my little "add a fuse thing" that I put in the heated seat (switched on) fuse..weird but it fixed the issue. Fan runs fine now and I took it for a test drive and temperatures stayed where they usually do. I didn't want to bother adjusting the controller settings anyways since I am going to swap the thermostat to a 180 and replace my upper and lower radiator hoses tomorrow or Saturday. So far, so good.. P.S. I mounted the fan to the battery tray as you can see in the pictures...I took lots of pictures for you guys actually..enjoy!
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Installation was pretty easy..my biggest concern was mounting it in there without moving and having the fan's connector clear the water pump. I ended up wiring everything and then I used six zip ties..one on each corner, one top middle, one bottom middle. I used a 5/32" drill bit to drill holes into the fan that I needed for the zip ties. There is holes on the radiator already that make this super easy and when I finished "temporarily" mounting it I realized that the fan would not even budge out of its position. I am not planning on using nuts/bolts/brackets anything to mount it since it is held up so well as is. When I first started it up, the fan DID NOT kick on and I let the temperature go up to 190 it still hadn't started. I knew that whatever I messed up was going to be easy to fix so I took the time to pop the old panel back on that the shroud connected to and put 1/2" wire loom on all wires that were exposed. I knew if I made everything look pretty I would be motivated to fix the issue before the afternoon ended. The problem ended up being the position of the 20A fuse in my little "add a fuse thing" that I put in the heated seat (switched on) fuse..weird but it fixed the issue. Fan runs fine now and I took it for a test drive and temperatures stayed where they usually do. I didn't want to bother adjusting the controller settings anyways since I am going to swap the thermostat to a 180 and replace my upper and lower radiator hoses tomorrow or Saturday. So far, so good.. P.S. I mounted the fan to the battery tray as you can see in the pictures...I took lots of pictures for you guys actually..enjoy!
IMAG0679.jpg
IMAG0675.jpg
IMAG0674.jpg
IMAG0673.jpg
IMAG0678.jpg
IMAG0677.jpg
IMAG0676.jpg
IMAG0672.jpg
IMAG0671.jpg
IMAG0670.jpg
IMAG0669.jpg
Last edited by 06Dak4.7Silver; May 31, 2012 at 07:08 PM.
I'm thinking it might be a worthwhile investment to either clip the hhr connector and add a weather proof one, or get the hhr end. I noticed water puddles in there, even though doesn't get soaked it does oxidize the connector really bad, mine is already filled with green flaky stuff from the copper oxidation. If I keep the hhr fan with the hemi in there, I will get the HHR end as a permanent solution.
But otherwise nice job! Glad you got that clutch fan off, yea the allen wrench thing was hard but I did end up getting lucky enough to have it hold. Glad you did it this way though.
But otherwise nice job! Glad you got that clutch fan off, yea the allen wrench thing was hard but I did end up getting lucky enough to have it hold. Glad you did it this way though.
That is what I'm going to do once I start my new job. I hate having those gold-plated quick disconnects on the terminals but for now they will do. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to some things and I definitely want the HHR fan's connector to protect the connection and make the install look much cleaner/OEM worthy..thank you man!
That is what I'm going to do once I start my new job. I hate having those gold-plated quick disconnects on the terminals but for now they will do. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to some things and I definitely want the HHR fan's connector to protect the connection and make the install look much cleaner/OEM worthy..thank you man!

Im planning on redoing my entire custom harness, removing some wires, and a spare relay maybe my front 55W lights, and finish wiring my backup camera in. I also have new ideas for it, and how to power them.
Im thinking of having a Alum. Mount plate (For Pass side where Airbox was) made up to mount the relays to, Fuse Block, Power Dist and my Derale Once its installed.
How hard was the clutch fan to remove, I might have my mech just do it when It goes in for something like a oil change.
Dielectric grease is great stuff..I use it on tuneups as well and on battery terminals. I bet backup cameras are a blast to set up, the worst part being having to run wire the length of the bed to get back there. Are you going to use the HHR fan as well? Any questions feel free to P.M. me..I definitely recommend mounting it the way I did if the pictures make sense. It is rock solid in there! Did some more WOT pulls today and holy sh*t, I thought she was quick before...wow!
Edit: the clutch fan..I wasted some time on it but in the end it was really simple. I got annoyed and went back to the basics..sprayed WD40 on it (and also sprayed some a few days before), stuck the wrench on there and jabbed it with a hammer. The nut surprisingly loosened. It wasn't luck, there just wasn't a lot of rust on it.
Edit: the clutch fan..I wasted some time on it but in the end it was really simple. I got annoyed and went back to the basics..sprayed WD40 on it (and also sprayed some a few days before), stuck the wrench on there and jabbed it with a hammer. The nut surprisingly loosened. It wasn't luck, there just wasn't a lot of rust on it.
Last edited by 06Dak4.7Silver; Jun 2, 2012 at 01:10 AM.
Dielectric grease is great stuff..I use it on tuneups as well and on battery terminals. I bet backup cameras are a blast to set up, the worst part being having to run wire the length of the bed to get back there. Are you going to use the HHR fan as well? Any questions feel free to P.M. me..I definitely recommend mounting it the way I did if the pictures make sense. It is rock solid in there! Did some more WOT pulls today and holy sh*t, I thought she was quick before...wow!
Edit: the clutch fan..I wasted some time on it but in the end it was really simple. I got annoyed and went back to the basics..sprayed WD40 on it (and also sprayed some a few days before), stuck the wrench on there and jabbed it with a hammer. The nut surprisingly loosened. It wasn't luck, there just wasn't a lot of rust on it.
Edit: the clutch fan..I wasted some time on it but in the end it was really simple. I got annoyed and went back to the basics..sprayed WD40 on it (and also sprayed some a few days before), stuck the wrench on there and jabbed it with a hammer. The nut surprisingly loosened. It wasn't luck, there just wasn't a lot of rust on it.
Mine will most likely be rusted to hell lol
The Camera wasnt that hard to run to the back, since I can fit under most of the truck (on the ground). Well could not so much with the running boards on.
Last edited by Reject; Jun 2, 2012 at 11:20 AM.
Installed NAPA 180 T-stat along with new upper and lower radiator hoses from Rock Auto and a Goodyear Gatorback belt. Drained all coolant and filled with an extended life coolant that is used on buses/trucks. It is like Dex-cool but its red and was free..anyways this is where my temperature gauge sits now (mid 180's to low 190's).
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That's my last performance mod..other than a Magnaflow y-pipe which I want to do at some point
everything else is just maintenance from here on. Truck runs beautiful. If it was a motor that was more mod-able then things would be MUCH different!
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That's my last performance mod..other than a Magnaflow y-pipe which I want to do at some point
everything else is just maintenance from here on. Truck runs beautiful. If it was a motor that was more mod-able then things would be MUCH different!


