e-fan installed on 4.7L
 

I installed my e-fan to my truck on Saturday. The basic outline of what I wanted/did is:

1) I wanted a cheaper alternative to the "dual-fan" setups offered by the market --- I wanted fan/controller to be under $300.
2) I wanted a new fan so I would know the performance of the fan to judge effectiveness.
3) I wanted to keep factory shroud --- new fan should mimic location of factory clutch fan.
4) I wanted minimal amp draw/maximum fan output to avoid battery/charging issues.

I purchased a Perma-Cool 18" HP fan. 2500cfm (0 static press), 10 AMP draw, 2650rpm at 14.4 vdc.
I purchased a Perma-Cool adjustable controller w/screw in temp sensor.
I had to modify the frame of the fan mount legs, bending them such that the legs came out to the shroud. I drill four 1/4" holes in the shroud to secure the fan. There is apprx. 2.5" clearance of fan blade to shroud edge and apprx 4" clearance fan to radiator.

OUTCOME:
After starting truck and letting warm (still have factory temp indicator) to normal, I slowly dialed in the controller (I have 180 deg t-stat) so I let the temp come up to previous 195 tstat temp location on gauge. The fan clicked in w/o a major draw on alternator/battery.

I let the truck run at idle for around 30 minutes to notice the fan cycle on/off several times. I then took the truck out for a short drive to watch the temp gauge for overheat indication or a problem of fan to keep up with constant heat of engine.

After two days and some good stop/go driving, I have not noticed an inability of the fan to maintain and consistent temperature of the engine. As noted above, I set the controller so that idling the truck will get apprx 195 degrees but driving along, the temp comes lower ... this was to prevent the need of the fan to stay on or cycle while driving --- incoming air would be sufficient say above 15-20 mph. So far -- so good ... this methodology is working well.

PERFORMANCE:
Engine at start up is so much more quiet.
Engine idle is much more stable (had battery disconnected during install so idle jury is out --- may be PCM learning curve).
Engine revs nicely --- quick tap on accelerator results in quick tap of RPM. The RPM drop down is nicer as well --- not a lingering RPM as before.

On the road, the "butt-o-meter" senses a nicer take-off from stop (manual tranny) w/o the lug down previously right at full clutch engage. I find a lower RPM take-off (normal driving) is smoother. Climbing RPM and through the gears, the RPM is smoother and without the clutch fan "swoosh" ... smoother RPM take-up/drop-down seems to make shifting smooter as well (again, normal driving). Between 35-55mph, the engine is very quiet and the RPM "seems" a tad lower by 100rpm or so but this could be in my head. Throttle response is 3rd/4th gears is much improved. I can move 35-50mph in 4th much quicker than with the clutch fan.

Being a little more aggressive with the accelerator, I find the throttle response much, much better. I still want to open the engine rpm a little with headers and cam later but take-up 2500-3500rpm is quick. Put this with the better shifting of the gears and my quad-cab has some get up an go.

I still have not put this thru the testing that I feel totally comfortable with my job --- I need to hook-up my horse trailer and roll with it for a couple hundred miles and do some stop/go with it hitched. This will give me my comfort factor I am looking for.

I will put together some pics later today if the sun is bright enough to get good ones.

nice writeup. 2500cfm should be plenty. got prices?

This is probably the next thing I want to do. I hear nothing bad about it. After installing my temp gauge sitting in traffic at a dead stop when its 113 out side you can watch the temp rise higher and higher. Normally the operating temp was around 203-204 and just sitting there waiting to merge for a 4 lane 8 car accident, I watched the temp just keep on rising to about 227 by the time I got through it all. After though it went right back down to 204 and stayed there all the way home.

Glad to hear that you are liking your e-fan. For me personally, the e-fan conversion has been one of my favorite mods.

xfee - the fan was 149.99 and the controller 76.99 ... w/shipping less than $240 from JEG's.

ORT - it is probably the best mod I have invested in. Consider that for a manual tranny the clutch fan was "non-thermal" and thus operated strictly on a friction basis (RPM). Each time I changed gears the lowering of the rpm would cause fan to engage more ... this is easy to tell by the great "swoosh" sound during each rev-up at gear change interval. I have not calculated mpg just yet, I want the computer to re-learn everything.

UPDATE: Have taken the truck about town quite a bit. Mostly stop and go --- no overheat issues. Temps outside have been from 92-98 degrees with humidity very high.

Today, took the truck for a little 2hour round trip run on the highway. Temps were 90-93 degrees, humidity high. The highway run was very good and when we stopped at a rest area, the fan came on for awhile but shut down as usual (I have the fan controller hooked hot to the battery). I am running the truck in a normal way now.

Have not clocked the mileage yet but looking at the overhead (I run it between oil changes) my average has not changed.

rovman

sweet, im looking at this upgrade as well, hey teach how much does your taurus E-fan pull? i had some Derale electric fans from summit and they pulled 50amps, but at the time i was looking for the cheapest thing with the most output and they pulled 4,000 CFM and the taurus on high is pretty close at 3800 right? i know i dont need the much just nice to know its there thanks for the info rovman sry for the thread hijack

i want one, have yet to pull the trigger.

rovman you should probably do a hand calculation on the mileage on your next tank. I'm not sure how the avg. is calculated on the overhead, but if it includes all the miles since the last reset then it's probably gonna take awhile before it goes up any due to the e-fan.

draco the cfm numbers for the taurus fan are mostly estimations, but 3800 on high is a number I've seen quite a bit so I guess it's around there. A fan in good shape will draw around 40 amps on high and can pull up to 130 amps during startup.

any pics yet? Tow with it yet? I am interested in how it does when towing. I like the price of what you got the one at moes is like 350. I dont do any towing now, but in the future I want to get a ski boat so the fan I get has to be able to keep my truck cool when towing the boat.