Does anybody here have any comments or suggestions on removing the engine driven clutch fan and replacing the thing with an electric fan and shroud kit?

Looking at Flex A Lite model 183. for $350 in August 2023 USDollars (amazon)

Have you done it?
Any good?
Better fuel economy?
Is it junk?
Have a better option like maybe another brand?

Then there is this on Amazon: $300 USD (aug2023)

Had the radiator not been replaced recently, something to consider BUT how would could it effect corrosion in the engine or brittle welds... It looks awfully appealing to not have plastic tanks but it could maybe create problems down the road, if it pops or rots, OrileyZone won't have a drop in replacement.

 

That was a performance upgrade back in the day, usually following a cam swap however for keeping an engine that actually does work (towing, hauling) cool, there's a reason the factory put them there (and still does). This forum is old, do a search and you will find many threads about the subject.

 

Thank you for the replay.
The newer rams didn't switch over to electric fans? I am surprised to hear that, I suppose I hadn't been paying attention until I recently acquired this 2004.

So I take it that you do not think it is a good product for my truck.
If I ever haul a heavy load I may regret it?

I certainly want my truck to be moderately robust.

 

The newer V6's got an electric as standard, that's one of the 4th gen upgrades but the V8's still get a clutch fan. If you are shooting for more power and the ability to make your engine spin faster by shedding parasitic loads, then by all means. If you still use it a as truck somewhat regularly then it's not the best idea. Been my experience that clutch fans tend to keep temps steadier once reached.. My first experience with an electric fan car was a C3 Corvette; the temp swings were pretty wild lol.

 

My real hopes are to work towards improving mpg as I am averaging 10 but have not had a highway road trip since I hooked a trailer to it and towed my SUV home some 220 miles when my sister gave this to me, last month.

I first heard of eFan and then saw an EweTube video and thought it might be worthy to ask you guys, the seasoned experts in my eyes.
Now I am always telling people that just because some guy can make, edit, and post a video on YouTube that they know what they area talking about, nor people such as you, or myself on forums, trying to help people keep their cost down while keeping the wheels turning.

It is 179K and has been professionally maintained (over maintained) by dealership in the beginning and later by locals shops as they moved around the state. I never realized what most regular people pay towards the cost of ownership until I recently was reviewing all the records to see what has been done, when it was, and when it should be next addressed.
Perhaps off vehicle injector cleaning and o2 sensors may give me the best blast for the DIY buck.

I suppose I will have to look more at eFan before I decide whether or not to give it a try. I appreciate your vote of "look into it further.."
Cheers!

 

FWIW, my fan setup in the Ram... diesel. fans are a volvo 850 2 spd fan with controller from same car. These bolt in and on low, draw a good amount of air. Here is a link to my tests... DIY fan test chamber | Cummins Diesel Forum (cumminsforum.com) If you go this route, do not get the s-blade fans, they do not draw as much air as the other blade type (tested them both). I have never had to use the high setting, even when hauling the light loads the truck sees... (~5-6k max and not often).



find a fan with this blade type...




if you do dual fans, make sure you divide the shroud between the fans as the fans will work against each other when on. (see test data in thread). This will force each fan to pull across its half of the radiator core.

Also, if looking for mpg's... get bed seals from a ~2014 & up ram 1500, trim them so they fit from the top down to the mid body line as shown in this pic (my truck). It reduces drag on the upper half of the bed for a small gain in mpg's. (.1~.2)




You can also experiment with what I call the potato launcher mod... on my 4.7 in the Dak the 1st 15", 1.5" tube brought a lot of bottom/mid power that was not there before. I experimented with additional tubing and settled on a 12" tube so there are 2 of them, both wrapped along with the other heat sources in the engine compartment. ON your hemi (assuming its a hemi) this may or may not work, you'd need to experiment wth it. I have learned and concluded that the performance change is dependent on the intake manifold volume compared to the engines ability to pull a vacuum. the forward facing one is plumbed in on the vacuum line for the brake booster (this improved brake pedal feel and braking performance, probably because the booster is 20+ years old). The other is just tapped off a vacuum line on the manifold. I have also tried this on a jeep 3.8l engine and had great success on hiway mpg's but city suffered greatly. That is where I started reducing the size of the tube and finally got to a point where there was a good balance between power and performance. Note, if it is too big then you're at the mercy of the tune. In my case the stock tuned 4.7 suffers at 0" of manifold vacuum under certain conditions, which is where I shortened the 2nd tube.



anyways, food for thought do what you will with this info.

 

Wow Steve05RAM, thank you for sharing.

I am still perched on a fence regarding the eFan, I did hear that the straight bladed VS the S bladed that the straight pulled better. Now the divider to settle the turbulence is another great concept with a twin fan set up. I can see the loss of performance being an issue

THAT POTATO LAUNCHER
It is basically an accumulator chamber on the vacuum circuit.
Interesting that at some point it improved Hwy mpg but at a cost to City... perhaps an electric solenoid valve to turn it on (open) or off...

And the orientation, there is no reason why it couldn't be straight up and down or even remote located?

Is this your concept and experiment or did you come across the experiment and manifested your own version.
Either way I like it and thank you for sharing it with us.

Also the bed gap filler. In aviation we have control gap seals like weather strip between the wing flap, aileron, and rudder / elevator surfaces.
Many times the performance increase is quite a gain.

Now after gleaning this, my mind is swimming in ideas.
Cheers!

 

So far as I have found from my armchair is the Flex A Lite kit is likely the leader in availability and 'Plug-n-Play' ease of incorporation. I spoke with Holley after learning that they have eFans and there was no positive RAM adaptation that they offered for gen III

Other finds were a V-6 RAM or was it Durango fan adaptation, a large Mercedes installation, I think I Denso (replacement for/from a Dodge truck, PCM controlled on newer models) and some complete aluminum radiator and fan package for less than the cost of the Flex-A-lite (but I hesitate to add unknown alloy to the Dodge designed coolant and equipment balance HOAT)
(I now have all my vehicles running on Mopar 5y / 10k HOAT including my '10 Toyota FJ Cruiser and my 07' Yamaha FJR1300)

The Flex-A Lite doesn't have the straight paddle blades, I wonder why?

Brand Flex-a-lite
Voltage 12 Volts
Cooling Method Air
Compatible Devices Radiator
Maximum Rotational Speed 3300 RPM
Air Flow Capacity 3300 Cubic Feet Per Minute
Product Dimensions 21.5"L x 4.32"W x 17.5"H
(from Amazon listing)

 

Just the two sides? How about behind the cab window and/or underneath?
I wonder why none of the factory's have done?
Nowaday, they are trying to milk every additional ypg out of everything including sacrificing my Toyota engine on 0W20 oil when in any other country the recommend 5W30
(yard per gallon)

 

When I tested both types (data here in this post, DIY fan test chamber | Cummins Diesel Forum (cumminsforum.com) ) the straight blade fan won.

RE: Potato launcher mod... I've considered a solenoid but wanted it 100% automatic so I dont have to intervene at any point. I am currently experimenting with a check valve and a smaller feed line in attempt to control the flow in & out of the tube.

Orientation or location does not matter and it could be hidden if desired. I did find that they soaked heat which contributed to the temps in the intake, wrapping them provided heat soak protection and a small but noticeable change in IATs.

On the bed seal... the reason to stop at the body line indicated is if you go below that line, airflow will go right into the rear bumper and it will act as a parachute. The day I installed it (full seal to the bottom of the truck bed)I had a long downhill on the drive home (did it on the way home) and was shocked at how much drag was added. I then taped up the bumper and then had full benefit from it with reduced drag. I ultimately trimmed the seal to its current length with no tape on the gap to the bumper with seemingly the same benefit. Drag is noticeably reduced.

As I am a greedy person when it comes to performance, I also have this mod on the side of the air box, it gives an open air box when vacuum is low. It worked awesome before a resent fuel pump swap but now the whole setup needs to be re-dialed in as it works best with that valve in the open position more often. I'd closed it off right after the pump swap and was not happy with performance, bottom end torque dropped. Note... I did not reset the ecu so the performance shift is most likely from the fuel trims getting dialed back in.