I have had this van for a couple of weeks now. I knew when I bought it that the fan clutch needed to be replaced. After searching through this forum I learned about the e-fan conversions that people were doing. And with the proclaimed benefits of better mpg and smoother driving, I looked into the cost. The flexalite was more than I wanted to spend so I checked ebay. I found a Procomp 16" fan with thermostatic controller for $54 (this controller will control up to 2 fans, 25amp max combined). This is the same price as a fan clutch. So I ordered it.

I started this project Saturday afternoon because i thought it would only take a couple of hours. I was there until sunset trying to get the fan clutch off. I could not get the fan clutch nut to budge. According to the Haynes manual, there is a tool available at "most" part stores that will attach to the holes in the water pump pulley to hold it while you loosen the nut. None of the stores in town have it. After wasting half of a day, on Sunday, I decided to remove the water pump and take the whole assembly out of the van so I could work on it. After another hour of trying to get this nut off, I started calling part stores to find a water pump with the pulley attached. Autozone was the only one in town that did, and it was only $45.

Now it is Sunday afternoon, I have the new water pump with pulley installed. I begin to removed the radiator to mount the fan. I drained it, removed hoses and bolts. I then realized that you can not pull it out as easily as Haynes reports. Not to mention that it is a lot heavier than it looks. So I put a couple of jack stands under it and leaned it back to gain access to the front. Mounting the fan only took 5 minutes.

At this point the sun was gone, I have my shop light out, and I can see the finish line. All I have left to do is refill the radiator and wire up the fan. After refilling the radiator and running the engine for a few minutes, I noticed a small hole in the upper radiator hose. At this point, I don't even know if the fan works. So I decided to go ahead and wire it up to make sure I have not wasted the whole weekend. To my relief, it worked.

Monday morning arrived, and I had to take the day off from work to finish. Went to get a new hose, and realized it was wrong when I got home. So I decided to take the old one off and take it with me to get the right one. Then I realized that I can't physically get to the clamp that holds it on. Haynes completely ignored this in the manual. I had to remove the A/C compressor to get to it. And I had to cut the clamp off because it was turned to a position that I still couldn't get to. But I finally was able to replace the hose. Now it is after noon and I am about to take the newly converted van on it's first drive post project.

I was amazed by the difference. There is substantial increase in pickup. The transmission shifts much smoother, and the ride is much, well, smoother. The fan cycles on at about 190*. The temp gauge has not gone past half-way, and while driving, it stays at about the 1/4 mark.

I highly recommend that if anyone else is thinking of doing this, just buy a new water pump with pulley. You can complete this in one afternoon.

 

I have been able to wedge a pry bar between the water pump and crank pulleys to help remove the fan clutch. Great care must be taken if attempting this for if done wrong damage can result such as bending the crank pulley. I wish I had bought the tool you mentioned from a local auto parts store when they retired it, oh well. Now I can get the wrenches but not it. If I had an adjustable spanner wrench that would work as well.

Be interesting to see how this fan works in the middle of summer. IMO it is small for the size of the radiator, not sure it will cool well.

 

The Procomp is the same size and cfm as the Flex-a-lite Black magic x, that everyone else recommends for this vehicle. I haven't seen an electric fan larger than 16". I thought about going with 2 14" fans, but I don't think they will fit.

 

The thing to keep in mind is that a fan is not needed when moving 35 MPH and up. At those speeds, the movement of the vehicle itself forces sufficient air through the radiator to properly cool everything. That being said, the fan only has to provide enough cooling for low end duties, which also produce less engine heat. Another thing to consider is the fan RPMs. With a mechanical fan it might only be turning at 1000 RPMs at idle, while an electric fan might be turning at 2000 RPMs, as an example. In such a case, the electric fan need not be as large as the mechanical one to achieve the same CFM of air flow through the radiator.

 

Good point, I may do this mod as well. I do end up driving in heavy traffic as slow speeds more often then I care for.

 

I am curious to know if one can discard the factory plastic fan shroud when retrofitting the 16' electric. It sure would be nice to get rid of that annoying thing!

WayneS, did you keep your factory fan shroud on?

 

My intentions were to leave it in place. But once I got the top half out, which was nearly impossible, it was going to be way too much trouble to put back in. I did leave the bottom half in because I think it partially blocks road splashes from getting to the front of the engine.

 

Gotcha, thanks. So from an airflow point of view the shroud is no longer needed with the electric fan. If I do the conversion I'm going to burn my shroud, both halves, in my fire pit. I might even do a little dance while it burns.

 

Just an FYI, some plastics release a deadly cyanide gas when burned. PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC) commonly used in plumbing pipes and electrical conduits is one of them.

 

removed my shroud a LONG time ago and have never had a problem - I live in NC and have never heated up past the first line at a long red light - w/ the ac running. My temp normally runs between the C and the first line.

as for removing the fan / clutch assembly. If you have a stock fan, the pump pully has 4 bolts on it that hold something on the back of the pully like a balancer maybe... anyway, to easily remove the fan, put a long handled wrench on one of the pully bolts and block it with a big screw driver or hammer / whatever u got handy, use a pipe (monkey) wrench on the fan nut, its about 1 1/2", and you turn it counter clockwise facing the motor - do it from the bottom so you can use your weight and hold onto something.

For a complete pump r&r - you will have to take the alt off, unbolt the ac comp and suspend it ( I use zip ties in the front, and tie a rope around it from the inside of truck and tie off to the steering wheel), now you can easily remove the big mounting bracket from front of engine so you can get to the top pump hose - go ahead and replace it, its only about $1 at advance or autozone. Remove the pump bolts and get the pump loose before you try to pry the top pipe off... I just use a sharp knife and cut the top hose at this point. If they are stock, they WILL be melted to the hose pipe on front of motor and to the pipe on the pump as well.
keep in mind when I say top hose on the water pump, I do NOT mean the top coolant hose from the radiator.