Adding an AC Condenser Fan V8

[TejasRunner01]

Hey everyone,

I’m looking into adding an AC condenser fan to my 08 V8. I recently had the AC rebuilt with Denso parts, and it is decently cool but it leaves much to be desired during slow movement/traffic in this Texas heat. I took it back to the shop to have them hook up to their snap on AC machine, and no refrigerant needed to be added so no leaks after a month (a relief). Also within the past 1000 miles I installed an Aisin fan clutch so I know the fan clutch is pushing good air through.

I am interested to hear if any of you have added a GX470 AC condenser fan like they come with from the factory or an equivalent AC condenser fan. Your long term results and opinion would be super helpful.

Thanks!

 

[y=mx+b]

Hey everyone,

I’m looking into adding an AC condenser fan to my 08 V8. I recently had the AC rebuilt with Denso parts, and it is decently cool but it leaves much to be desired during slow movement/traffic in this Texas heat. I took it back to the shop to have them hook up to their snap on AC machine, and no refrigerant needed to be added so no leaks after a month (a relief). Also within the past 1000 miles I installed an Aisin fan clutch so I know the fan clutch is pushing good air through.

I am interested to hear if any of you have added a GX470 AC condenser fan like they come with from the factory or an equivalent AC condenser fan. Your long term results and opinion would be super helpful.

Thanks!

From a thermodynamic perspective: heat is added to the system in the evaporator (heat added to the refrigerant is heat removed from the ambient air so it feels like cooling) and the refrigerant to changes from liquid to gas, and in the condenser heat is removed from the system which causes the refrigerant to change from gas to liquid.

At steady state, the heat flux removed at the condenser would be equal to the heat added at the evaporator. So theoretically, adding a fan to increase the heat transfer at the condenser would result in lower temperatures at the evaporator.

Another thing you could do would be to insulate the plastic ducting. While plastic is generally an okayish heat insulator, I'd assume theres some loss there too. Those babies are pretty long, which leaves a lot of area for convective heat gain into the system. While it still would be outputting cold into the cabin, it would lower your final temperature at the vents. If you're really going for efficiency, then some foam and foil pipe tape insulation could probably make your air a little crispier

 

[TejasRunner01]

From a thermodynamic perspective: heat is added to the system in the evaporator (heat added to the refrigerant is heat removed from the ambient air so it feels like cooling) and the refrigerant to changes from liquid to gas, and in the condenser heat is removed from the system which causes the refrigerant to change from gas to liquid.

At steady state, the heat flux removed at the condenser would be equal to the heat added at the evaporator. So theoretically, adding a fan to increase the heat transfer at the condenser would result in lower temperatures at the evaporator.

Another thing you could do would be to insulate the plastic ducting. While plastic is generally an okayish heat insulator, I'd assume theres some loss there too. Those babies are pretty long, which leaves a lot of area for convective heat gain into the system. While it still would be outputting cold into the cabin, it would lower your final temperature at the vents. If you're really going for efficiency, then some foam and foil pipe tape insulation could probably make your air a little crispier

Thanks for your reply ! I get where you are coming from. It is an interesting problem that other people don’t seem to have and I am $2000 over the past two years into this.

I’ll look into the ducting insulation. I’m not sure if you live somewhere where it gets hot, but if so, does your AC system seem to be cooling good on really hot days?

 

[y=mx+b]

Thanks for your reply ! I get where you are coming from. It is an interesting problem that other people don’t seem to have and I am $2000 over the past two years into this.

I’ll look into the ducting insulation. I’m not sure if you live somewhere where it gets hot, but if so, does your AC system seem to be cooling good on really hot days?

I live in virginia, and it gets reasonable hot and humid but maybe not quite texas. I've always thought AC worked great for me

 

[gm350reratliff]

I believe the condenser fan was also on the middle east 4runners stock but I'm not sure on the part #'s. I'm sure an aftermarket fan/thermostat/AC relay could be installed as well. I'm considering doing this on my 2008 as well, some day.

One thing that helped me get a little cooler air (on a F150 with terrible AC performance) was to insulate the refrigerant lines to and from the cab. I found some HD split foam pipe insulation that had the aluminum foil on the outside. I insulated the AC lines as much as possible and it actually made a difference. Might be worth a shot.

 

[djkurious]

I'm curious what your vent temps are on a hot day.