We have clutch fans dont we? Do electric fans move enough CFM to cool? Last time I researched electric fans, electric fans couldnt move enough air to cool certain applications. That was 15 years ago since i looked.
Electric cooling fan conversion?
- Thread starter Desert36
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We have clutch fans dont we? Do electric fans move enough CFM to cool? Last time I researched electric fans, electric fans couldnt move enough air to cool certain applications. That was 15 years ago since i looked.
Diverse4runner
New member
Yes we have clutch fans but in my opinion as long as there is a shroud on the E-Fan it should pull plenty of air. Most of the time people put the fan directly up against the radiator causing a dead spot in the center of the fan which drastically reduces usable surface area.
There is a reason Toyota has stuck with the mechanical fan, even on the new Tacomas. You are able to get so much more air movement and a much more reliable setup. Coming from the JK side where guys with the 3.8s would do a mechanical fan swap (the 3.6 pulley arrangement made this swap impossible) rather than continue to deal with bad electric fans.
I will say, the ideal situation would be to add an electric fan (like the GXs and later land cruisers) to supplement the mechanical fan at slow speeds. This will greatly help the a/c performance, particularly when first starting the vehicle before the mechanical fan clutch is engaged. Either add a small pusher fan, or I like Dodge's idea on some of the older Dakotas where they just added an electric puller fan in front of (on the radiator) the mechanical fan. Nice and protected that way.
I will say, the ideal situation would be to add an electric fan (like the GXs and later land cruisers) to supplement the mechanical fan at slow speeds. This will greatly help the a/c performance, particularly when first starting the vehicle before the mechanical fan clutch is engaged. Either add a small pusher fan, or I like Dodge's idea on some of the older Dakotas where they just added an electric puller fan in front of (on the radiator) the mechanical fan. Nice and protected that way.
borfoo3
New member
^^ this is the path I took. Front pusher fan from a Prado running with the ac compressor trigger
All it did was help improve ac performance on standstill traffic at scorching +130F days
I believe the GX/ Prado/ lc200 need the extra fan to help the bigger ac system running all those rear vents..
This is not a fact, not even close to it. Also, good luck finding electric fans that move as much air as a clutch fan. This has been beat to death by the Jeepers and it's generally regarded as a bad idea...
If you bought your Toyota because they're bullet proof reliable... good. Don't mess with it, then.
LJ75 Driver
New member
There are some major electric fan haters out there... wow lol.
Electric fans, when BUILT AND WIRED CORRECTLY a will always be more efficient and safer than a mechanical fan for off-road and racing use. Mechanical fans are cheap and easy to produce and require no thought on the drivers part which is good for longevity for the 99.9% of people that drive these things.
In the aftermarket world, unless you have some good mechanical and fabrication ability, and/or there are aftermarket parts that are well designed to bolt on, they're not worth it.
To do it correctly you need temp switches for daily use and a kill switch for water and other miscellaneous uses. Plus a tight fitting, well engineered shroud to house the fan or fans. Without a tight fitting shroud that covers the entire cooling fin surface you're peeing in the wind.
Electric fans are nice since when they're on, they're on, they move max CFM all the time. No clutches to think for you. They have their place, as do all mods. But are you the .1% of people that needs them and can build them correctly?
Electric fans, when BUILT AND WIRED CORRECTLY a will always be more efficient and safer than a mechanical fan for off-road and racing use. Mechanical fans are cheap and easy to produce and require no thought on the drivers part which is good for longevity for the 99.9% of people that drive these things.
In the aftermarket world, unless you have some good mechanical and fabrication ability, and/or there are aftermarket parts that are well designed to bolt on, they're not worth it.
To do it correctly you need temp switches for daily use and a kill switch for water and other miscellaneous uses. Plus a tight fitting, well engineered shroud to house the fan or fans. Without a tight fitting shroud that covers the entire cooling fin surface you're peeing in the wind.
Electric fans are nice since when they're on, they're on, they move max CFM all the time. No clutches to think for you. They have their place, as do all mods. But are you the .1% of people that needs them and can build them correctly?
On my previous 4.0L Jeep TJ the rads didn't last more than 2-3 yrs (I owned it for 17). When I put in the last rad I went with a larger double core aluminum, with an electric fan conversion (Ford Taurus mod that is popular with Jeeps). Not sure why - price wise was about the same as replacing the clutch fan.
Certainly it ran quieter on warm ups, or when the fan relay was on while A/C was running ( the rad came with a temp sensor to trigger the electric fan unit ), but I never noticed additional power or responsiveness from that set-up.
Guy who typically wrenched on it for me (has built his business on supporting the Jeep / Toyota communities) put a set of under drive pulleys on some peoples rigs since it does take some drag off the motor - but you have to support that with a high volume water pump for sure if you're going to drop reciprocating masses at low rpm, and hence - idle lower.
The only real benefit to an electric fan from what I understood talking shop with that guy is being able to turn it off for extremely deep water crossings. So if thats what you're doing its the way to go I guess!
Certainly it ran quieter on warm ups, or when the fan relay was on while A/C was running ( the rad came with a temp sensor to trigger the electric fan unit ), but I never noticed additional power or responsiveness from that set-up.
Guy who typically wrenched on it for me (has built his business on supporting the Jeep / Toyota communities) put a set of under drive pulleys on some peoples rigs since it does take some drag off the motor - but you have to support that with a high volume water pump for sure if you're going to drop reciprocating masses at low rpm, and hence - idle lower.
The only real benefit to an electric fan from what I understood talking shop with that guy is being able to turn it off for extremely deep water crossings. So if thats what you're doing its the way to go I guess!
