oldskoolvws
New member
Hi.
Thought I'd contribute my installation of the Mercury Villager / Nissan Quest electric fan install. I decided to go this route because of OEM reliability and to compliment my freshly rebuilt motor. Thanks to all the resources here and everyone else. I couldn't find an actual step by step how-to, but there was still lots of directions out there. Hopefully this helps someone out. By the way, I found the Nissan Quest fan because I didn't have the heart to put a Ford part in my Toyota.
THIS IS WHAT I DID / AM DOING. You do not have to do it this way. There are many alternatives, but this is what I think works best for my goals. And it'll be pretty.
Enough, let the pics do the talking.
Somehow we gotta get this:
Cooled by this over-sized monstrosity (radiator underneath):
Measure, measure, prep to cut, measure again. I won't give measurements, but cut to size to what you think is best. Orient the radiator to maximize / center cooling. DON'T FORGET THE FAN TO RADIATOR CLEARANCE!
Let the hacking begin. Don't forget to measure. Don't forget to make trace lines, etc. When I cut my shroud, it was biased all the way flush to the left side and all the way up on the bottom edge to the mid point of the tank line where it curves back in. DON'T FORGET THE FAN TO RADIATOR CLEARANCE!
I decided on the bottom of mine, that I wanted to try to seal it some but still provide adequate water and mud runoff. Here's what I devised. Notice most awesome lower radiator hose cutout LOL. Cut the bottom towards the middle then at 45's.
When all was said and done, this is what I cut off:
So now that it was all cut up, I was left with all these big gaps; what to do, what to do?
A lot of guys stuff weather stripping and other oddities in there which works. Again, all up to the owner, tools and budget. For me, I decided frame. After careful measurements again, I came up with some scrap 3/4" x 1/8" box tubing I had laying around. You can get it at Lowe's cheap. Broke out the welder.
Trim to fit. DON'T FORGET THE FAN TO RADIATOR CLEARANCE:
So now it was time to devise mounting. I decided I wanted studs to hold everything together on the frame. Broke out the drill press. Using a uni-bit, drilled down, exactly 1/2" on one side, 5/16" on the other side. Allows me to drop bolts right in to make studs. BEFORE welding in the bolts though, line up the brackets, predrill your plastic using the bracket as the template. Then, drop in all the bolts and use the nuts to tighten them all down in a straight line.
Thought I'd contribute my installation of the Mercury Villager / Nissan Quest electric fan install. I decided to go this route because of OEM reliability and to compliment my freshly rebuilt motor. Thanks to all the resources here and everyone else. I couldn't find an actual step by step how-to, but there was still lots of directions out there. Hopefully this helps someone out. By the way, I found the Nissan Quest fan because I didn't have the heart to put a Ford part in my Toyota.
THIS IS WHAT I DID / AM DOING. You do not have to do it this way. There are many alternatives, but this is what I think works best for my goals. And it'll be pretty.
Enough, let the pics do the talking.
Somehow we gotta get this:
Cooled by this over-sized monstrosity (radiator underneath):
Measure, measure, prep to cut, measure again. I won't give measurements, but cut to size to what you think is best. Orient the radiator to maximize / center cooling. DON'T FORGET THE FAN TO RADIATOR CLEARANCE!
Let the hacking begin. Don't forget to measure. Don't forget to make trace lines, etc. When I cut my shroud, it was biased all the way flush to the left side and all the way up on the bottom edge to the mid point of the tank line where it curves back in. DON'T FORGET THE FAN TO RADIATOR CLEARANCE!
I decided on the bottom of mine, that I wanted to try to seal it some but still provide adequate water and mud runoff. Here's what I devised. Notice most awesome lower radiator hose cutout LOL. Cut the bottom towards the middle then at 45's.
When all was said and done, this is what I cut off:
So now that it was all cut up, I was left with all these big gaps; what to do, what to do?
A lot of guys stuff weather stripping and other oddities in there which works. Again, all up to the owner, tools and budget. For me, I decided frame. After careful measurements again, I came up with some scrap 3/4" x 1/8" box tubing I had laying around. You can get it at Lowe's cheap. Broke out the welder.
Trim to fit. DON'T FORGET THE FAN TO RADIATOR CLEARANCE:
So now it was time to devise mounting. I decided I wanted studs to hold everything together on the frame. Broke out the drill press. Using a uni-bit, drilled down, exactly 1/2" on one side, 5/16" on the other side. Allows me to drop bolts right in to make studs. BEFORE welding in the bolts though, line up the brackets, predrill your plastic using the bracket as the template. Then, drop in all the bolts and use the nuts to tighten them all down in a straight line.
