Electric Fans

[Speny999]

So long story short i think the clutch on my fan is worn out. instead of replacing the clutch i was thinking of moving to an electric fan, thinking it may be better at low speed and also helps to reduce the parasitic drag of the fan.
Has anyone switched to an electric fan? any noticeable changes in either temperature or performance?

Here's the one i was looking at: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B004XOO62W/?tag=tjforum-20

 

[Flivver250]

Replace the clutch fan, it is very easy. I just removed an electric fan from a friends Jeep. I think they block as much air as they move. I like overkill. I'd replace the fan clutch, thermostat and water pump. Idler and tensioner as well. I'd also take a close look at the radiator as well.

 

[89grand]

I'd replace the clutch as well. Not only is it easier, it's already proven to work.

 

[Wildman]

You are going to be hard pressed to find any people who will tell you to replace your stock mechanical fan with an electric fan. People who live in WARM areas of the USA have tried running electric fans and have not had good luck doing so.
I run an electric fan BECAUSE I have to. I do not have the room for a mechanical fan. If I did I would. As everyone else has said a fan clutch is easy to replace and is a proven design.

 

[mrblaine]

In perspective, we have a guy in Dubai telling a guy where it gets above freezing a few days out of the year that an electric won't work. If I lived where it didn't get hot, not much would prevent me from installing an electric fan. I live where it gets hot.

 

[Chris]

Stupid idea, plain and simple. I don’t mean to come across as rude, so please don’t take it that way. There is just no reason whatsoever you need an electric fan unless you have some sort of LS swap, a specific supercharger, etc. On a stock engine it’s a waste of time.

 

[Wildman]

In perspective, we have a guy in Dubai telling a guy where it gets above freezing a few days out of the year that an electric won't work. If I lived where it didn't get hot, not much would prevent me from installing an electric fan. I live where it gets hot.

I guess then I have misunderstood your position on electric fans. I thought you didn't like them for any reason for engine cooling.
Good to know you'd run one if you didn't have your warmer temperatures.

I know you like SPAL fans for trans cooling would you also recommend then for engine cooling? Is the fan the OP listed a good option?

 

[mrblaine]

I guess then I have misunderstood your position on electric fans. I thought you didn't like them for any reason for engine cooling.
Good to know you'd run one if you didn't have your warmer temperatures.

I know you like SPAL fans for trans cooling would you also recommend then for engine cooling? Is the fan the OP listed a good option?

People do that shit to me all the time. They build a list of things I do and don't like based on what I use for my needs and then think I believe that applies for everything and that is as far from the truth as it gets. I'm typically the first one to ask for enough specifics or notice them to come up with an applicable solution.

Take the SPAL fans you think I like. I told someone to look for or use them. I don't like or dislike them, I don't use them if at all possible and I damn sure don't like them for trans cooling. Under tub fan driven trans coolers are pretty much crap for what we do. They sorta work, they don't work well enough to justify the expense and effort to put them in.

I recognize they are good and solve an issue if you have the issue generally but I don't use them if I can possibly help it.

 

[89grand]

Clearly electric fans work, as nearly every car sold today uses one, but since TJ's didn't come with them, at least not 4.0's, then one is left to engineer it themselves, without the huge benefit of factory testing. Just putting a fan on there that moves air is going to be hit or miss whether it works well or not.

 

[Wildman]

Well as always I have my foot in my mouth.

 

[mrblaine]

Well as always I have my foot in my mouth.

Look on the bright side, I know some folks who only open their mouths to change feet.

 

[Wildman]

Look on the bright side, I know some folks who only open their mouths to change feet.

Well I can change one foot a lot easier than many. I'm getting a new one on Tuesday.


To the OP: I can't comment on how adding an electric fan on a 4.0 works but I did the Taurus fan on swap on my 2.5 and yes by my butt dyno I felt like I gained some power. You temperatures are similar to mine in central WA I think from what a Dodge buddy has told me. I would still stick with the mechanical fan but if you want to go electric I say try it but keep your parts so you can return it to stock if need.

 

[Flivver250]

The newest TJ is 13 years old. That alone can be considered reason enough to freshen the whole cooling system as preventive maintenance. The stock design is a good design. Does anybody here remember Connie Rod?

 

[Wildman]

Hehehehe, man I miss PS magazines sometimes. I say PMCS to someone and I get the dear in the headlight look.

 

[Speny999]

Thanks for the input everyone! Definitely just going to stick with the stock fan, replace the clutch, and thermostat while I'm at it and call it a day

 

[Flivver250]

Thanks for the input everyone! Definitely just going to stick with the stock fan, replace the clutch, and thermostat while I'm at it and call it a day

Some mods are good. Some are not. I love my boom mat on my hard top. Jeeps are arguably the most modified rigs on the road, mostly for looks or frame elevation. One thing I have learned, the venerable old TJ is pretty darn good in it's stock configuration. I'll go one further and say most Jeep owners don't need big lifts or tires, we just want them. I live in an area that gets hot as hades. Fan clutches and water pumps are generally ignored for 100k miles at a time. Failure is rare in the first ten years. When compared to the simple TJ stock cooling system, wires from two power sources, and a switch, to a relay and onward to a fan have a far greater chance to fail (even if done right and expensively) than you will ever face with the trusty time tested parts. A wiring failure here would cook my engine possibly before I even knew something was wrong. If I was buying my first TJ today and my choices were a beautifully modified Jeep or a bone stock one, I would jump on stock in a heartbeat. The factory installed a pretty wimpy horn and transfer case linkage, most everything else is perfectly functional. The best on or off road modification is an experienced driver. Everything else is accessory.