Is the viscous fan really needed??

[johnsiddle]

Guess who tried to start his engine with a socket and bar still hanging on the crankshaft nut????

Having spent all day removing, cleaning and refitting the injector pump, I forgot I had left the socket on the crankshaft. There was an almighty screech and two fan blades parted company with the rest of the fan (luckily the engine did'nt fire)

My question is, given that we have a pretty powerful electric fan, is the viscous really needed???

Regards John

[Growler]

Simple answer is YES.

If it wasn't it wouldn't be there in the first place

[stormforce]

Piratestorm's viscous fan had broken up on his truck and he was getting terrible vibrations through the truck.
The V Fan is all connected to the waterpump and is needed.I have got a 3.0l v/fan if needed and works well for £40 delivered

[johnsiddle]

Vicous Fan

Hi Stormforce
Belated Happy New Year.
I may take you up on that. Unfortunately at present I cant get the beast to even fire. Pump problems again.

I was'nt thinking of running it with the broken fan fitted, I did think I could remove it completely though. It looks like it is fitted to the pump with just 4 bolts.
I was just exploring the possibility of running with an electric fan/fans.

I already have a fan mounted forward of the rad on the drivers side, I know it works cuz it comes on sometimes. I thought I could fit another one on the nearside of the rad.

Do you happen to know what that fan is for, I can not see any aircon rads on that side. (come to think of it I have'nt seen any aircon rads anywhere. its not like on the 2.4)

If the beast will run with just 2 electric fans I may be looking for one just like the one I have.

Got to get this pump sorted tho first. ( this is the one I got off you six months ago, Its been perfect until two weeks ago, now nothing up to the injectors)

Regards John

[TonyN]

The fan on the front is for when the air con is on, and it also comes on if truck gets really hot as a back up for the main fan.

Its not setup to come on for normal use, you'd have to wire it up differently.

I have two of those electric fans on my 4Runner, they work ok on a petrol motor, but i would question how much air they flow, cos on hot days they run all time on my truck when on the motorway.

The viscous fan is nicer cos its variable, it drives or slips depending on how much cooling the motor needs. It keeps the enigne at a more constant temp.

An electic fan is just on or off, so engine temp cycles hotter and colder than with the viscous fan, so is a nicer engineering solution.

[johnsiddle]

Thanks.

Thanks Tony
Given the number of times I have been removing and refitting my injector pump lately trying to get the beast to start, I just thought that given the fact I have to remove it cuz I broke the blades off, it would be nice to work without the fan being in the way for a change.
john

[johnsiddle]

Electric Fan

After wrecking the fan with the socket spanner on the crank nut and despite Tony's reservations I decided to go the electric fan route.

I got a 16inch Kenlow type fan off Ebay for about £26 incl and using a temp senser from RS components which opens at 87C connected to a changover relay from the scrap yard it works a treat.
If you get a sensor that is normally open then you wont need the relay.
I fixed the sensor with stainless steel wire wrapped around the top hose outlet from the engine, I also used some heatsink compound (white thermal grease type stuff)
I removed the plastic cowl completely and mounted the fan using the cowl fixing bolts and some small flat metal pieces to extend the feet of the fan.

This weather the temp stays normal and the fan doesn't even trigger also its great being able to get your hands down behind the radiator to fix the camshaft belt cover back on and not lose any knuckles on the fan.

Regards John

[johnsiddle]

Hi Stormforce

Piratestorm's viscous fan had broken up on his truck and he was getting terrible vibrations through the truck.
The V Fan is all connected to the waterpump and is needed.I have got a 3.0l v/fan if needed and works well for £40 delivered

Hi Stormforce

I dont suppose you still have a replacement fan hanging around.

i have decided to go back to the vicious fan cuz I dont think my electric fan is doing as well as I thought.