Fitting Thermo Fans - What fan to use??

[Toyo Truck]

Hi guys,

I need to fit thermo fans to my lux.
I have done a body lift and had to remove the shroud
(plus it was cracked anyway)
and I chopped the fan a little to clear the bottom pipe (booty fab ahoy) .

I have been running this for about 1 year with no problems, but she
is starting to overheat on big hillclimbs and stuff.

What thermo fans should I use and what is the best way to mount em?
Keep in mind I will be doing a 7M-GE conversion soon and would like to
keep the same fans if possible.

If anyone has pics of their fan setup, please post em or send them to
bart.winter@pulseintl.com.au

Cheers,
Bart

[revin]

Last time i bought a thermo fan (few years ago now) i bought a Davis Craig and just went to repco and got a automatic transmission oil cooler mounting kit.

Just pushed the little rods thru the fins of my radiator and this securely mounted my thermo for me.

You could also try a air cond thermo from a wreckers off the likes of a VN commodore etc,may be a cheaper option rether than buying a new thermo

[80diesel4play]

Get your hands on a set of EL or AU fans they have the shroud and are twins. Easy to booty fab into your bus and are good.
Cost around $170 from wreckers second hand and the motors are easily changable. You can transplant form rig to rig or rad to rad.

Just have to keep the thermo switch out of muds way (hard!)

[+dj_hansen+]

Another vote for EL/AU Twin thermos.. they keep Cheezy's rig cool.. $220 brand new from Ford, cheaper from wrecker as stated by 80diesel4play

[Toyo Truck]

Cheers for the info guys,

Will look into getting some of these babys ASAP!

I'm gonna go pick up a new radiator cap and a new drain tap
so I can replace the coolant in the rig.
That may help keep her cool for now till I get the fans.

I usually buy Tectaloy 60Plus premixed coolant,
is this stuff worth the $$$ or should I just use the mix it yourself
stuff with demineralised water??

Cheers,
Bart

[+dj_hansen+]

In melb, apparently the water is good enough you can even put it in your battery , but your in syd so cant help you with the water question.. pre mixed coolant should be fine, aslong as it hase a anti freeze/anit boil and rust inhibitor all included... you can also use an additive, really comes down to how you want to do it...

I just got the tectalloy 100 from supercheap (IIRC) when they had a sale going, cheaper to buy 2 x 5lts than 1 x 10lt... Probably pay to do a flush of your system aswell, take thermostat housing of, bottom and top hose and stick garden hose in there to flush any crud out...

Have fun

[Scott]

A couple of things to check before you get AU fans.

They are heaps wide than a hilux radiator. If your running an IFS steering box moved forward you may struggle to fit them in. I used to have AU fans but when I put the IFS steering box in I couldn't fit the AU fans back in.

[Arron nz]

Seeing as you are planing on the 6 cylinder engine swap, will there be much room on the back of your radiator? You could buy two 9 inch fans and mount them on the front. I got mine from Jayair. Spal brand. pusher only. 615 ish cfm each. beware there are fans that draw more watts and push less air. mine cost about nz$170 each. more $ than the au fans but no trim required and you keep your engine mounted fan. thats my 2c. hope it helps.
Arron.

[Aza]

i just recently bought a 16" ICE thermal fan, works great

[ToyTruck]

i used a 16 inch thermo when i had my 4runner ... it fit perfectly in the standard shroud ( which you dont have )

which ever way you go make sure you get the radiator profesionally cleaned (rod out the cores) and the MAJOR one is make sure you have the electrical power to drive the thermos

mine was the 3Y engine with the lame alternator which couldnt cope with the thermos ...... after long useage of the thermos the 4runner was hard to start (battery not fully charged) also the thermo never spun at full speed , so it actually had to run for longer to do the same job.

i upgraded to a 85 amp holden VN alternator ( it had the multi V pulley to suit the 3Y pulleys) but if yours is a different pulley setup you can get the same alternator with a standard V pulley
also get an adaptor soldered into the top tank of the radiator to fit a thermo switch

hope that helps

[Toyo Truck]

Can I rewire the fans to a switch in the cab instead of soldering
a thermo into the radiator??
even if it is only temporary?

[ToyTruck]

i tried using one of those davies craig adjustable thermo switches that has a temp probe that slides under the radiator hose clamp BUT it leaked like a B!T*H.

if you dont want the socket for the temp switch soldered in .... try to get a T piece to add one to the original temp sender port on the engine

i wouldnt recomend an on / off switch in the cab cause IF you forget to turn it on !!!!!!!!

[80diesel4play]

I have dual relays running my thermos, a custom fabbed up plate to use and a setup from the cab that is either off the temp relay switch or override by me for hills..

Whatever setup you use - NEVER ever push the retaining bolts through teh fin gaps in the radaitor - you'll create a weak point and therefore help it crack! Its okay on a road car but not relaible on a 4by - take the extra time to booty fab something up specifically for it.

I use caterpillar premixed rad fluid - guarenteed for 500,000 k's! $20 per 3.6L bottle from the local CAT bloke - has all the stuff in it already and you just pour and forget! Gets pricey when you have to opull teh rad a fwew times each year though!

My $0.02 worth

[znelbok]

Black magic fans from flex-a-lite I reckon are the go. They have an overide switch for in the cabin, and a A/C relay as well.

They have their own cowling and bolt into the origianl cowling mountig holes (and not through the core and fins like many others). There is a specific one made for a hilux, but from my research it is not for a diesel.

The only concern that I have found is the depth of the motor. It may fowl on the block, more investigation is required.

They can be obtained here in australia, but I cant remember from where, an email to flex a lite would be required to find out who.

Have a look here

http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/black-magic.html

Appears tha variable speed control may be available, instead of the on/off control that has predominetly been used.

Mick

Mick

[v6delux]

Black magic fans from flex-a-lite I reckon are the go. They have an overide switch for in the cabin, and a A/C relay as well.

They have their own cowling and bolt into the origianl cowling mountig holes (and not through the core and fins like many others). There is a specific one made for a hilux, but from my research it is not for a diesel.

The only concern that I have found is the depth of the motor. It may fowl on the block, more investigation is required.

They can be obtained here in australia, but I cant remember from where, an email to flex a lite would be required to find out who.

Have a look here

http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/black-magic.html

Appears tha variable speed control may be available, instead of the on/off control that has predominetly been used.

Mick

Mick

i use t=vt ss twin thermos in my hilux v6 3,8 comm works a treat bitof stuffing around to get around the steering box but they do work and pull her down from 105 to 80 in about 3 min low 4 steepest hill climb i can find food for thoght

[ledgend80]

ok here are how my 2 10 inch thermos are mounted to my heat exchanger that i have made for my intercooler. the fans are mounted directly to the radiator core with a fibre washer and standard washer on each side. i used 2 thermos with dimples on them like golf balls. they are meant to flow a couple of hundred cfm then a spal fan

[Latitude777]

Hi, not sure if your still looking but heres the job i did on my 4runner.

Its the 3.0 V6 manual, ditched the original fan shrowd and had a custom alluminium shrowd made up for me. $100 for the shrowd and $130 for a 16 inch fan from repco running as a puller. Ditched the original clutch fan and only needed a couple of washers to get the pully tight. It runs a little close to the pully for my liking but no damage yet. Will eventually run a thread higher up on the pully bolts and trim off the excess to be safe.

Pic is before installation.. Didnt get one after im afraid but i have around 15mm clearance between the rear most point of the fan and the fwd most point of the crank pully?!.

Runs a treat, no problems with the alternator not coping, the thing never breaks a sweat and i have more power than before. It runs through a variable temperature control unit that has a little sensor inside the top radiator hose.

[mellows40]

I'm in the process of puttin one on my 40... just used some angle iron mounted the thermo to it and then to the original mount bolts of the radiator, a mate also said DON"T push the bolts through the radiator fins for the same reason as everyone alse said it creates a weak point... also i have the thermo cut off switch plus a manual overide cut off switch for when going through deep water crossing i can switch it off so i get less water spraying around the engine ... I tend to go in the water fine, but then i often find i can't get out...lol i should stop and check how deep it is first. lmao