TECH: Ford AU twinthermo install

[Daisy]

Thought i'd post this up for the addition to the bible so others can use the info.

Sourced some AU twin thermo high speed fans from a radiator shop.



then proceeded to mount them on the radiator, At first i used alloy mounting plates to test the fitment.



After trial fitting.. it was decided that the alloy strips had the fans too far into the engine and was nearly touching, so out it came and the strips were removed and the thermo fans then drilled to go onto the top of the radiator via some bolts and the bottom of the fans zip tied into place. The shroud needed some minor trimimng to overlap the radiators own two metal strips that lie vertically on it as the fans need to sit deep inside it to be efficient.

Wired it up via a 2 way swich (on/off) as i couldnt see the point of having fan 1 on.. fan 2 on... and off which is basically a hassle... so turn em on and let em run!!! It was run with a 20 amp relay (same ones you use for spot lights as the fans have two sources of power for fan one and fan 2. So you get the general idea.

The whole idea of havin thermo fans is water crossings, where you can just simply turn them off and enter the crossing without having to worry about fan's goin thru the radiator (a clutch fan may or possibliy will go thru the radiator when driven hard thru a water crossing) AND they also look cool and clean up your engine bay a bit

Driving around town, the temperature stayed at 1/4 on the guage. I havent done any highway testings yet, but ive driven at 80 kph and it remained the same which im very pleased with.



The installation pic above, shows the fans installed, and it looks way neat as and efficient as well.

Due to being hearing impaired, i got comments from my mates who visited that it was quieter than with a viscous/clutch fan. and one mentioned some bull about 'more power coz its not running a clutch fan' - something i find hard to believe, but I can be corrected at any time ( 1 hp or 2 hp i wouldnt even bother), I didnt do it for the power, i did it for the cooling and the ability to turn them off and on when needed.

Hope it helps others with their thermo fan install

CHEERS

TOM

[RV80]

how much did they set you back?
it looks the goods.

[Slug]

Nice work ! *Looks at GQ out back*

How many dollars ?

[CRUSHU]

here is a pic i did of mine. only problem was i put it in the middle, and i wants to be over the passengers side, as it rubs on the lower rad hose. mine is mounted top and bottom, and sits right onto the core, so there aren't any air leaks.

[Daisy]

275 dollars quoted i believe.

I bought 2 sets for 500 (VT twinthermos for a mates commodore and ford twinthermos for my patrol)

So i suppose u can do deals to get cheaper prices

Give Brisbane mobile Radiators a call (moss st)

TOM

[Juzza]

Fairly interested to see the performance of these compared to the original engine drive fan, can you post more details as you drive it some more?
GQ diesels seem to build heat quick when doing high load work ;ie long hill climbs on hot days, towing etc, obviously more noticable with turboed ones but any feedback would be interesting.

[chimpboy]

Driving around town, the temperature stayed at 1/4 on the guage. I havent done any highway testings yet, but ive driven at 80 kph and it remained the same which im very pleased with.

Fans do pretty much nothing above about 50km/h, at which point the motion of the car is moving more air through the radiator than the fans could hope to. So you've probably done all the testing you need to.

Nice work!

I would be willing to believe that there's a slight power gain from running electric fans rather than mechanical - I've certainly heard this a few times. But like you I definitely wouldn't do the swap for the power.

How well sealed do you think these are? Are you worried at all about firing them up again after they've been doused in muddy water? I debated that in my head when I had to replace my mechanically driven fan...

Anyway, thanks for the tech!

Jason

[bogged]

Good techo dude.

the only problem is they are VERY VERY allergic to water/mud
EG some only lasting 2 trips...

I looked into this while back when I had my overheating issues, cheezy was tellin me about the conversion..

Thats the main reason I didnt go thermo style.. :(

[MKPatrolGuy]

Good techo dude.

the only problem is they are VERY VERY allergic to water/mud
EG some only lasting 2 trips...

I looked into this while back when I had my overheating issues, cheezy was tellin me about the conversion..

Thats the main reason I didnt go thermo style.. :(

They are not that sensitive to mud and water. I have got mine wet plenty of times and muddy a good few times and no problems at all. All I do is give them a squirt with WD40 before I go out for the drive and wash them and give them another squirt with WD40 when I wash the car (which is not very often)

[bogged]

They are not that sensitive to mud and water. I have got mine wet plenty of times and muddy a good few times and no problems at all.

Mate who had them on his must have been unlucky 2 times with them then.. :( His first ones died 2nd weekend out...

[ludacris]

Awsome stuff Tom. Them AU twin thermos are the go.

[bru21]

i wonder how hard it would be to set up hydraulic fans. electric on off solinoids and all would be sweet

[Daisy]

I remember reading in a 4wd magazine.. i think cheezy runs au twinthermos on his mav?? anyone confirm??

I should know in a week or so how they perform offroad as will be takin the patrol for a quick run at ormeau.

TOM

[MKPatrolGuy]

I remember reading in a 4wd magazine.. i think cheezy runs au twinthermos on his mav?? anyone confirm??

I should know in a week or so how they perform offroad as will be takin the patrol for a quick run at ormeau.

TOM

Yep, he does. Been on there for about 6 years, had the first problem with them just recently. Pretty good run I'd say.

[Screwy]

So these twins definatly work better than the single thermos?

as ive got a davis craig 16" off a VN and it cools it but seems to slowly cook up over 100 ks im about 15 degrees above thermostat opening temp.

So the twins definatly work better?

cheers

[Daisy]

davis craig dont have a shroud do they?

the twin thermos have a shroud which you can put on radiator with minor trimming on a GQ radiator to nearly cover all the radiator to maximise air flow suction effort.

without a shroud its just sucking from a certain spot and can get hot around it

[Screwy]

Tom,

mine does have a full shroud, though only covers around 80 percent of the radiator.......

screwy

[Daisy]

Tom,

mine does have a full shroud, though only covers around 80 percent of the radiator.......

screwy

Aye,

I was at an auto shop the other day.. was lookin at a davis craig setup and it had a cage wrapped around the fan.. must be the blow thru one rather than suck from behind.

Might explain the difference.

Havent seen a davis with a shroud as of yet.

TOM

[CRUSHU]

So these twins definatly work better than the single thermos?

as ive got a davis craig 16" off a VN and it cools it but seems to slowly cook up over 100 ks im about 15 degrees above thermostat opening temp.

So the twins definatly work better?

cheers

your thermo is only a airconditioning condensor fan, not a engine fan. i use one on my brothers drag car, but i wouldn't use one on a streeter.

[Screwy]

So these twins definatly work better than the single thermos?

as ive got a davis craig 16" off a VN and it cools it but seems to slowly cook up over 100 ks im about 15 degrees above thermostat opening temp.

So the twins definatly work better?

cheers

your thermo is only a airconditioning condensor fan, not a engine fan. i use one on my brothers drag car, but i wouldn't use one on a streeter.

Bugger