[NC500]

So I know this has been talked about a lot on the forum but it seems to be several opinions. I have a 66 with a 352 made to a 390. I have a 3 row radiator on it. I talked to a local builder who said 2 rows are bette, especially with stock fans, because you can get air through a 2 row easier. He suggested I get a stronger electric fan to pull air through my 3 row. Anyone have a good electric fan option?

I see a lot of people talk about the taurus fans and a lot of people also say electric fans dont work great for these engines. Any suggestions?

 

[sixtyeightford]

I put a flex a lite 180 on my 3 core rad (390) and it does great, moves some serious air. I currently have it tied into my TBI system which turns it on and off at set temps.

 

[TRP66]

I’m still trying to work out the fine tune on my 66 Fairlane. I have an aluminum 3-core made to the factory style GT 390 car radiator. I’m running a super thin 1825 cfm pull thru SPAL fan to clear the March Performance pulley system. I too have the FiTech TBI controlling the fan. Coolant temp on a hot day sitting in a traffic line at the park was showing 208 (FiTech) controller. My Dakota digital IP was reading 210-215. The D.D. Sensor was located in the left block drain. The 390 never boiled over so far so good.

 

[m in sc]

i run 2 12" be-cool fans right on my aluminum radiator. works great. controlled by sensor right under the upper tank hose fitting on the radiator itself. Temp gauge is at manifold. Also have it where the fans can kick on even after key is off, this made a huge difference in stopping temp spike after parking car. on recent trip towing, and warm days (80 degrees) going up hills (hwy 74), i came off highway pulled into Waynesville NC. got in some traffic before hitting the Ingles, so temp soaked motor, then stop and go, water temp at manifold never got over 210, running a 185 thermostat. Biggest help to all of this was the flow-kooler water pump i put on last year. Highly recommend. I do not run a shroud because at highway speeds it would creep up the temps. thats on my car, i know others have great success with them.

 

[gearheadct]

What problem are you trying to solve? Is your car overheating? If so, under what conditions? Idle, high speed, accelerating, etc?

What coolant temps are you seeing? Is it boiling out through the cap?

Keep in mind water boils at 212F, at atmospheric pressure. With a 7psi cap it goes up to 235F. More like 245F for a 50/50 water-coolant mix. If you run a 15psi system it adds another 25 degrees or so.

- John

 

[TRP66]

i run 2 12" be-cool fans right on my aluminum radiator. works great. controlled by sensor right under the upper tank hose fitting on the radiator itself. Temp gauge is at manifold. Also have it where the fans can kick on even after key is off, this made a huge difference in stopping temp spike after parking car. on recent trip towing, and warm days (80 degrees) going up hills (hwy 74), i came off highway pulled into Waynesville NC. got in some traffic before hitting the Ingles, so temp soaked motor, then stop and go, water temp at manifold never got over 210, running a 185 thermostat. Biggest help to all of this was the flow-kooler water pump i put on last year. Highly recommend. I do not run a shroud because at highway speeds it would creep up the temps. thats on my car, i know others have great success with them.

I am trying to get the fine tuning of the FiTech TBI and bits like that wrapped up. I think I’m going to throw an over-tide switch on the fan to keep it on after engine is keyed off. The temps in GA are climbing and want to dial it in. I just got the car on the road to iour first car event.

 

[m in sc]

the way i wired mine was i used a 100A constant duty cycle solenoid (The purple diamond in the diagram) powered thru a 40a thermal breaker straight to the battery. what triggers it is the derale adjustable thermal switch that when triggered completes the ground and kicks the relay on. there is also a toggle switch on the panel under the hood that will bypass the relay if it ever fails to keep the fans on. the main power wire has a waterproof bullet connection that can be disconnected if it ever wont turn off. just. in. case. I didnt bother arming the fans off the ac, as it doesn't seem to matter, car always runs 10F warmer with ac on (like on that trip i posted about) and i dont want the fans always running at highway speed if the ac is on. Here's a basic sketch. I had run this off a regular 195 switch on the manifold before as well, but i like the adjustable one at the radiator better. Also, there is some thermo-siphoning happening when you cool the radiator with promotes some flow even if the motor is off, but hot, and the thermostat is still open, and some thru the little bypass hose if it still connected. it works really well. will also pretty much eliminate any hot vapor lock as well (did this initially with the cast iron intake). Just the way I did it & works for me. .

 

[PSIG]

It is simple to add a "delay relay" to the controller power wire to keep it alive for a few minutes. Under $10 online, both common delay relays (power windows operating after key-off type), or adjustable time-relay modules, set for your preferred time, e.g., 2 minutes. Keep in-mind, the airflow will not substantially reduce the heat in 500+ pounds of mass, and the airflow is most often reducing temperature-sensor heat soak, not actual engine or accessory temperatures by a useful margin.

If you have actual effects of heat soak or temp spikes, such as carb fuel boiling, then avoid that by simply running lower temperatures. The factory did, installing cooler thermostats in warmer climates, performance and HD applications, and hotter 'stats in cold climates. Check your factory manual. That was before emissions regulations forced hotter everywhere. The benefits of running the engine hotter are few, with some notable detriments. Everything is a compromise, so balance the compromises to your conditions.

 

[m in sc]

oh it definitely helps. i can fire the car back up after ~ 15 mins later and the water temp is easily 30 degrees cooler after its circulated for a minute or 2, so its not just cooling the temp sensor. it thermosiphons thru a bit as i said.

 

[PSIG]

Heh, that's cheating for an answer. Sure, it will cool 30°, after cooling the radiator liquid for a couple minutes, then fire it up to further circulate that cold liquid. Is that gaining you something? Why not run a cooler thermostat so you don't have the higher-temp increase and 15-minute wait in the first place? Not being snarky - those are questions.

[EDIT] Background - most modern cars run the fans for emissions purposes. If you stop at the store and the sensors heat-up while it sits, when you re-start they will read wrong, and typically hotter than reality. This tricks the computer into thinking it needs a different fuel amount, and pooches the carefully-set emissions tuning, wrecking their certifications. The fix is to run the fans for a bit.

 

[m in sc]

well the temp sensor is in the manifold and not in directly the path of the electric fan. The gauge, when i come back to the car after it has sat a bit, it is lower, and as soon as i fire it it doesn't spike up. so, it is cooling the block coolant as i said. here's how i know: the fan will (w key off), turn on, run for a few minutes cooling off the water in the radiator then turn off. (the fan probe is under the top radiator inlet) . a few minutes later, the fans will turn back on again from the water IN THE RADIATOR getting back up to to over 200. then turn back off again. this may repeat a few more times. so, what in the radiator is heating the water back up? Hot water from the block is rising to the top tank on the radiator, the fans are cooling it, and then it sinks down, pushing the hot water back up through the block via the lower hose thru the block, and 'out' the bypass & thermostat to the top tank of the radiator
so what are the benefits of this?

1: the typical thermal spike after shutdown causes cooling system pressure to rise. this basically eliminates that. Its easier on gaskets, and the heater core, hoses, etc.

2: removes any possibility for vapor lock.

Like said, it will turn the fans on around 200, and off around 175-180. I've checked the temps with a thermal gun, they are pretty accurate.

All of this came about w that leaky POS aluminum tuff-stuff water pump i had, i was measuring the temps pretty regular before i swapped it out. also, it always leaked after shut down, and the pressure rose as one would expect.

 

[PSIG]

so what are the benefits of this?
1: the typical thermal spike after shutdown causes cooling system pressure to rise. this basically eliminates that. Its easier on gaskets, and the heater core, hoses, etc.
2: removes any possibility for vapor lock.

I have some technical points I could make about how that convective heating and cooling occurs, but that isn't the point, as it is not a problem. The point of this is not how one should do something, but why. Problems require diagnostics, and that is fact-based. It's your ride so do as you like, and if it's just really neat for you to hear fans running as you walk away, that's a valid reason and I say do your thing! I respect reasons, any valid reasons (if you think it's cool, just say that and move-on), but soft rationalizations don't do anything for any of us.

Your two points do not answer any problems you have, or should have. The point #1 thermal spike is normal (heat soaking of the relatively stagnant coolant in the engine and sensor), but pressure should not rise to above the max operating pressure, as per the Ford Shop Manual (FSM). Pressure issues with gaskets, cores and hoses should not ever be present in a properly functioning system. If it does get to higher than FSM spec pressure, you have to wonder why and fix that first, and has nothing to do with E-fans. Our cars without electric fans don't need that, so why yours? Electric fans would be a band-aid to a more basic issue that needs attention. After all that, what is after-run solving for you, really?

Same goes for #2. Vapor-lock is not a standard condition, and should not occur with electric fans or not. What should non-E-fan owners do if they can't run the fan to "fix" the issue? Ah, fix the root issue rather than another band-aid to work around it. If there is no initial vapor-lock issue, there is no need for after-run fans. Problem solved and no gain to after-run, for that reason anyway.

So while I had no intention of magnifying this portion of the conversation, I hope you can see that we sometimes need to step-back and verify we are doing things for valid reasons, in this case electric fans and their operation. We can see where diagnostics is taking us, and this can guide our choices to quicker, easier, more effective or less costly alternatives, if we are not barking up a reasonably-sounding but rationally misplaced tree. This results in simpler and often better solutions, rather than bigger cooling systems, after-run fans or costly ethanol-free fuel, etc.

For example, more than half of the "overheating" issues I've solved over the years were not actual overheats, but bad info from a gauge, or overfilling, with owners at wit's-end and hundreds or thousands in the hole over almost nothing. Do as you wish, I can't have any issue whatsoever with that and I am not drilling anyone, but rather having a conversation about getting there from here on a solid and productive happy path.

 

[m in sc]

to be clear, i -never- had a vapor lock issue with this car. the overheating issue i had was with an aftermarket waterpump i have since changed. (mid last year actually).

The 'fix' in your eyes is to put the trigger power to the relay to a keyed source. How does that make anything better aside from not hearing the fans run after shutdown, which doesn't bother me at all. I never said it was 'cool to hear'. Please explain that.

Im not being obstinate... Also, i never told anyone else to do it, I stated how -i- did it. 🤷‍♂️

I know the physics behind what's going on, quite well. Before i was an engineer (for the past 22 yrs), i was an ase certified tech. Now i spec out valves, cooling systems, actuation, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. w the thermodynamics behind it... . but I don't think so. Just a different way to skin a cat.

The reality of it is, when i wired it up i did it that way just to make sure it was working ok, then didn't see any reason not to leave it that way.

I just preferred electric fans. especially for siting in traffic, which i do pretty regularly. Also, mechanical fans drag what, 20 hp? (that's been proven) ...also, 30? years ago i had one launch into a radiator on a 71 mustang due to a water pump shaft failure... so anything I rev up pretty high i prefer electric. Also, i knew i was putting in aftermarket AC, the elec fans do a better job at idle. with the bigger core radiator, it also works better at low speeds. stock 2? core radiator allows more air to move through it, and my old stock one was long shot. So, i myself added a few strains on the cooling system a stock car wouldn't have.

everything in the motor is new (less than 1 yr) and the car gets driven a LOT. I've not had water leaks or gasket issues... but why stress a system? yes the pressure absolutely will rise after its been sitting. A failed radiator cap will make a mess of things if it doesn't relieve I've seen that as well.

I also could care less about being stock and original on this car.

My other ford, a 62 falcon, is dead stock and it does just fine as well. mechanical 4 blade fan and all. So, i get it. yes, i considered going to a fan and shroud on this car (the galaxie) but saw zero benefit aside from simplicity.

.02

 

[taylorteam]

So I know this has been talked about a lot on the forum but it seems to be several opinions. I have a 66 with a 352 made to a 390. I have a 3 row radiator on it. I talked to a local builder who said 2 rows are bette, especially with stock fans, because you can get air through a 2 row easier. He suggested I get a stronger electric fan to pull air through my 3 row. Anyone have a good electric fan option?

I see a lot of people talk about the taurus fans and a lot of people also say electric fans dont work great for these engines. Any suggestions?

i have a 67 gal (custom 500) with a bb 545 a 871 blower I use the I think its a 19" Taurus electric fan and shroud on a 2 core dual pass afco radiator 430 gear 31x 17.5 stickys, this combo took 35 degrees out i run 205 on a 90 degree day

 

[NC500]

Dang man, that thing is rad!!! Ill pick up a taurus fan. I have seen people use the Taurus fan. Now, this is where I sound like a total idiot but do I just order a fan for a ford taurus on parts geek, etc, or is Taurus a brand? I know, its hard to aska dumb question. If it is a Ford Taurus fab, what year should I grab?
Also, do you like you headlights? I was thinking of getting some of those color leds. Was the install ok?

 

[taylorteam]

Dang man, that thing is rad!!! Ill pick up a taurus fan. I have seen people use the Taurus fan. Now, this is where I sound like a total idiot but do I just order a fan for a ford taurus on parts geek, etc, or is Taurus a brand? I know, its hard to aska dumb question. If it is a Ford Taurus fab, what year should I grab?
Also, do you like you headlights? I was thinking of getting some of those color leds. Was the install ok?

sry for the slow response,, the headlights are hid halo from octane lighting and they are plug n play stock rings and springs, and the fan i just picked a late mod Taurus in the bone yard

 

[ShotRod64]

I don't have any idea now what my fan is, I only know it works and I can idle up and down the street literally all day long. It was a bit of a squeeze with the hood release down the middle of the grill but with it moved all the way to one side i got it to just fit in there. I ran a toggle switch for mine though. It wasn't a fancy brand or anything and it's a 14". This is on a '64 gal. Before this it would get too hot just looking at it in the summer in the desert and I'd have to get moving to cool it down before much time at all. I lived a couple times in Georgia for a few years and it definitely gets toasty there.

 

[Mercury4me]

i run 2 12" be-cool fans right on my aluminum radiator. works great.

@m in sc I have to take a guess on the orange bike. Can't see much but the headlight shell and the seat contour and taillight: 1972 Yamaha R5?

 

[NC500]

Thank you guys for the help! Ill be looking for a 14" late model taurus fan. Thanks!!

 

[m in sc]

14" taurus fan.. the dual one? I've always been curious about getting a set myself because of the 'included' shroud.. which one did you settle on? link.?

@m in sc I have to take a guess on the orange bike. Can't see much but the headlight shell and the seat contour and taillight: 1972 Yamaha R5?

(slight thread diversion)
very close, great eye BTW. thats a 72 DS7, (that a PO rattle canned) but i also own a 70 and 72 R5. (and other stuff