Convert '07 Suburban 2500 to electric fan

[stubbs]

Hi guys,

I've got a bad (stuck) fan clutch on my '07 Suburban 2500 with the LY6 motor. Looking at parts diagrams, it seems that the vehicle came with either an electric or mechanical cooling fan depending on the options.

While I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a conversion, I like the idea of switching to electric fans from my current mechanical setup just to free up the parasitic losses and keep things quieter.

Has anybody done this, and are there any gotchas I should know about, or any good reasons to just stick with the mechanical fan and replace its clutch?

 

[stubbs]

I just ordered an OE (but not OEM) 1500 radiator fan/shroud/motor combo, plus the wiring harness from Nelson Performance. Hopefully it works well! I needed a Black Bear performance tune anyway, so I'll have it enabled in the PCM at the same time.

 

[intheburbs]

So a mechanical clutch has parasitic losses, but turning mechanical energy into electricity and back to mechanical energy doesn't?

 

[stubbs]

Funny how that works, but it turns out that the losses are just less than the mechanical fan. Makes sense if you think about the flexibility having a computer control the fan offers -- multiple speeds, including the ability to not run the fan at all when not needed (like at highway speed).

My main motivation is really just the sound, my 2500 sounds like a dump truck in my driveway and my wife and I have to shout at each other inside! I'm sure a new fan clutch would help that some, but an electric fan will solve it forever.

I've done a bunch of reading by now and it seems that from dyno tests that on trucks like ours, switching from the mechanical fan to electric frees up anywhere from 5-10hp at the wheels, which is a nice bonus that mostly translates to slightly better fuel economy.