Electric fans with clutch fan possible?

[justinjames]

Has anyone ran electric fans on the forward side of the radiator while keeping the clutch activated fan on the rear side of the radiator? I live in southern New Mexico and have always had trouble at idle in high 90’s and triple digit weather to keep the truck cool. Yesterday at the drive through car wash and it was pack and while waiting in line I started creeping passed 210 until I got in the car wash and in neutral revved the engine to maybe 3000 to get the fan to throw more airflow and it can back down right under 210. So I was think about some videos I saw of e-fan conversions but one of the videos I watched he lived in Phoenix and he said it got worse switching to the e-fan alone so I wondered if it was possible to install e-fans on the front while keeping the clutch fan?

 

[MassHoe04]

Was it creeping into the red zone?

I would expect having both fan systems would actually end up being much worse than just one or the other. Depending on how the blades sync up, they could end up competing against each other and blocking a lot of the airflow. That would be NG.

We don't have high 90's as often as NM, but we do have stretches like that here and there throughout our summer.

If you are having problems in that temperature range, you may have something else going on.
Do you know that the water pump is in good shape? If impeller blades are broken or rusted away, it may not be circulating properly through the radiator.

Hose good? Old hoses can collapse in when hot. That can also restrict flow.

If original, the radiator itself could be partially clogged, reducing flow.

Just because you are in the upper 90's, I don't think you should be seeing any unusual or significant overheating issues at idle.

See what others say. Those are my thoughts at this point...

 

[Fless]

Year, make, model, engine? Miles?

A good OE cooling system should handle that heat somewhat well, but lots of variables can affect it. Anything been replaced over the years?

What's the age/condition of the radiator, thermostat, coolant and water pump? Is the fan shroud in place? Fan clutch (OE?) engaging properly?

Is there an aftermarket tranny cooler installed in front of the radiator?

Initially I'd suspect the radiator being partially plugged internally, or needing the exterior fins cleaned out. But lots of other things to verify.

 

[rockola1971]

I agree with the other guys. You have something else going on. Inspect the whole cooling system. If you arent up near the red zone then engine is just fine. If you want the temps lower just add some water wetter to the coolant and it will improve the thermal efficiency of your coolant and lower your temps substantially. Inspect those hoses for collapses and check that fan clutch! 2 different fan system not in sync with each other will cause essentially air turbulence and actually do the opposite of your intentions. Your airflow will be restricted to the lowest flow fan in the system. One fan behind another accomplishes nothing.
Your vehicle when new was designed to handle above high 90s deg ambient temp. Wear and tear has took its toll and now maintenance is needed. You might run a little warmer than usual in high 90's with a/c on full blast but still within system design.

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Line-80204-Water-Wetter/dp/B000CPI5ZK

or any equivalent.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Has anyone ran electric fans on the forward side of the radiator while keeping the clutch activated fan on the rear side of the radiator? I live in southern New Mexico and have always had trouble at idle in high 90’s and triple digit weather to keep the truck cool. Yesterday at the drive through car wash and it was pack and while waiting in line I started creeping passed 210 until I got in the car wash and in neutral revved the engine to maybe 3000 to get the fan to throw more airflow and it can back down right under 210. So I was think about some videos I saw of e-fan conversions but one of the videos I watched he lived in Phoenix and he said it got worse switching to the e-fan alone so I wondered if it was possible to install e-fans on the front while keeping the clutch fan?

Yeah dude something else is amiss.
I have efans on my rig, been in 115 degree weather going up mountain passes, stop and go, towing, and never had a lick of problem.
How are you measuring temperature?

 

[ScottyBoy]

I converted my 2001 Suburban to Efans back around 2010 or 2011. I have pretty much daily driven it since then, and the fans have worked great even in these Brutal Louisiana Summers. So I have a solid 10 plus year long term review and I can definitely say they were a HUGE upgrade over the stock clutch fan.
FYI: I used stock electric fans and a stock fan harness from a 2006 Silverado.

 

[iamdub]

+1 to what's been said.

I'll add: The gauges in these things aren't so much for accuracy as they are for general reference and warnings. If it's getting just over 210 at most on the gauge, that's not overheating, but still might be an indication that the system is in need of attention. It sounds like an airflow problem. Either the clutch isn't engaging when it should or the radiator fins are just a little plugged up. It's difficult to pin the issue on either air flow or water flow cuz both are increased when the engine is revved. I'd do the electric fan conversion along with a new radiator if the current one is old or looks really cruddy. If the hoses are original/old, replace them. What coolant is in it? Any "mud"?

 

[Sam Harris]

I converted my 2001 Suburban to Efans back around 2010 or 2011. I have pretty much daily driven it since then, and the fans have worked great even in these Brutal Louisiana Summers. So I have a solid 10 plus year long term review and I can definitely say they were a HUGE upgrade over the stock clutch fan.
FYI: I used stock electric fans and a stock fan harness from a 2006 Silverado.

Holy shxt man! How you doing?

 

[Doubeleive]

Has anyone ran electric fans on the forward side of the radiator while keeping the clutch activated fan on the rear side of the radiator? I live in southern New Mexico and have always had trouble at idle in high 90’s and triple digit weather to keep the truck cool. Yesterday at the drive through car wash and it was pack and while waiting in line I started creeping passed 210 until I got in the car wash and in neutral revved the engine to maybe 3000 to get the fan to throw more airflow and it can back down right under 210. So I was think about some videos I saw of e-fan conversions but one of the videos I watched he lived in Phoenix and he said it got worse switching to the e-fan alone so I wondered if it was possible to install e-fans on the front while keeping the clutch fan?

like the others have said something isn't right, might need a fresh radiator and/or fan clutch. a good working system can idle all day in 110 deg heat with the ac going and never even look at you sideways

 

[rockola1971]

+1 to what's been said.

I'll add: The gauges in these things aren't so much for accuracy as they are for general reference and warnings. If it's getting just over 210 at most on the gauge, that's not overheating, but still might be an indication that the system is in need of attention. It sounds like an airflow problem. Either the clutch isn't engaging when it should or the radiator fins are just a little plugged up. It's difficult to pin the issue on either air flow or water flow cuz both are increased when the engine is revved. I'd do the electric fan conversion along with a new radiator if the current one is old or looks really cruddy. If the hoses are original/old, replace them. What coolant is in it? Any "mud"?

Good point. Ive seen the "mud" that dexpuke causes when its mixed with air or the green ethylene glycol based antifreeze. I had a friend that a radiator to v6 almost completely plugged up by the stuff. It literally looked like someone had puked campbells chunky soup in his radiator about 10X. We had to completely flush his whole coolant system and then backlush it to get all that crap out of the radiator, hoses, block, heater core, etc. It never ran near as hot as the OP's though.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Good point. Ive seen the "mud" that dexpuke causes when its mixed with air or the green ethylene glycol based antifreeze. I had a friend that a radiator to v6 almost completely plugged up by the stuff. It literally looked like someone had puked campbells chunky soup in his radiator about 10X. We had to completely flush his whole coolant system and then backlush it to get all that crap out of the radiator, hoses, block, heater core, etc. It never ran near as hot as the OP's though.

Dexcool is also ethylene glycol based. 99% of automotive coolants are EG based.

"old" green is silicated coolant and based off an inorganic acid tech - IAT
Dexcool is Organic Acid based - OAT
Mixing a coolant with dexcool isn't the issue. Mixing different base chemistries, is.
"new" green (universal) is a pretty stripped down OAT package and would be safe to add to dex-cool.


GENERALLY speaking, you're good to mix within a chemistry(IAT, OAT, PHOAT, etc), though various subchemistries may not play nice with eachother in the long term. e.g. a silicated coolant would have dispersants in it that when diluted with another coolant, would allow the silicates to settle out of suspension. But it won't form the horrific sludge we see when some boomer grabs the cheapest 'back in my day' coolant and chucks it into his rig in a public display of stubbornness and ignorance.

 

[Mudsport96]

I will go with checking coolant level to start.
Then do a fan clutch because at this age it probably needs replaced.
Compounding fans can work... but it can also make things worse. If the air flows over the radiator too fast it cant pull the heat out of it.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Compounding fans can work... but it can also make things worse. If the air flows over the radiator too fast it cant pull the heat out of it.

faster airflow = more heat removal. At least until you get so much airflow that friction and compression is a concern. Supersonic radiator?
Granted there are diminishing returns past a certain point because of boundary layer flow behaviors. But there's no such thing as too fast to remove heat

 

[justinjames]

Was it creeping into the red zone?

I would expect having both fan systems would actually end up being much worse than just one or the other. Depending on how the blades sync up, they could end up competing against each other and blocking a lot of the airflow. That would be NG.

We don't have high 90's as often as NM, but we do have stretches like that here and there throughout our summer.

If you are having problems in that temperature range, you may have something else going on.
Do you know that the water pump is in good shape? If impeller blades are broken or rusted away, it may not be circulating properly through the radiator.

Hose good? Old hoses can collapse in when hot. That can also restrict flow.

If original, the radiator itself could be partially clogged, reducing flow.

Just because you are in the upper 90's, I don't think you should be seeing any unusual or significant overheating issues at idle.

See what others say. Those are my thoughts at this point...

I replaced the water pump, the thermostat and I believe upper and lower hoses ( if not then just one I can’t remember if I did both) last year. I never thought of the blade sync but that makes sense I just thought more airflow. Thanks for your input !

 

[justinjames]

Year, make, model, engine? Miles?

A good OE cooling system should handle that heat somewhat well, but lots of variables can affect it. Anything been replaced over the years?

What's the age/condition of the radiator, thermostat, coolant and water pump? Is the fan shroud in place? Fan clutch (OE?) engaging properly?

Is there an aftermarket tranny cooler installed in front of the radiator?

Initially I'd suspect the radiator being partially plugged internally, or needing the exterior fins cleaned out. But lots of other things to verify.

Sorry I’m a newb to the forums, 2004 Tahoe z71 the engine itself has around 80,000 got replaced with a crate when the truck hit 100,000. Last year I replaced the water pump, thermostat and I believe both hoses. I have yet to replace the radiator worked on doing the cheaper replaceable parts first but it does make sense. I’ll have to run down to the O’Reillys to see if I did the fan clutch as well I wanna say I did. I’m running Preston’s dexcool antifreeze. As far as an aftermarket tranny cooler I doubt it I’m the second owner and the lady I bought it from wouldn’t of known what that is she’s the one that blew the first engine.

Year, make, model, engine? Miles?

A good OE cooling system should handle that heat somewhat well, but lots of variables can affect it. Anything been replaced over the years?

What's the age/condition of the radiator, thermostat, coolant and water pump? Is the fan shroud in place? Fan clutch (OE?) engaging properly?

Is there an aftermarket tranny cooler installed in front of the radiator?

Initially I'd suspect the radiator being partially plugged internally, or needing the exterior fins cleaned out. But lots of other things to verify.

 

[Mudsport96]

faster airflow = more heat removal. At least until you get so much airflow that friction and compression is a concern. Supersonic radiator?
Granted there are diminishing returns past a certain point because of boundary layer flow behaviors. But there's no such thing as too fast to remove heat

View attachment 372649

Well, i guess i shoud caveat that with i dont know everything about airflow. However, i do know coolant can move too fast through the radiator to transfer heat to the air. I have seen my own Nova run cooler with a 195 stat than no stat at all.

 

[S33k3r]

Dollars to donuts you just have blockages in your cooling system. Performing a couple coolant purges might get you clear. Good luck!

 

[justinjames]

Yeah dude something else is amiss.
I have efans on my rig, been in 115 degree weather going up mountain passes, stop and go, towing, and never had a lick of problem.
How are you measuring temperature?

Do you recommend efans over a clutch fan ? Like I said I watched a video on YouTube of a guy that did the conversion and lives in Phoenix area and he said it performed worse, maybe it wasn’t the correct fans/airflow ?

 

[Fless]

Sorry I’m a newb to the forums, 2004 Tahoe z71 the engine itself has around 80,000 got replaced with a crate when the truck hit 100,000. Last year I replaced the water pump, thermostat and I believe both hoses. I have yet to replace the radiator worked on doing the cheaper replaceable parts first but it does make sense. I’ll have to run down to the O’Reillys to see if I did the fan clutch as well I wanna say I did. I’m running Preston’s dexcool antifreeze. As far as an aftermarket tranny cooler I doubt it I’m the second owner and the lady I bought it from wouldn’t of known what that is she’s the one that blew the first engine.

Take a look behind the grille and see if you have one of these (in the red box) in front of your A/C condenser:

 

[S33k3r]

The conventional wisdom is that a clutch fan flows more air when your engine is under load and needs it the most. Electric fans have a constant speed and, theoretically, flow less air than a clutch fan at load levels. So, first, it depends on your use case. If it's all around town, short hauls, efans are probably what you want. If you are towing or otherwise loading your engine, clutch fans are what you want. Finally, more modern fans can be set up to move as much air as the stock clutch fan, thereby reaping the rewards of both the clutch fans and efans. However, there may be a trade off in reliability, and they will definitely be more expensive.