Electric fans with clutch fan possible?

[justinjames]

+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"?

Yeah I’m using the truck stock guages. So when I see it creeping over 210 I know if I leave it like that it will continue to get hotter and starts to get close to the red and I’m uncomfortable with leaving it and turn the truck off. Last summer it happened to me in a drivethru and I had to turn the truck off and back on until I got out of the line to let it cool down. It wasn’t very fun. I washed/ mr green cleaned the radiator last summer as well when I replace the other parts but no mud. I use the Prestone dexcool.

 

[SnowDrifter]

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.

Same thing with water through the radiator. There's no such thing as too fast to remove heat.
The reason why your vehicle ran cooler with a tstat has nothing to do with how fast it was moving through the radiator. It's because of the design of the water pump and thermostat.

On the back of the thermostat is a blockoff / flow redirect plate that shifts flow from recirculation through the block to directing it to the radiator. No thermostat means no flow valve. No flow valve means no flow through the radiator.

So it ran hot not because it was moving too fast through the radiator. But because it wasn't going through the radiator at all

 

[SnowDrifter]

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 ?

Right now I recommend finding your root cause and solving that. I feel like you're trying to sell yourself a solution to a symptom, not a problem. I'd love a link to this video if you have it

 

[justinjames]

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:

View attachment 372652

I will look tomorrow when I get back home, out of town for work. I believe I do though and I was under the impression that they came stock. Learn something new everyday. But I’ll get back to you on that one to give a definite answer.

 

[Fless]

Right now I recommend finding your root cause and solving that. I feel like you're trying to sell yourself a solution to a symptom, not a problem. I'd love a link to this video if you have it

^^^ This. An OE cooling system in good condition would not exhibit these issues, at least not to this extreme.

 

[justinjames]

Right now I recommend finding your root cause and solving that. I feel like you're trying to sell yourself a solution to a symptom, not a problem. I'd love a link to this video if you have it

Oh yeah I completely agree with you I know I have never replaced the radiator and I’m almost sure she never did and that is the last thing that hasn’t been replaced, the questions on the efan conversions is just from I’ve read about noise/performance and want to hear from people that have experienced good or bad with them first hand other than getting on youtube. I’ll find that link and send it to you.

 

[Mudsport96]

Same thing with water through the radiator. There's no such thing as too fast to remove heat.
The reason why your vehicle ran cooler with a tstat has nothing to do with how fast it was moving through the radiator. It's because of the design of the water pump and thermostat.

On the back of the thermostat is a blockoff / flow redirect plate that shifts flow from recirculation through the block to directing it to the radiator. No thermostat means no flow valve. No flow valve means no flow through the radiator.

So it ran hot not because it was moving too fast through the radiator. But because it wasn't going through the radiator at all

Well damn. Now i know.

And knowing is half the battle

 

[MassHoe04]

Well damn. Now i know.

And knowing is half the battle

We learn every day.
TYF people are really good about trying to educate without having an attitude of being better, smarter or more experienced than anyone else.

We've got a really good core group on the forum. I think that shows, when you start seeing multiple people X2 or +1 on recommendations and there ends up being several people coming to similar conclusions on what the source of a problem might be. To me, that indicates there is some solid experience and knowledge behind the comments posted. That is the best part of all this!

 

[SnowDrifter]

Oh yeah I completely agree with you I know I have never replaced the radiator and I’m almost sure she never did and that is the last thing that hasn’t been replaced, the questions on the efan conversions is just from I’ve read about noise/performance and want to hear from people that have experienced good or bad with them first hand other than getting on youtube. I’ll find that link and send it to you.

For noise - quieter. They only run when they need.

Performance - more. No parasitic draw.
Cooling - yes. Our rigs have had efans since 2005.
If your cooling system is failing you, you need to determine how and why. I still want to know how you're measuring temperature. The gauge on the dash has a pretty wide 'dead zone' and will stay in the middle from ~180-220 degrees. So if that's your guidance, I'd suggest using a scan tool to check coolant temps and validate the nature of your problem.

Regarding overheating present unless you raise engine RPM:
- Check coolant level and condition. Start the car, take the cap off your coolant tank, grab a multi meter and set to DCV. Dunk one end in the coolant, the other to ground. If you get 0.3v or more, than your coolant is shot.
- Any buildup in the reservoir? If it's there, it's elsewhere too.
- How's that thermostat? Aftermarket ones have a smaller valve by about 30%. OEM ONLY.
- Heater cores plugged up? If they are, you'll overheat because of how these systems are plumbed.
- How's that fan clutch doing? They wear out. When they fail, the fan won't spin fast enough to move the air needed to cool your engine.
- If your coolant is nasty, among other things like clogging up the radiator / heater cores, you can also ***** your water pump. The impeller is metal. It too is subject to corrosion

 

[rockola1971]

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.

You DO NOT mix old school green with any of the others.

What Is The Difference Between Green & Orange Coolant? [Guide]

If you're wondering what the difference between orange and green coolant is and which one that you should get, then see this simple guide on coolant colors!

autochimps.com

"When orange and green antifreeze mix, there’s likely to be a chemical reaction that causes it to thicken into a gel-like substance."

You know "Boomer" is a term that references a US Submarine that carries nuclear tipped warheads, right? That term was coined way before many of the kids out there that blab about it supposedly meaning an "older person". Boomers have been out there in the oceans and called that way before many of those kid's parents were even out of high school.

 

[MassHoe04]

For noise - quieter. They only run when they need.

Performance - more. No parasitic draw.
Cooling - yes. Our rigs have had efans since 2005.
If your cooling system is failing you, you need to determine how and why. I still want to know how you're measuring temperature. The gauge on the dash has a pretty wide 'dead zone' and will stay in the middle from ~180-220 degrees. So if that's your guidance, I'd suggest using a scan tool to check coolant temps and validate the nature of your problem.

Regarding overheating present unless you raise engine RPM:
- Check coolant level and condition. Start the car, take the cap off your coolant tank, grab a multi meter and set to DCV. Dunk one end in the coolant, the other to ground. If you get 0.3v or more, than your coolant is shot.
- Any buildup in the reservoir? If it's there, it's elsewhere too.
- How's that thermostat? Aftermarket ones have a smaller valve by about 30%. OEM ONLY.
- Heater cores plugged up? If they are, you'll overheat because of how these systems are plumbed.
- How's that fan clutch doing? They wear out. When they fail, the fan won't spin fast enough to move the air needed to cool your engine.
- If your coolant is nasty, among other things like clogging up the radiator / heater cores, you can also ***** your water pump. The impeller is metal. It too is subject to corrosion

I had an old Ford Ranger that was high mileage, ridden hard and put away wet before I got it. Lack of fluid changes on the cooling system apparently allowed metal water pump impeller rust away. The only thing left to the impeller was a flat disc that looked like a pizza cutter. Blades and blade tips, the parts that actually move the coolant, were long gone. I actually overheated in the middle of winter when that failed completely.

 

[SnowDrifter]

You DO NOT mix old school green with any of the others.

What Is The Difference Between Green & Orange Coolant? [Guide]

If you're wondering what the difference between orange and green coolant is and which one that you should get, then see this simple guide on coolant colors!

autochimps.com

"When orange and green antifreeze mix, there’s likely to be a chemical reaction that causes it to thicken into a gel-like substance."

You know "Boomer" is a term that references a US Submarine that carries nuclear tipped warheads, right? That term was coined way before many of the kids out there that blab about it supposedly meaning an "older person". Boomers have been out there in the oceans and called that way before many of those kid's parents were even out of high school.

Interesting
I was always under the impression it was because of the baby boomer generation - thriving economic boom post WWII and sharp rise in birth rates. Didn't realize there was a double meaning. Learn something new every day!

 

[rockola1971]

For noise - quieter. They only run when they need.

Performance - more. No parasitic draw.
Cooling - yes. Our rigs have had efans since 2005.
If your cooling system is failing you, you need to determine how and why. I still want to know how you're measuring temperature. The gauge on the dash has a pretty wide 'dead zone' and will stay in the middle from ~180-220 degrees. So if that's your guidance, I'd suggest using a scan tool to check coolant temps and validate the nature of your problem.

Regarding overheating present unless you raise engine RPM:
- Check coolant level and condition. Start the car, take the cap off your coolant tank, grab a multi meter and set to DCV. Dunk one end in the coolant, the other to ground. If you get 0.3v or more, than your coolant is shot.
- Any buildup in the reservoir? If it's there, it's elsewhere too.
- How's that thermostat? Aftermarket ones have a smaller valve by about 30%. OEM ONLY.
- Heater cores plugged up? If they are, you'll overheat because of how these systems are plumbed.
- How's that fan clutch doing? They wear out. When they fail, the fan won't spin fast enough to move the air needed to cool your engine.
- If your coolant is nasty, among other things like clogging up the radiator / heater cores, you can also ***** your water pump. The impeller is metal. It too is subject to corrosion

Your 05 Tahoe LT has factory Efans? Thats odd, My 05 Denali does not have efans.
Any rhyme or reason as to when the Efans were implemented and did the timeframe of implementation vary between GMC, Chevy, Cadillac or submodels(LS, LT, etc.) of those brands for C and K chassis?

 

[S33k3r]

It's likely because you have the 6.0 vs. the 5.3. I'll check my 2005 Suburban 1500, but I know the 2005 Suburban 2500 has a clutch fan.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Your 05 Tahoe LT has factory Efans? Thats odd, My 05 Denali does not have efans.
Any rhyme or reason as to when the Efans were implemented and did the timeframe of implementation vary between GMC, Chevy, Cadillac or submodels(LS, LT, etc.) of those brands for C and K chassis?

Curious. I thought they all had efans starting in '05. That was actually one of the reasons why I was shopping in the 05-06 range was because it had factory efans.

 

[ScottyBoy]

Your 05 Tahoe LT has factory Efans? Thats odd, My 05 Denali does not have efans.
Any rhyme or reason as to when the Efans were implemented and did the timeframe of implementation vary between GMC, Chevy, Cadillac or submodels(LS, LT, etc.) of those brands for C and K chassis?

I was under the impression that all half ton trucks and SUV's came with E-fans starting in 2005. And you have a Yukon Denali right? Not a Sierra Denali? Because the Sierra Denalis I think were actually built on a 3/4 ton chassis, but they still had 6 lug wheels. Only other thing I can think of if maybe you had a VERY early build 2005? Like maybe is was actually built in 2004 but labeled as a 2005 model year? Look at the door sticker to find the actual build date, it should say the month and year it was actually built.
I've personally removed a factory E-fan harness from Yukon Denali in a salvage yard. I can't remember for certain whether it was a 05 or 06, or what engine it had, all I can say for certain is that it was a NBS Yukon Denali with factory Electric Fans.