Electric fan for my 92' F150?

[QRTRHRS]

Can anyone educate me on electric fans? The fan clutch on my 1992 F150 needs replacement but I am thinking it may be better to go electric. I understand I might pick up a mile or so on my mpg.

Looking over Summit Racings website is kind of bewildering. Looks like I need a fan kit and controller but what type to buy? Most of the prices seen reasonable but then there are some up around 4-5 hundred and I don't see that for my useage.

 

[JDgreen227]

Can anyone educate me on electric fans? The fan clutch on my 1992 F150 needs replacement but I am thinking it may be better to go electric. I understand I might pick up a mile or so on my mpg.

Looking over Summit Racings website is kind of bewildering. Looks like I need a fan kit and controller but what type to buy? Most of the prices seen reasonable but then there are some up around 4-5 hundred and I don't see that for my useage.

I installed an electric pusher fan on the front of my '90 F150 with the 4.9 six when it was 5 years old, it was a supplement to the OEM steel fan. I just installed a toggle switch to control it for when I was towing a 30 foot TT, left the OEM fan on too.

Didn't think a new fan clutch would be that costly...but just did a Google search from my Blackberry and it got two hits with prices of about $102 and $114. Have no idea what an electric fan kit costs these days but I bet a good one rivals that much. Hope this helps.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I installed an electric pusher fan on the front of my '90 F150 with the 4.9 six when it was 5 years old, it was a supplement to the OEM steel fan. I just installed a toggle switch to control it for when I was towing a 30 foot TT, left the OEM fan on too.

Didn't think a new fan clutch would be that costly...but just did a Google search from my Blackberry and it got two hits with prices of about $102 and $114. Have no idea what an electric fan kit costs these days but I bet a good one rivals that much. Hope this helps.

I was seeing prices of around 80-130 bucks give or take then some up around 300-500 dollars. I don't see the need for anything like the latter. Control kits for the lower priced ones at around 30 bucks.

So, for maybe just a little more in cost over the fan clutch, any gain over my 15mpg with my 5.0 engine would be worth it.

 

[JDgreen227]

Agree with you about the small extra cost being worth it over replacing the fan clutch, I get the understanding you would simply remove the stock fan after installing the electric fan kit...Hmmm, I don't know what the belt setup would be like on your truck. Can you remove the fan blades and clutch and still use the existing fan pully? I may be wrong but I have always thought that much of the horsepower loss from using a steel fan is caused by the power needed to turn the water pump.

 

[buckshot721]

Tried one on my 2002 F-150, gas mileage was 10mpg. Got a dual fan kit from Summit. Should have dual fans for a v8. Install time was about 3 hours. Hardest part was hooking up the electrical correctly. Payed $395.00 for the correct shroud and mounts. End of story was 1 full mpg more. Now have a 2006 Ford and I will not put an efan on. Not worth the time and money. Save your money and get a good tune up! Just my thoughts.

 

[Diamondpilot]

E fans can be had cheap at Auto Zone, ect. You will need a thermostat to do it correctly that turns it on at a pre set temp with a override in most cases to run no matter what the temp is if you are using A/C. My guess is you will never recoup your investment.

Lets say you put $200 into it and gas is $4.00 per gallon. Lets just say you gain 1mpg, very unlikely, and go from you original 15mpg to 16mpg. Thats about a 6% increase. At $4 per gallon and 15 mpg its costing you $0.26 per mile in fuel. At 16 mpg its costing you $0.25 per mile. Thats $0.01 per mile savings. It will take you 20,000 miles to break even. How much and how long are you going to drive a 20 year old truck?

I would just put a new clutch in the one you have.

Chris

 

[JDgreen227]

E fans can be had cheap at Auto Zone, ect. You will need a thermostat to do it correctly that turns it on at a pre set temp with a override in most cases to run no matter what the temp is if you are using A/C. My guess is you will never recoup your investment.

Lets say you put $200 into it and gas is $4.00 per gallon. Lets just say you gain 1mpg, very unlikely, and go from you original 15mpg to 16mpg. Thats about a 6% increase. At $4 per gallon and 15 mpg its costing you $0.26 per mile in fuel. At 16 mpg its costing you $0.25 per mile. Thats $0.01 per mile savings. It will take you 20,000 miles to break even. How much and how long are you going to drive a 20 year old truck?

I would just put a new clutch in the one you have.

Chris

I wondered about cost effectiveness but OP seemed determined to convert his truck so I didn't question his reasons. However, your argument for not converting makes more sense that mine would have...:thumbsup:

 

[QRTRHRS]

Looking more like I should keep it simple and just do the clutch. On line costs run 60-100 bucks. I guess I will check around with the local parts houses first. Thanks for all the info.

 

[Beltzington]

Tried this route on my Grand Cherokee for several years. There are some minimal HP gains and fuel savings to be had if you want to keep a close eye on your engine temp. I think eFans are fine as long as they are controlled by a factory ECM and temp probes, problem is aftermarket install do not have these safety features. Let a friend or family member borrow the truck and it is very easy to overheat (ruin) the engine which makes the swap very costly. My Jeep is back to OEM mech clutch and fan. Take Care.

 

[Jriffe108]

Removed the fan from my 95 f150 351w and replaced with a Volvo e fan from a seller on eBay. Paid $35 for fan and $30 for controller. Controller allows fan to run at variable speed depending on temp gauge. Also runs fan at 50% when ac is on. I have switch in cab to manually run or override fan such as when on highway with ac on or when I want it to warm up faster. It is only an 18" fan but only cycles on for about a minute when truck is idling. I have a modine 2 row alum radiator for the super engine cooling option. Works great