I've got a couple of electric fans I was going to throw on my truck but after getting everything ready clear to install them, I found out that I need a special tool to remove them. Does anyone know a way around this? My Haynes manual says it requires a special Ford tool, anyone know if I could get an imitaion? Any advice?

GO to any Track Auto, or magor brand parts store and ask for the Fan clutch nut holder/remover tool. You can rent them for next to nothing and it gets the job done!

JTR :D

Woohoo!! Now I've got a project for this weekend!!

You da man!!

You might also want to ask the guys on the 3.0 board. I don't know if the remval of the fan is the same on both engines but I do know that several of them have removed the fan without the tool. From what I remember they just used a could of big pipe wrenchs to hold everything still.

Yeah, O'Reilly's or Autozone will let you borrow them with just about a 50 dollar returnable deposit. That's what I did.

Originally posted by RangerSVT2000
Woohoo!! Now I've got a project for this weekend!!

You da man!!

From what I hear this mod makes a "seat of the pants" difference.
Wed Turner is right about the 3.0 board. Forum member "Ranger Bill" has a fairly detailed parts list and install guide on his home page. He claims that that stock fan robs 8-10hp from the 3.0. Not sure how much more you might gain on your 4.0L.

I hardly see how it robs that much being it is a clutch fan. I guess if the clutch is bad and locked solid. It won't make as big of difference on the 4.0L as the 3.0L because the larger the engine and the more torque and horsepower the same amount of drag isn't as noticable.

It probably doesn't make that much difference when you're running along at 60. Where it does make a difference is when you've been running around in traffic and the engine has gotten warm enough to lock the clutch. Notice sometime how much less power you seem to have when you have stopped in traffic for a while and you're clutch has fully locked up. You can tell it's locked by the amount of noise being produced. The actual amount of slippage is somewhere between fully locked and slightly locked, but there is always some parasitic drag on the engine. The more you drive in slower conditions, or stop and go, or use your A/C, the more difference it will make.

I wish I had the numbers but you have to think of it in terms of rotating mass. That fan is a large rotating mass on the end of your crank. Anything you can do to reduce rotating mass is going to be good. The numbers I'm speaking of are how much rotating mass equals how much total weight. Like I said I can't remember the numbers but say it's something like (and this is probably way off but you'll get the idea) 1 lb of rotating mass is worth like 6lbs or total weight. So by taking the fan off although it might not weigh that much your actually saving yourself more than you think. Make sense?

Another thing to think about is this. (along the same lines as Wed's last message about rotating mass) Go out and turn your stock fan a few times. Feel how heavy it is and the drag it puts on your motor. Replacing the stock fans with electric ones will free your engine up from all of this drag. Now I'm not saying I'm going to gain a whole boat load in acceleration but I do think it will be noticeable. And for $90, why not... Every lil bit helps ;)

Round 1: Goes to fan

Well, I've lost yet another battle with the fan. I started calling around this afternoon and my first call was to Autozone. Sure enough they had the tool for me so I went by and picked one up. This looked like it was going to be a piece of cake. I get home, let the truck cool down a bit and then start to remove the coolant followed by the radiator etc. So now it's time. I break out the "too good to be true fan tools" and position them into place. I give it a strong turn and it starts to budge. Woohoo I think, it's actually working. But no, after inspecting the nut after my first turn, the "too good to be true wrench" has slipped on the nut and begun to round off the edges to the nut. I call my dad out and we give it a couple more trys, hoping to break it loose. It does no good. It turns on the nut a few more times. The "too good to be true wrenches" were just that. The wrench that actually goes on the nut wasn't made to precisely and there is A LOT of play in it. We try some other types of wrenches but nothing wants to cooperate so and we give up.... again....for tonight.

So now my truck is partly dismantled, sitting in the garage, and looking like it will never see these dang fans. What a BIOTCH!!!

Sorry for the vent, I'll keep everyone posted.

On the up side, since my truck is not usable for this evening, it looks like I might be taking out my dad's brand new 4.0L Edge ;).

I tried the exact same thing to no avail, that bitch wouldnt budge, I gave up and took the fan off. I may take it to ford and have them pull it off. I like having less things my motor has to turn, and electrics can cool alot better and more efficiently.

Anyway let me know how you get her off!

JTR :beer:

I'm pretty sure the fan bolt is a reverse thread. I know it was on my 94 3.0. You guys probably already know this but I thought I'd mention it.

Hey guy, I've pulled so many of these off I didn't even keep count, Do you have an air compressor? Thats all I'm going to ask, also if you do then email me I don't wanna say how to do this and get alot of negative feedback form guys who have only done it once or twice saying that I'm crazy. I've worked at a ford dealer for 4 years and also Im a ford fleet tech. so I do this not every day but more then most. Let me know, later Doug904.

I was thinking about doing this to my 94 4.0 but does this mod really make a diff. or will I be wasting my time & money ?

Is it really worth the $$$ or would I be better off spending it on a new MAF or a TB ?

Thanks,
Gerry

Originally posted by Gerry
I was thinking about doing this to my 94 4.0 but does this mod really make a diff. or will I be wasting my time & money ?

Is it really worth the $$$ or would I be better off spending it on a new MAF or a TB ?

Thanks,
Gerry

Read on back up through the posts. I think you'll find some valid reasons for doing it, and maybe a couple reasons not to. I would rather do this than swap for a new MAF or TB. I have always felt the difference this makes, especially on the older vehicles with direct drive fans. Even when replacing a clutch fan I've been able to feel the difference. And it's a lot less money. I can't say the same about a MAF or TB replacement, some I've noticed, and others I said I did to justify spending the money. It also makes the motor a lot quieter.

Wed, the threading of the nut is still not 100% sure. As the night started, I was going by what my Haynes (or Chilton for got which one now) said. It said this nut is left hand thread so you must turn clockwise. BUT, as the night progressed, I looked at my factory fan shroud and it says "RH THREAD" which I took as meaning right hand thread (or the normal thread). To make a long story longer, we've tried both ways, neither has worked.

Doug, I don't have an air compressor. Do you have any other hints they might help me out some?

I'm about to break out the torch and cut the %#^@ thing off.

Gerry- I'm gong to be putting one on my truck sometime later this summer. I'll make sure to give you all the details. The way I figure it is I can put an electric fan on my truck for like $130. That's about the same as what I paid for my intake. If it only gives me a little more power than I still don't see it as money lost. Besides I figure ever little bit counts. You get a little bit here and and little bit there and sooner or later it all adds up. That and I know have 24/7 access to air tools so I'm sure I'll be tearing my truck up good now.

Ok here it goes but I don't need any feedback form the peanut gallery about how crazy I am for doing this, this works adn it doesn't mess anything up! Since you don't have nay air tools then get a long straight bar, about 1 1/2 to 2ft adn put it on the down side of the nut, you said your is right hand according to the shroud always go by the shroud, the passenger's side. And knock HELL out of it with a hammer, breaking it loose and then spin it off. Don't worry about getting it tight by this just spin it back on a forget about it, the spinning motion of the engine tightens the fan thats why the direction of the nut is posted on the fan shroud. you just knockin ghte nut loose. I understand if alot of guys don't understand what Im doing here, its real hard to explain on the computer but easy to do in real life. Later guys, Doug904.

I started to tell him to take a cold chisel and do that, figured everyone would think I was nuts too. Also wasn't sure if the nut was recessed or not. Thanks for going first Doug. hehe.

The fan removal tool is a waste of time for 3.0. The 3.0 is also a reverse thread (clockwise = loosen). I used vise-grips clamped to the fan pulley to stop it from turning when it hit the alternator, & it spun right off.

I believe the 4.0 is a standard thread design. Hope this helps.

As for the gains, picked up a noticeable improvement on the lowend (the 3.0's weakness) and anywhere from .5-1 MPG.

You gain the HP from not only the drag of the fan, but the engine spinning the weight of the fan. Should also improve the lifespan of the water pump, as the weight removal will relieve stress from the water pump's bearing.

Here's a link to my fan install, with some pics available as well.

Electric Fan Info (http://communities.msn.com/RangerBill&naventryid=111)

WWOOHHOO!!!! We finally got it off this afternoon!! I didn't do anything too crazy to it and just stuck to the old fashion wrench method. The open end wrench include with the fan removal kit is crap. Didn't use that. Here is what we did do. I used the big fork type wrench included in the kit to hold the pulley with a long extension attached to that. My dad then used a BIG set of channel locks with a long piece of pipe stuck on the handle for a ton of added leverage. Well, first try and we got it. I guess it just took a good tight wrench and A LOT of leverage.

As for the rest of the install, it was a piece of cake. Put the two fans on the radiator. Wired them up so they either come on by an adjustable thermostat (which I still have to mess around with a bit) or a switch for when I go to the track. Put the factory fan shroud back on and the engine bay still looks completely stock. ;)

After a night of driving, my truck is running a tad cooler and the power increase is DEFINITELY noticeable. It pulls much harder mid range especially is the lower gears. Now I REALLY can't wait to get it back to the track.

Glad you were successful and pleased with the results!:cool:

What's up everyone,

When you take the old fan off, do you just remove the nut, take off the stock fan, replace the nut and install the new elec. fan/s ?

What do you do with the fans clutch, remove it or leave it in place ?

Thanks for the help.

Gerry

Originally posted by Gerry
What's up everyone,

When you take the old fan off, do you just remove the nut, take off the stock fan, replace the nut and install the new elec. fan/s ?

What do you do with the fans clutch, remove it or leave it in place ?

Thanks for the help.

Gerry

The fan clutch will come off with the fan, just leave it and the nut off. You'll just have a stud that sticks out from your pulley. The clutch is bolted onto the fan with either 4 pr 5 bolts.

I never realized how easy this mod is to complete,,,,, I guess I'll be doing this one sometime over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks Again,
Gerry

Man Gerry you just cursed yourself right there. You never should have said it was going to be easy. Let me know when your going to do this. maybe I can do mine at the same time. And besides I got access to air tools.

Your probably right Wed,,,, I should have kept my mouth shut.

Air tools !!!!!!! I'll definitely be giving you a ring when I get ready to do it. More then likely I'll be doing it in the middle to end of July but I'll let you know.

Gerry

Why is tapping to the A/C relay so important? When the temp gets hot enough the thermostat sensor will kick on the fans. I am considering the swap over to electric fans on my 2001 but not wanting to pull my radio to wire to the HVAC relay per RangerBill wiring diagram and decription. He said that wiring to the A/C relay was optional but I would like to know how important this option is before I do this converstion?

Thanks, Jason






:confused:

Originally posted by 2001yellowedge
Why is tapping to the A/C relay so important? When the temp gets hot enough the thermostat sensor will kick on the fans. I am considering the swap over to electric fans on my 2001 but not wanting to pull my radio to wire to the HVAC relay per RangerBill wiring diagram and decription. He said that wiring to the A/C relay was optional but I would like to know how important this option is before I do this converstion?

Thanks, Jason






:confused:

You need to have airflow over you air conditioning condensor all the time in order for your A/C to work, and the more air flow the better. If you don't wire the fan to run with the A/C, it won't cool while you're setting still. Yeah, it is optional, but I'd rather have my A/C working. And if the fan isn't running, the heat is transferring from the radiator to the A/C condensor, which makes things even worse. All factory electric fans are wired to run with the A/C.