DasWaff Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Hey all, Does anyone know if there is a fixed mechanical fan option that will replace the stock fan and clutch? Seems like there would be something out there with a smaller diameter and shorter shaft. I tried an advanced search but no luck. Thanks, DasWaff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 yep. find an EA-81 car that had AC installed, and take the secondary electric fan off that. straight bolt-in, but thats hearsay (i havent done it yet, just read it a thousand times) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasWaff Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 I got an email right after posting this with the Flex-a-lite alternative. Rated up to 8K rpm. Need to measure for the spacer. I'll post more if this works out. Thanks, DW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakertom Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 No, when you bolt it on the top, the bottom holes for the ea81 fan shroud don't quite match the radiator. One other consideration is to keep the replacement fan for the clutch fan as the primary - the ac compressor will get too hot otherwise. yep. find an EA-81 car that had AC installed, and take the secondary electric fan off that. straight bolt-in, but thats hearsay (i havent done it yet, just read it a thousand times) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I'd highly recommend removing the mechanical fan, and replacing with an Electric one. the EA82 cools itself very efficiently, and the clutch fan just robs power, and therefore mileage.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasWaff Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 BTW the goal of this is to be able to add a two row radiator, with the 110mm water pump, and not make removing the fan a major challenge. I'd highly recommend removing the mechanical fan, and replacing with an Electric one. the EA82 cools itself very efficiently, and the clutch fan just robs power, and therefore mileage....So with the 2nd electric fan, one would just add an aftermarket temp sensor and relay to control it?? I like the idea of not having a big spinning weight on the end of the water pump shaft... The flex-a-lite appealed because it is so much lighter than the stock mechanical fan. DW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 yeppers, right on de money. sorry about saying "bolt-in" when only two bolt holes match up... but its a very common upgrade ive read about over and over. you arent the only one who doesnt like the thought of that weight on your water pump shaft. search my name with starter +relay, and you can find a handy junkyard source of relays, brackets, and wires to set it up nice. spoiler: four prong bosch relays out of a late 80s BMW 3-series, with handy plugs included in car, and a bracket in case you want to add more relays (IE for starter control circuit, fog lights, whatevah.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 So with the 2nd electric fan, one would just add an aftermarket temp sensor and relay to control it?? I like the idea of not having a big spinning weight on the end of the water pump shaft... The flex-a-lite appealed because it is so much lighter than the stock mechanical fan. DW yep, or you can run it to a switch on the dash. it really isn't necessary to have the fan(s) on above about 30mph. actually, on my lifted wagon, I ran for months with just the stock electric fan, just manually switched so I could have it on all the time. then the bearing went out on it, so I replaced it with an aftermarket one. but the stock electric fan moves plenty of air for a non-turbo EA82. here's the setup I'm currently running on my EJ22 swapped loyale... It's a 10" diameter fan from Advance Auto Parts. it can be set up for either side of the radiator, but since I've removed the A/C, there's plenty of room on the front of it. The same company makes a little relay, that has a temp sensor that attaches to the radiator. the 2 blue wires are the switched wires, one from a power source (directions say to use something switched, but I went right to the battery), the other to the fan. the little metal wire coming out the other side goes to the sensor, and the screw in the middle adjusts what temperature it comes on at. the fan attaches using little clips that go through the fins of the radiator. quick, easy, and strong universal mount. (you can see the temp sensor there too...it uses the same mount) and last, there's the fan, peeking out from behind the grill. That one fan, is more than enough to cool the EJ22, through a stock, 20 year old, single core EA82 radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasWaff Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Great, Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 BEWARE aftermarket fans that use 'zip strips' through the radiator. The one thing I can tell you from years of off roading is that they WILL tear your rad up! It takes a while and will almost always occurr at the most inoppertune time. The fan is great, but get a kit or build one to solid mount it. All the bouncing around off road causes the fan to bounce independently from the rad, and the little strips eventually tear the core up. I removed the mechanical fans on ALL of m previous wheeling rigs and went electric. Great for HP boosts and you can turn them off so as not to throw water around the engine compartment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 BEWARE aftermarket fans that use 'zip strips' through the radiator. The one thing I can tell you from years of off roading is that they WILL tear your rad up! It takes a while and will almost always occurr at the most inoppertune time. The fan is great, but get a kit or build one to solid mount it. All the bouncing around off road causes the fan to bounce independently from the rad, and the little strips eventually tear the core up. I removed the mechanical fans on ALL of m previous wheeling rigs and went electric. Great for HP boosts and you can turn them off so as not to throw water around the engine compartment. I've never had that problem. had this same fan on my lifted rig for about a year now. and my uncle's had one on his Land Rover (frequently wheeled) for probably about 5 years now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 it helps when there is a soft washer between the foot of the zip strip, and the rad coil.. and also one on the other side. that allows for a tighter union between fan and fins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moshem74 Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 yep, or you can run it to a switch on the dash. it really isn't necessary to have the fan(s) on above about 30mph. actually, on my lifted wagon, I ran for months with just the stock electric fan, just manually switched so I could have it on all the time. then the bearing went out on it, so I replaced it with an aftermarket one. but the stock electric fan moves plenty of air for a non-turbo EA82. here's the setup I'm currently running on my EJ22 swapped loyale... It's a 10" diameter fan from Advance Auto Parts. it can be set up for either side of the radiator, but since I've removed the A/C, there's plenty of room on the front of it. The same company makes a little relay, that has a temp sensor that attaches to the radiator. the 2 blue wires are the switched wires, one from a power source (directions say to use something switched, but I went right to the battery), the other to the fan. the little metal wire coming out the other side goes to the sensor, and the screw in the middle adjusts what temperature it comes on at. the fan attaches using little clips that go through the fins of the radiator. quick, easy, and strong universal mount. (you can see the temp sensor there too...it uses the same mount) and last, there's the fan, peeking out from behind the grill. That one fan, is more than enough to cool the EJ22, through a stock, 20 year old, single core EA82 radiator. hi looks great. tell me please, why you took out\removed the A/C ? did it make any diffrent on the engin runing temp without the A\C ? did you took only the radiator of the A\C away, or all the things in the engine that are of the A\C ? thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 hilooks great. tell me please, why you took out\removed the A/C ? did it make any diffrent on the engin runing temp without the A\C ? did you took only the radiator of the A\C away, or all the things in the engine that are of the A\C ? thank you. well, on my '88 lifted wagon....because it didn't work. this one, because I did an EJ swap, and didn't have a compressor, nor wanted to deal with the lines and such. both cars, I removed everything under the hood, including the condensor. never had a problem with engine cooling before removing the A/C. so no, no difference. still came up to operating temp, and stayed there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pebbles Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 BEWARE aftermarket fans that use 'zip strips' through the radiator. The one thing I can tell you from years of off roading is that they WILL tear your rad up! It takes a while and will almost always occurr at the most inoppertune time. The fan is great, but get a kit or build one to solid mount it. All the bouncing around off road causes the fan to bounce independently from the rad, and the little strips eventually tear the core up. I removed the mechanical fans on ALL of m previous wheeling rigs and went electric. Great for HP boosts and you can turn them off so as not to throw water around the engine compartment. I was worried about the same thing so I adapted my new electric fan to the origional fan housing to prevent this from occuring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 The EA81 electric AC fan fits some EA82 radiators, and not others. Depends of a lot of factors after 20 years - some models came with 2 row units (turbo's), some with metal tanks, and some with plastic. And then a not insignificant number have been replaced by previous owners. But it's not all that hard to *make* it fit virtually any radiator. And I would prefer it any day over something running through the fins. Remember that the clutch fan is only there to cool the AC compressor when the car isn't moving. In hot weather the compressor can get dangerously hot being in close proximity to the engine, and having nowhere to dump all the heat build up. Non-AC models of the EA82 had no clutch fan just as the EA81 had no second electric fan for this. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasWaff Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 Remember that the clutch fan is only there to cool the AC compressor when the car isn't moving. In hot weather the compressor can get dangerously hot being in close proximity to the engine, and having nowhere to dump all the heat build up. Non-AC models of the EA82 had no clutch fan just as the EA81 had no second electric fan for this. GD Ahso... So if you have removed the A/C (like me) then the clutch fan is really a moot point anyway... good to know. DW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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