electric fan

[datsunrally720]

how hard would  it be to install a electric fan a 86 720 nissan?

and if its possible  does any one know how to do it?

thank you  

[wayno]

Welcome  B)

 

First thing I would ask you is why you would want to do that in the first place, the stock fan works great, and if your over heating, it's likely another issue.

I would never use an electric fan unless there was no other choice, they are noisy, and not even close to as reliable as the stock equipment.

[DaveZilla]

I just did the electric fan to mine, the biggest hurdle you really got is that you need to remove the stock fan clutch from your water pump. I decided to buy a new water pump to remove the fan clutch from, then put it back together and installed it.

For the fan, there's only enough room to run a single 14" or dual 12" fans, but so far the single 14 is doing it's job just fine, if it runs hotter this summer then I'll add in another 12" fan like I did on my 300zx back in '98... which by the way the fans still work perfectly in as well.

 

The end result was the electric fan does save you a few extra hp that can now go to the wheels, but don't expect a lot, it's just enough to be noticeable in 4th and 5th gear. as far as noise is concearned, I can barely hear mine running outside the truck, and can't hear it at all inside... the key here is to use name brand fans like Hayden, and stay clear of the ebay junk... they're noisy and won't last.

 

I really wanted to use a fan controller so the fan would only come on after a certain temperature but stay off most the time, but there was no room on my right hand fender to mount the controller since it has the capillary tube which limits where it can be mounted, but things work well for the moment without the controller, it just runs all the time.

 

here's a few pics from my project... I was too quick about taking off the fan clutch so non pics got taken there, but others have pics if you search fan clutch delete, but it's not that hard to do... just remove the 4 bolts that hold it together, drain the oil inside, cut off the back half, then cut the bearing off the shaft. That's it... I'm sure if you have a hytdraulic press and a bearing puller you may be able to just press the clutch and bearing off, but if not, a die grinder and a cutoff wheel makes short work of it. I decided to weld my pulley on since from the factory they're just pressed together, the pulley most likely would never come off if I didn't weld it, but since I cut it back a little I wanted to be sure it would stay put. 

 

 

Here's the front of the engine with everything set in place but not yet installed... I did have to trim a little off the bottom of the fan frame to fit it on the radiator, but no big deal and made sure nothing rubbed that wasn't supposed to. There's quite a bit more room up front now and no more dangerous fan there when tuning on the engine... Notice my fan isn't brand new? .. I got the 16" one without measuring first, this is the 15 year old 14" fan off my 300zx... which now has the new 16" fan installed on it. I have no issues with reliability from these fans and this one should last me more years to come, but if not, hey, it already served it's purpose on another car for nearly 15 years.

 

Hope this helps...

[Z-train]

Another option is adapting a 94-5 Mercury Sable fan.It's a two speed and moves enough air where it almost "sucks" the truck down the road.

[DaveZilla]

I actually like that idea... OEM fans that fit are a much better option both for being quiet and reliability... just run everything thru a relay

[datzenmike]

how hard would  it be to install a electric fan a 86 720 nissan?

and if its possible  does any one know how to do it?

thank you  

.

 

While the stock fans are reliable, they are turning ALL the time. The only time an electric fan should come on is when the return rad coolant starts to get near the thermostat range. Prolonged idling or climbing an incline at low speeds. Otherwise there is more than enough air passing through the rad from vehicle speed. This is why new cars have them, fans and the energy to drive them are just not needed very much.

[DaveZilla]

Very True... That's why I really wanted to install the fan controller when I did mine...

I'll still install it, but maybe next week while I'm off I'll have the time to figure out where to mount it. I really liked the fan controller in the 300zx because the fan only came on when needed and remained off about 90% of the time.

One thing I'll point out about fan controllers is that they're not all created equally... they come in 3 main types, the capilary tube with the sensor that goes inside your radiator hose (2nd best), the capilary tube with the sensor that goes thru your radiator fins (worst type, but they do work once set, most common), and the best type is the remote sensor that goes into an unused plug hole in the radiator tank and you can run any length wires to and from the sensor , these have no capilary tubing so you can mount the controller anywhere under the hood where there's room... or even inside your car so you can adjust on the fly if ever needed (definitely overkill unless you're towing or offroading a lot).

The fan controllers can usually handle the electric current of the fan, but I also found they last a lot longer if you run the fan off a relay from the controller, the first controller I bought for my 300zx burned up after about 7 or 8 hours of use so that's why I recommend running the fan off a relay instead of directly off the controller... and it's a must if you run dual fans.

[datzenmike]

I've seen people put the sensor in a spare hole the thermostat housing. So the fan is on most of the time... not the way to do it.  Might as well leave the stock fan on. Best is the lower rad tank or in the lower rad hose. I have one (not in use yet) from a later S12 that splices into the lower rad hose. This gives the rad the chance to cool the coolant and do it's job. 

[DaveZilla]

I put mine in the top tank on my Z and was happy with it, it only came on for a minute or 2 when needed and remained off most the time... But I'm glad you mentioned the lower hose/lower tank, that's where I'm gonna mount the controller on the 720, there's plenty enough room on that side for a clean install. :thumbup:

[Jim_Rockford]

.

 

While the stock fans are reliable, they are turning ALL the time. The only time an electric fan should come on is when the return rad coolant starts to get near the thermostat range. Prolonged idling or climbing an incline at low speeds. Otherwise there is more than enough air passing through the rad from vehicle speed. This is why new cars have them, fans and the energy to drive them are just not needed very much.

Stock factory fans shouldn't ever run all the time, they have a temp sender that tells the ecm when to turn on and off and newer ones have the ecm send a command for higher or lower speed also depending on the conditions, hot day running the A/c wide open on a hot day, might need full fan speed, other times , cool 40 degree day, no a/c steady speed  the fan will only turn on low for a few min if needed. either way no factory fan should have to run full time. 

[DaveZilla]

Stock factory fans shouldn't ever run all the time, they have a temp sender that tells the ecm when to turn on and off and newer ones have the ecm send a command for higher or lower speed also depending on the conditions, hot day running the A/c wide open on a hot day, might need full fan speed, other times , cool 40 degree day, no a/c steady speed  the fan will only turn on low for a few min if needed. either way no factory fan should have to run full time. 

 

That may hold true for newer vehicles, but these 28+ year old trucks came from the factory with a fan clutch and it's all driven by the engine... if the engine is on, the fan is on. By adding in an electric fan to these, we can free up a few extra horses to the rear wheels, where on these trucks, it's very much needed. Then, we have 2 options... run it all the time or add in a fan controller to shut it off until a certain temp is reached. The benefits of the fan controller definitely make them worth their while to install and the extra cost of the controller since with the controller the fans will only run when needed and remain off most the time.

 

the benefits of the electric fans over the stock fans in this case are an improvement in gas milage and more power to the wheels, and by adding in a fan controller it makes the whole system more efficient and extends the life of the electric fans since now they only run about 10% of the time or less compared to 100% of the time without a controller. It also has the extra benefit that it's easier to work on and around the front of the engine since there's more space up front, not to mention it"s a lot safer to set the timing...

[wayno]

I have never been in a vehicle that over heated because the clutch fan quit working, but I have been in a vehicle that the electric fan quit working, and the car had to be shut down and could go no further.

Don't replace OEM clutch fans with electric crap unless you have no other choice, but that is my ignorant opinion. 

[Jim_Rockford]

yea the belt driven fan runs all the time, true, i was speaking of factory electric fans, I have also had fan clutches go out on me and not cool at low speeds and overheat the engine, anything mechanical is prone to failure. Electric is the way to go and adapting a factory unit is the way to go, car companies pay millions of dollars for engineering you might as well take advantage of it, I do not care for any aftermarket fans though, they are usually pretty cheap and don't have nearly the cooling power.