Radiator Question:

[john108]

Thanks CDR - Mitch told me about what he is doing and that you helped him.

Comet_666  -  Not the cheapest,  42% of what I payed for my Charger.  Thank you.
There are other radiators in that price range.  You probably get what you pay for.
Unfortunately, I have limited first hand knowledge and considering middle of the road.
Not the cheapest, not the best.

John

[comet_666]

I get it lol. I paid $2000 for mine in 92

[comet_666]

Not to hijack this thread or anything but how far away from the radiator should the fan be?

[cdr]

Not to hijack this thread or anything but how far away from the radiator should the fan be?

it has more to do with the location in the shroud, I like the fan to be into the shroud 3/4 in or a little more ,,,just inside. hope I made that clear in my description

[comet_666]

Not to hijack this thread or anything but how far away from the radiator should the fan be?

it has more to do with the location in the shroud, I like the fan to be into the shroud 3/4 in or a little more ,,,just inside. hope I made that clear in my description

Makes sense to me.
Here is a pic I just snapped, however because the car is running warmer than I like when its hot I am going to replace clutch fan with the standard fan that was in it before and see if that helps. I may need to space the hell out of it though...

[comet_666]

Pretty sure the smashed fins aren't helping either...

[cdr]

Not to hijack this thread or anything but how far away from the radiator should the fan be?

it has more to do with the location in the shroud, I like the fan to be into the shroud 3/4 in or a little more ,,,just inside. hope I made that clear in my description

Makes sense to me.
Here is a pic I just snapped, however because the car is running warmer than I like when its hot I am going to replace clutch fan with the standard fan that was in it before and see if that helps. I may need to space the hell out of it though...

for my application I had to use the mechanical fan, the HD fan clutch set up would not keep my car cool enough, I moved the spring position in the clutch as a test & then it ran cool, so I then went with a 1818 direct fan & that worked great.

[cdr]

A couple more things, I have the ac pulleys, so that overdrives the fan speed, also, that is one of the reasons I went to the expensive electric fans,  7k rpm shift points was pushing the limits of safety on the 8k rpm limit of the fan blade,

[comet_666]

This is the fan I am going to put on, I may have messed with this last year and it sat too far out from the radiator/shroud for my taste.
No # stamped on it but it has the pentastar and a B on it.

[cdr]

This is the fan I am going to put on, I may have messed with this last year and it sat too far out from the radiator/shroud for my taste.
No # stamped on it but it has the pentastar and a B on it.

it is worth a try

[comet_666]

A couple more things, I have the ac pulleys, so that overdrives the fan speed, also, that is one of the reasons I went to the expensive electric fans,  7k rpm shift points was pushing the limits of safety on the 8k rpm limit of the fan blade,

I have single groove 50 year old pulleys on mine lol

[justcruisin]

I had that same fan on mine a while back, shifts plenty of air but they are heavy. Only reason I changed is because like you I only had a single V belt set up and the belt would always squeak. I imagine a twin belt set up would be better.

[comet_666]

I had that same fan on mine a while back, shifts plenty of air but they are heavy. Only reason I changed is because like you I only had a single V belt set up and the belt would always squeak. I imagine a twin belt set up would be better.

Yah i found it today and was shocked at how heavy it was, than as I read your post I also remembered the belt squeak years ago...
So what fan should I look into getting? I know CDR said he was running an 1818 but you must have some sort of spacer there to bolt it to?

[cdr]

I had that same fan on mine a while back, shifts plenty of air but they are heavy. Only reason I changed is because like you I only had a single V belt set up and the belt would always squeak. I imagine a twin belt set up would be better.

Yah i found it today and was shocked at how heavy it was, than as I read your post I also remembered the belt squeak years ago...
So what fan should I look into getting? I know CDR said he was running an 1818 but you must have some sort of spacer there to bolt it to?

the 1818 is heavy & the spacer I ran was about 1 1/4 long IIRC

[c00nhunterjoe]

A couple more things, I have the ac pulleys, so that overdrives the fan speed, also, that is one of the reasons I went to the expensive electric fans,  7k rpm shift points was pushing the limits of safety on the 8k rpm limit of the fan blade,

Same here. I was told by people watching from the far end of the track that my mechanical fan sounded like a p51 mustang dive bombing at 7500 rpm.

[comet_666]

I just watched Season 2 Episode 20 of engine masters on motortrendondemand.com and they had a fan shootout
They tested a clutch fan, plastic fan, flex fan and a stock steel fan
Clutch fan ate the least HP/TQ while the plastic and stock steel fan took almost 30HP away!

[cdr]

I just watched Season 2 Episode 20 of engine masters on motortrendondemand.com and they had a fan shootout
They tested a clutch fan, plastic fan, flex fan and a stock steel fan
Clutch fan ate the least HP/TQ while the plastic and stock steel fan took almost 30HP away!

Yep BUT they did not test one like the 1818, my car ran the same time at the track with electric or 1818 fan, the 1818 flatens out at rpm

[justcruisin]

I am running the derale 17019, its a 19" fan. It shifts some air, it does squeak the belt on a fast rev out of gear. I wouldn't call it light but I find it good. The 19" might not work in all cases, it is close on mine. On the odd occasion I go to the track I remove the mechanical fan as the electric on the front seems to cope in that situation. As far as a HP drag, I would rather have something that pulls good air and give up a few pony's and maybe a little mileage on the street.

[comet_666]

I'm on the fence about this. Either I put the old steel 7 blade on and see how it works or keep the clutch fan on and get a electric pusher fan.

[justcruisin]

I use the original spacer that goes with the 7 blade factory fan. I think it is about 1 5/8" - 1 3/4". I like it better than the aftermarket spacers as it is solid with flat ends which provide a good mating surface.

[justcruisin]

No harm in trying it if you have it.

[comet_666]

I use the original spacer that goes with the 7 blade factory fan. I think it is about 1 5/8" - 1 3/4". I like it better than the aftermarket spacers as it is solid with flat ends which provide a good mating surface.

My fan has a spacer sort of built onto it. Not sure if its stock or what it is from.

[darbgnik]

I had a flex fan, same as CDR, although I can't remember the number on it. It also had a spacer holding it off the pulley and barely poking inside the plane of the shroud. And like I said, it worked very well. If I were you, I'd go that route, if you don't like how the clutch fan treats you. If you use a mechanical fan that is not a flex fan, you must use a clutch.

Remember the fan should not be buried inside the shroud either. Aiming for halfway in is a good starting point.

[john108]

I looked at my original hardware.
Doing the math, I calculated that my original thermal fan had a clearance between the leading edge of the fan blade and the core surface of the radiator.
It came out to be 1 inch.

[justcruisin]

Distance to the radiator is not critical, however, 1" is safe and about as close as you want to go. The engine will move forward in a hard braking situation.