First of all, you guys are awesome. I get so much help from this site.

Give me your opinion here:

I've got two 12" electric fans pulling air. The car will run at 180-190 most of the time. At stop lights it goes to 210. It will quickly go back to 180-190 once I get moving. I would not mind this, but:

1) The battery keeps getting drained in all but the best conditions - meaning the fans run too much.

2) The automatic trans gets too hot. It is OK until you get into stop and go. Then the temp rises too high and will not come back down to really good levels.

All this tells me that the fans are just not good enough.

So Do I...

Get some different electric fans? two 12s are about the biggest that will fit, but is there a better brand? These have no name on them and came with the car.

Go mechanical? I have a reverse rotation water pump, so I would have to buy a special fan. I would also have to figure out a shroud and move some hoses.

Here is my set up:

65 El Camino with 355 c.i. ported TPI EFI, Edelbrock RPM heads, 9.7:1, Mild roller cam. Edelbrock water pump. Small aluminum cross flow radiator (from a Vette), dual 12" electric fans with built in shroud. Small tranny cooler in front of radiator, headers

Give me your opinion




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Jameel Qazi
#'s 67 SS
65 TPI / 700R4 El Camino

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI> If they're draining your battery, the alternator isn't keeping up.<LI>The fans aren't moving enough air (could be because of your alternator's reduced output at idle)[/list]

If you choose to keep electric fans, try the Windstar or Mark VIII setup. You'll have to upgrade the charging system as well.

If you choose to go mechanical, the OEM setups work fine for lots of people.

I'll have to let others handle any further details. I have to go spend a week offshore.



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My Web Page (http://www.landry-family.com) (updated 06-21-02)

"Long Live Freedom!"

Chad Landry
TC Member #643
ACES Member #4556
'68 El Camino, 357, L31 Vortec heads, 700R4,
8.2 10-bolt, 3.55 gears, Auburn Pro Posi.

All fans are NOT created equal and amperage or wattage figures are a good general yardstick of what the fans ability to do work (move air).
Actually, a temperature of 210 as a max is good! Nothing wrong with that. But, if you are bent on getting it to perform on the thermostat opening then read on.

There are several options here. You can go with a single 16" fan that moves 2300+ cfms or a twin unit that moves over 2800+cfms both from Spal. Spal makes fans for OEMs and has the best aftermarket units on earth.

Your battery performance may be due to the fact that these fans require alot of amperage and in stop and go/idling traffic you may not have a big enough alternator to do everything. This would be exaggerated at night obviously with the lighting load. If your battery is in top shape and being run down consistently, then it's time to look for a quality 100+ amp alternator. I use Tuffstuff and Powermaster. Both are quality proven manufacturers. Don't forget to use quality professional grade relays for these fans as well. Check out Newark Electronics for at least 40amp relays.

Transmission temperatures can be affected by hot radiator temperatures so work on getting the radiator temperature down with better fans. If that doesn't do it then go for an external rail cooler. Usually however, the tranny's tracking of temperature with the engine is caused by the cooling system not doing it's job. Just exactly what is hot to you? Run Lubeguard as a precaution anywho!

Remember, quality electric fans cannot be outperformed by ANY mechanical units for idle and slow speed performance. Even the best and largest mechancial fans need around 2500+rpms to produce 2500cfms of air.

Check out www.inccn.net/techforum.htm (http://www.inccn.net/techforum.htm) for more cooling advice.



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Steve Jack
-Concept One Pulleys and Brackets
-Marketing Technologies Limited
-Northern/Southern Rodder Magazine's "Jack'Stands" technical column author/originator

Oh, I forgot to mention I have already upgraded the alternator to a late model GM 105 amp. Can't get much better. The volt meter reads 14 at idle. The thing is the fans run constantly once the car gets hot.

I am running straight water with hyperlube. I will have to change to anti-freeze in the winter.

I am assuming that since the water cools down when I am moving that the problem is not the radiator, but air flow.

Good tips tho. Yes 210 is OK for me in traffic, if it would not kill my brand new spiral core battery. I thought my starter was just gettting heat soaked from the headers, but I wrapped the header. I had problems with the timing yesterday and had to start it about 5 times. I went to start it later and it was bone dead. The battery is always weak.

The fans are computer controlled by my Accel DFI unit, which has a relay to switch them on when the the water temp hits 196. One question tho, I am runnung both fans off the same relay. Could the wiring be causing poor fan performance?

Also, my tranny temps equalize with the engine at about 180. My tranny builder says a 180 pan temp is bad, since the converter temp is much higher than pan temp.

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Jameel Qazi
#'s 67 SS
65 TPI / 700R4 El Camino

[This message has been edited by jaqazi (edited 08-07-2002).]

[This message has been edited by jaqazi (edited 08-07-2002).]

Oh, Steve, I checked out your site. Very good. I sent you an email on this subject.

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Jameel Qazi
#'s 67 SS
65 TPI / 700R4 El Camino