Radiator Fan

[Sandgrounder]

Its time to replace the radiator fan on my S3. Its only lasted 30 years, so I probably shouldn't grumble. Has anyone got a recommendation on a replacement, or are they generally all much of a muchness?

Purely based on ease of access, I intend to install a replacement on the inside (engine bay) of radiator, not on the front which is where it was originally. So clearly I will be needing a Pull type.

Thanks

[v8s4me]

Why not have the old one re-cored? This is much the easier option.

[Spanish S2]

Hi Graham, Racetech-Direct Part No TVRK0062A Cooling fan sucker fits behind radiator, says its a good
upgrade for the S. Don't know how you would fit it, you will have to speak to them.

[Sandgrounder]

V8S4ME, its the fan I am replacing, not the radiator.

Graham, good tip, the price of that fan seems reasonable. I just spoke to them regarding fitting details, but their technical man only works Mon to Fri so will call next week.

Cheers both.

[v8s4me]

Sandgrounder said:

V8S4ME, its the fan I am replacing, not the radiator......

[magpies]

I have a pair of fans on my S radiator. One wired to the otter switch and the other has a manual over ride switch. I rarely need to use the manual one.

[v8s4me]

I have this available .....




Let me know if you're interested.

[Penelope Stopit]

Sandgrounder said:

Its time to replace the radiator fan on my S3. Its only lasted 30 years, so I probably shouldn't grumble. Has anyone got a recommendation on a replacement, or are they generally all much of a muchness?

Purely based on ease of access, I intend to install a replacement on the inside (engine bay) of radiator, not on the front which is where it was originally. So clearly I will be needing a Pull type.

Thanks

As you know pulling is better than pushing

The information at this link may well help you make a decision
https://www.a1electric.com/spal/faninfo.htm

[phillpot]

Penny, the queen of cut 'n paste to the rescue again

[GreenV8S]

Either push or pull can work fine. There are pros and cons to each, but if you sticking with the original arrangement with gaps around all edges of the radiator then these are largely irrelevant since it's going to work pretty poorly in any case.

[Sandgrounder]

Thanks for the advice/offer all, but decision already made. I'm going for the Racetech fan.
Radiator is effectively new, so I would expect any fan arrangement will suffice.
I read somewhere that Pull type was slightly more effective than Push type, but decision was based on access, as I don't want to remove the Radiator.

Cheers

[phillpot]

Sandgrounder said:

decision was based on access, as I don't want to remove the Radiator.

Cheers

Have a look under your car, bags of room to access the front of the rad But it would seem these days that pulling rather than pushing is favourite.

[GreenV8S]

If you have an even vaguely decent fan and radiator, the main limiting factor for peak cooling capacity is air recirculation around the radiator.

The cooling capacity is not very sensitive to air flow rate so bigger fans give diminishing returns. However, if 50% of the air flowing through the radiator got recirculated because the fan can draw hot air round the sides/top/bottom of the rad, that's roughly a 50% loss in cooling capacity. So air leakage is more important than fan size and whether it's pushing or pulling.

Having said that, other rthings being equal there's a small benefit to having the fan in front since any air leak there doesn't cause recirculation.

[Penelope Stopit]

Sandgrounder said:

Thanks for the advice/offer all, but decision already made. I'm going for the Racetech fan.
Radiator is effectively new, so I would expect any fan arrangement will suffice.
I read somewhere that Pull type was slightly more effective than Push type, but decision was based on access, as I don't want to remove the Radiator.

Cheers

Good choice, SPAL Fans are very good

[Sandgrounder]

Typical, despite my intentions, having spoken to Racetech today regarding installation, I ended up ordering the Blower fan (Push), as I don't have anything I can use to install on the rear of the Rad.
I am hoping to re-use the 3 fittings from my broken fan though they may need some minor alteration. But I won't know how easy that will be until I can actually get my hands on the replacement!
Gives me something to look forward to!

[GreenV8S]

Sandgrounder said:

I don't have anything I can use to install on the rear of the Rad.

Those tension strap fittings through the matrix look pretty janky but are actually fine to use, and very convenient if you don't have any suitable mounting points.

[Oldred_V8S]

v8s4me said:

I have this available .....




Let me know if you're interested.

Joe

I could be interested.
How much?

[phillpot]

Oldred_V8S said:

Joe

I could be interested.
How much?

Told me he was going to throw it away so not a lot Paul

Twin fans, you might want to check in with Penny Plopit for some wiring advice?

[Sandgrounder]

Thought I would follow up on this old thread!

I eventually installed the Racetech (SPAL) Pusher fan as there were existing plates welded to the chassis for ease of installation (with some fettling!).
The SPAL fan has straight blades and is a lot louder than the predecessor which had curved blades.
I have done a few short test drives, but went on a lengthy drive yesterday as the rain finally stopped. I don't know if it because I can hear this new fan more than the previous but fan seems to be on a lot of the time. The temp gauge doesn't travel much above the deg C, even when stuck in traffic, but when I got home, I just left it running, fan was spinning, temp gauge was at usual running temp, but after ten minutes, was stll running.

So, it seems after longer runs, fan can keep engine temp ok, but I was expecting it to cut out more. Radiator was refurbished last year, water pump is only a few thousand miles old.

Should I just accept it is ok, or is the otter switch suspect?

Thanks

[GreenV8S]

If it keeps the engine cool in hot weather, that's sufficient. It isn't surprising it takes a long time for the otter switch to switch off given that the otter switch is sensing hot coolant.in the pipe rather than the radiator temperature. It's actually much better for the fan motor for it to keep running continuously rather than stop/start all the time. Most of the wear on the motor and relays etc occurs at startup.