Bit of a teaser. As of right now, I only have it mounted, I still need to hook up the wiring, which I don't have 100% figured out yet.
I bought the following off of ebay:
Spal Fan #30102049 - 16" puller fan, 2070 cfm, pretty much the biggest street fan Spal makes.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&item=300198521006
Spal Mounting Brackets - so you don't have to use through-the-core mounting
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370021536709
Spal PWM Fan controller - Adjustable Fan Controller, in theory, will run at low speeds when a little cooling is needed, and go higher when more cooling is needed.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370022965220
Here is the spec sheet for the fan: http://www.spalusa.com/fans/automated/tech_sheets/2048-2049.pdf
Here is the install manual for the FAN-PWM controller: http://www.spalusa.com/fans/automated/tech_sheets/PWMIns.pdf
Originally, I wanted to try to bolt the fan to the shroud, my thinking was that if I could mount it in the opening, that it could operate like the mechanical fan, and pull air from the whole radiator. However, after a couple emails with Spal Tech Support, they recommended the fan be mounted to the radiator. The stock fan is 2" larger diameter, and it would most likely just pull air from the engine side with a large gap, unless you could come up with a way to make a filler plate. Also, the fan won't be as efficient if it is mounted farther than ~1" away from the radiator.
Since the stock system already has a pusher fan on the other side of the radiator on the opposite end, I figure I'm OK with having the puller fan in the stock location mounted to the radiator, the whole core is still covered. The ultimate solution would be to make a custom aluminum shroud, but that is most likely overkill for our needs.
I mounted the fan without having to remove the radiator, or drain the cooling system. That being said, it might be easier to do if you pull the radiator out, at the very least, it would be less painful, I cut the heck out of my hands on the radiator shroud during installation.
Removing the fan is fairly easy, I used a large screwdriver and a crescent wrench, wedged the screwdriver on the pulley bolts, and yanked hard on the wrench.
The shroud is a little harder, but not much. Follow the TIS for the most part.
1) Remove the passenger side MAF and hose.
2) Cut/Twist the crimped on hose clamps on the two lines for the expansion tank. You will need new clamps for reinstallation. One line will most likely leak a little fluid, plug it up with something, I used a bolt.
3) Pry up the center part of the two plastic rivets on the expansion tank, then pry up the outer part. The expansion tank can then be lifted up, and set out of the way (see pics)
4) There is a sensor mounted to the shroud under the expansion tank, looks to be a fan airflow sensor of some type. Just disconnect it.
5) There is a rubber strip between the metal core support, and the shroud, it will need to be removed, make sure you remember which way it goes.
6) There are two more plastic rivets, one on each side, that need to be removed from the shroud. The shroud can then be pulled up.
If you look at the top and bottom of the radiator, you will notice there are holes where you can mount the fan. I centered the fan motor as best I could with the old fan pulley. There are 2 flat spots on the sides of the fan, I mounted them up/down, so the fan could be as high up on the radiator as possible.
Mount the fan, mark the mounting tabs, and trim them.
Pic of the fan with the spal mounting tabs, already trimmed, and in the appropriate position:
Pic of the fan mounted:
Another view:
If you look at the pic, you will see I used bolts that point towards the engine, I later found out that they will hit the shroud, and have to point the other way. However, the holes in the radiator are not centered in the strip, so you will need to go to a smaller bolt to get a nut that will fit. I think the bolts I used were either 1/8" or 5/32" diameter, with appropriate sized washers. The original bolts were good enough for test mounting though. You will also need to notch the bottom of the fan shroud, since it butts up agains the aluminum strip on the bottom. if you remove the belly pan, you should be able to mark the bolt positions. I, however, did not do this, and was off on my measurements, I need to do it again (hindsight, blah blah) One of my lower shroud mounts was broken anyways, so I need to fix that anyways.
A pic of the FAN-PWM unit, and it's mess of wires:
Where I mounted the unit:
Close up: (You can see the airflow sensor above it)
I mounted it so the buttons/lights are on the bottom, so I can see them and program it with the belly pan removed.
So I got the fan mounted, FAN-PWM unit mounted, all I need to do is drop the shroud back in, right? Right? Nope. Won't fit now with the fan mounted. If the radiator was pulled out of the car, it wouldn't be a problem, but the fan motor sticks out too far, and you won't be able to get the shroud between it and the pulley.
I had to unbolt the fan, pull it up, lower the fan and shroud in at the same time, bolt the fan back up, then put the shroud on. If you didn't pull the radiator, be prepared to scrape the heck out of the back of your hands.
Things left to do:
1) Fix the lower shroud mount, notch the shroud for the bottom fan bolts.
2) Pull the radiator to clean it - A couple months ago I hit a cube of loose insulation that fell out of a truck in front of me (I didn't know what it was until I hit it) Insulation was EVERYWHERE, in the airboxes, packed in the grill openings, all over the motor, burnt onto the exhaust system. I thought I got it all, but I took a look at the front of the radiator while everything was apart, and it's still got a ton of insulation stuck to it. Compressed air wouldn't budge it, I need to get the radiator out to clean it good. This isn't related to the fan install, but while you have it apart, it's worth taking a look. I need to do a coolant flush anyways.
3) Wire up FAN-PWM unit
- I need to find a +12V Ignition source
- Ground and Battery Power shouldn't be a problem, I think I can tap into the stock electric fan wiring for that, I need to double to make sure the wiring/fuse is up to the task of a 2nd fan. I could go to the Batt+ Terminal, but that might make for some messy wiring. I'd like to hide it as much as possible.
- Figure out which coolant sensor to use for the FAN-PWM unit. There is one on top of the thermostat housing, and another in the radiator outlet. I would like to use the one in the radiator outlet, as it would be a more accurate picture of what the coolant temp is coming out of the radiator, but there is no gauge hooked up to it like the sensor on the thermostat housing. I might buy another sensor, then try to get a resistance measurement at a couple different temps (freezer, boiling water, room temp) and plot it's curve. I can then mimic that resistance on the stock wiring to get it's corresponding voltage, then build a variable voltage source to initially program the PWM unit. Easy eh?
- The FAN-PWM unit has an A/C input, so I can either tap into the A/C clutch engage wire, or, tap into the stock electric fan turn on wire, which is ECU controlled. I wish I knew what conditions needed to be met for the stock electric fan to be engaged. Or I could leave it totally disconnected, and just rely on the ECU control of the secondary fan for A/C operation.
As for when I get this finished up....Not sure, going to see if the local dealer has the shroud mount and temp sensor in stock for a decent price, if not, I'll order it online, which will take a little longer.
I bought the following off of ebay:
Spal Fan #30102049 - 16" puller fan, 2070 cfm, pretty much the biggest street fan Spal makes.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&item=300198521006
Spal Mounting Brackets - so you don't have to use through-the-core mounting
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370021536709
Spal PWM Fan controller - Adjustable Fan Controller, in theory, will run at low speeds when a little cooling is needed, and go higher when more cooling is needed.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370022965220
Here is the spec sheet for the fan: http://www.spalusa.com/fans/automated/tech_sheets/2048-2049.pdf
Here is the install manual for the FAN-PWM controller: http://www.spalusa.com/fans/automated/tech_sheets/PWMIns.pdf
Originally, I wanted to try to bolt the fan to the shroud, my thinking was that if I could mount it in the opening, that it could operate like the mechanical fan, and pull air from the whole radiator. However, after a couple emails with Spal Tech Support, they recommended the fan be mounted to the radiator. The stock fan is 2" larger diameter, and it would most likely just pull air from the engine side with a large gap, unless you could come up with a way to make a filler plate. Also, the fan won't be as efficient if it is mounted farther than ~1" away from the radiator.
Since the stock system already has a pusher fan on the other side of the radiator on the opposite end, I figure I'm OK with having the puller fan in the stock location mounted to the radiator, the whole core is still covered. The ultimate solution would be to make a custom aluminum shroud, but that is most likely overkill for our needs.
I mounted the fan without having to remove the radiator, or drain the cooling system. That being said, it might be easier to do if you pull the radiator out, at the very least, it would be less painful, I cut the heck out of my hands on the radiator shroud during installation.
Removing the fan is fairly easy, I used a large screwdriver and a crescent wrench, wedged the screwdriver on the pulley bolts, and yanked hard on the wrench.
The shroud is a little harder, but not much. Follow the TIS for the most part.
1) Remove the passenger side MAF and hose.
2) Cut/Twist the crimped on hose clamps on the two lines for the expansion tank. You will need new clamps for reinstallation. One line will most likely leak a little fluid, plug it up with something, I used a bolt.
3) Pry up the center part of the two plastic rivets on the expansion tank, then pry up the outer part. The expansion tank can then be lifted up, and set out of the way (see pics)
4) There is a sensor mounted to the shroud under the expansion tank, looks to be a fan airflow sensor of some type. Just disconnect it.
5) There is a rubber strip between the metal core support, and the shroud, it will need to be removed, make sure you remember which way it goes.
6) There are two more plastic rivets, one on each side, that need to be removed from the shroud. The shroud can then be pulled up.
If you look at the top and bottom of the radiator, you will notice there are holes where you can mount the fan. I centered the fan motor as best I could with the old fan pulley. There are 2 flat spots on the sides of the fan, I mounted them up/down, so the fan could be as high up on the radiator as possible.
Mount the fan, mark the mounting tabs, and trim them.
Pic of the fan with the spal mounting tabs, already trimmed, and in the appropriate position:
Pic of the fan mounted:
Another view:
If you look at the pic, you will see I used bolts that point towards the engine, I later found out that they will hit the shroud, and have to point the other way. However, the holes in the radiator are not centered in the strip, so you will need to go to a smaller bolt to get a nut that will fit. I think the bolts I used were either 1/8" or 5/32" diameter, with appropriate sized washers. The original bolts were good enough for test mounting though. You will also need to notch the bottom of the fan shroud, since it butts up agains the aluminum strip on the bottom. if you remove the belly pan, you should be able to mark the bolt positions. I, however, did not do this, and was off on my measurements, I need to do it again (hindsight, blah blah) One of my lower shroud mounts was broken anyways, so I need to fix that anyways.
A pic of the FAN-PWM unit, and it's mess of wires:
Where I mounted the unit:
Close up: (You can see the airflow sensor above it)
I mounted it so the buttons/lights are on the bottom, so I can see them and program it with the belly pan removed.
So I got the fan mounted, FAN-PWM unit mounted, all I need to do is drop the shroud back in, right? Right? Nope. Won't fit now with the fan mounted. If the radiator was pulled out of the car, it wouldn't be a problem, but the fan motor sticks out too far, and you won't be able to get the shroud between it and the pulley.
I had to unbolt the fan, pull it up, lower the fan and shroud in at the same time, bolt the fan back up, then put the shroud on. If you didn't pull the radiator, be prepared to scrape the heck out of the back of your hands.
Things left to do:
1) Fix the lower shroud mount, notch the shroud for the bottom fan bolts.
2) Pull the radiator to clean it - A couple months ago I hit a cube of loose insulation that fell out of a truck in front of me (I didn't know what it was until I hit it) Insulation was EVERYWHERE, in the airboxes, packed in the grill openings, all over the motor, burnt onto the exhaust system. I thought I got it all, but I took a look at the front of the radiator while everything was apart, and it's still got a ton of insulation stuck to it. Compressed air wouldn't budge it, I need to get the radiator out to clean it good. This isn't related to the fan install, but while you have it apart, it's worth taking a look. I need to do a coolant flush anyways.
3) Wire up FAN-PWM unit
- I need to find a +12V Ignition source
- Ground and Battery Power shouldn't be a problem, I think I can tap into the stock electric fan wiring for that, I need to double to make sure the wiring/fuse is up to the task of a 2nd fan. I could go to the Batt+ Terminal, but that might make for some messy wiring. I'd like to hide it as much as possible.
- Figure out which coolant sensor to use for the FAN-PWM unit. There is one on top of the thermostat housing, and another in the radiator outlet. I would like to use the one in the radiator outlet, as it would be a more accurate picture of what the coolant temp is coming out of the radiator, but there is no gauge hooked up to it like the sensor on the thermostat housing. I might buy another sensor, then try to get a resistance measurement at a couple different temps (freezer, boiling water, room temp) and plot it's curve. I can then mimic that resistance on the stock wiring to get it's corresponding voltage, then build a variable voltage source to initially program the PWM unit. Easy eh?
- The FAN-PWM unit has an A/C input, so I can either tap into the A/C clutch engage wire, or, tap into the stock electric fan turn on wire, which is ECU controlled. I wish I knew what conditions needed to be met for the stock electric fan to be engaged. Or I could leave it totally disconnected, and just rely on the ECU control of the secondary fan for A/C operation.
As for when I get this finished up....Not sure, going to see if the local dealer has the shroud mount and temp sensor in stock for a decent price, if not, I'll order it online, which will take a little longer.