Should I get an electric fan?

I have a snorkel on the way and i live in alaska where there are a lot of river crossings, i read somewhere that when people usually cross rivers it is good to be able to switch off your fan for some reason i guess so you dont damage it vs the belt driven fan that comes stock i think, i am fairly new to the off road scene and i know a decent amout but am still working out the in depth technical stuff, so what do you guys think, thanks, Todd

The mech fan essentially becomes a propeller when it gets in the water, and can easily pull the engine (and fan) forward into the radiator. If you know you'll be driving through water you should replace it with an electric fan. There are other benefits too, such as the eliminating a source of constant drag on the crank and freeing up those ponies for the wheels. Just try to do a thorough job--a lot of people get frustrated and go back to mechanical when it doesn't work out for them as desired

Yes, use a Taurus fan with an in-cab switch so you can turn it high, low, or off. There are a few write-ups. Also, waterproof it as much as you can (obviously).
Here is one write-up:
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoTaurusFanInstall1.htm

I have had a lot of experience with the switch from mechanical to electrical fans. Here's my take. The mechanical engine driven fan setup is the most effective setup for the cherokee. I went electrical because I copuldn't stand the noise of the mech fan. The difference in horsepower is not enough for most people to notice but will gain a mile or so per gallon of fuel economy. Switching to a solid mounted flex fan will eliminate the issue of water crossings. If you do decide to go electric, make sure the entire system is in proper operating order first. Spend the money to get good fans (Spal or FFDynamics) this will save your butt in extreme conditions. I have had several parts store fans fail on me when I needed them the most. One almost caught my rig on fire. I also recommend running the tranny fluid through a cooler separate from the radiator and run an engine oil cooler if you can find a place to mount one. These steps are to ensure reliability and reserve capacity. If you want any more details about my setup you are welcome to PM me. Good luck!

in alaska, i would not recommend bypassing the trans cooler in the radiator. and i dont think that an engine oil cooler would be needed up there either.

stewie said:

in alaska, i would not recommend bypassing the trans cooler in the radiator. and i dont think that an engine oil cooler would be needed up there either.

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If the weather were cold all the time I would agree with that but it isn't always very cold in all of alaska. You can block the airflow to the radiatior to get the temps up if needed.