Custom fan clutch eliminator? Recording of noise available?

[Anthropy]

Funny all the talk of clutch fans. When I was in high school I had a '63 Chevy Impala with a 350 small block, fixed fan blade. No power loss or extra noise that I can remember. Of couse that engine was a bit more powerful than my I6 HO that is in my '96 XJ.

 

[rickoregon]

Yeah, I have several vehicles with fix fans - a 66 Dodge truck, a 56 Buick Special, and a 49 Ford dump truck. I don't notice any power loss or noise in them either, but everything else is pretty loud! I've got an extra fan clutch and fan, so I think I can experiment with it and maybe produce a tighter coupling. Have a nice Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[5-90]

My worry with an oil cooler is the extra components needed and possible overcooling. To keep the oil from becoming to cold I would need to have some sort of thermostat, I suppose. And I think I'd rather improve an existing cooling system, if possible, rather than add a new one. Interesting thought, though. Thanks.

You don't need that much extra, and careful assembly should take care of leakage potential (especially keeping the hoses away from mechanical interference!)

You'll need a "sandwich" adapter to go between the oil filter and the block, or a "block plate" if you also run a remote oil filter,
Plumbing to/from the oil cooler assy
And you might end up running a larger filter (if you run remote, you have more room.)


And, B&M used to make a thermostatic bypass valve that would close off below ~190*, routing oil flow directly back to the system; and open up above ~190*, routing oil flow to the cooler. It was designed for automatic transmission coolers, but I've used it with good results on engine oil coolers as well. Check B&M, Flex-A-Lite, and other makers of transmission coolers for information - I don't know who makes it these days, but I'm reasonably sure it's spread.

5-90

 

[rickoregon]

That sounds straightforward, but I'd be concerned about where to mount the oil cooler so that it doesn't feed the existing water cooling system with hot air or vice versa, and possibly defeat the purpose of the cooling systems. Maybe below the existing radiator? Or up under the frame somewhere?

 

[5-90]

Wasn't there a post here about a guy who not only mounted hood vents, but then put heater cores under the vents for additional cooling? I think he did fans as well.

There's no particular reason one can't do something similar with an oil cooler or a transmission cooler.

And, if you're worried about extra thermal load on the radiator - bear in mind that the A/C condenser is forward of the radiator, which "heat loads" the air going into the radiator (moreso when you actually USE the air conditioning in summer...)

5-90

 

[rickoregon]

Thanks for all your insights. Appreciate it. Rick