Removing the clutch fan

[chesspirate]

After making different mods to my 4.3, I have started to run a lot cooler on the temp gauge. I was wondering at what point could I go ahead and just take the clutch fan off.
I'm not in a lot of stop and go traffic for to long, and do spend some considerable time on the freeway sometimes.
I thought tha I could just remove the retainer bolts, slide the sucker off, and see how it goes, put it back on if necessary.
Am I missing something here? I can take it off that easily right? without any other problems?
Thanks for all the responses in advance. :pirate_12

[chesspirate]

wrong smiley

[OBI WAN]

You never want to be without a fan , EVER. It can be costly the day it decides to get hot and cant cool.
To get it off requires a big wrench. That big nut thing near the water pump shaft is what holds it on. Need to jam the belt system and whack the wrench a few times, short impacts, normal bolt direction and she comes off. Unless you like me and have the proper wrench and holder, then its cake and 10 seconds!

[blazen]

you could try an e-fan. i put the flex-a-lite electric fan on mine. it was pretty easy to put in but i didn't see much of a performance gain or increase in gas milage. I did see alittle gain in both but not much. i've never had any problems with it either. I'd say i gained about twice as much power form my erg mod than I did with the fan.

[bvr775]

I wouldn't trust the factory dash temp gauge. it'll tell you your overheating, but beyond that figure +/- 10* off. Running a colder with FI and computer controls really dosn't do anything to tell you the truth outher than throw off you a/f mix. if you go too cold(like a 160 stat that seem to be so popular) your actually going to run rich and that's hell on a modern engine. It dumps lots of unburned fuel into the cat and will cause a carbon problem. In fact smaller gm engines from 96^ or designed to run best at temps between 180 and 210.

Now about the fan. there is a great debate on this matter. People who have actually tested this know the factory fan is great because when your moveing over a certain speed it has no drag on the engine and at idel pulls more air than any e-fan currently offered. this is something you should leave alone.
there is a tech article on this matter. jedi can give your the link sence i belive it's his article.

[blazen]

Now about the fan. there is a great debate on this matter. People who have actually tested this know the factory fan is great because when your moveing over a certain speed it has no drag on the engine and at idel pulls more air than any e-fan currently offered. this is something you should leave alone.
there is a tech article on this matter. jedi can give your the link sence i belive it's his article.

gotta agree its not worth the time and money for the power you gain.

[j894]

IF you spend most of your time on the freeway the fan is probably not engaged
or only partially. & you wouldn notice much anyway. On the freeway the airflow for
the cooling system comes from just driving at higher speeds. so If the "engagement
liquid" is cooled enough it doesnt engage the fan all the way.

or somthin like that

[bvr775]

. the fan cluth has a thermal trigger in it. when it get more than say 200* in the engine bay this little spring inside the clutch does something causeing the fan to engage (this is an example). I'm not real sure how to explain this in writting, but I may have an old one lieing around I can cut up and show ya'll.
If you could kep the truck at a constant speed from preoperating temp untill shut down you could run without a fan, but that not going to happen. What are you going to do try to clear the garage doors at 70 and try to stop before you get to the wall. when you slow down to under 30 mph your truck will overheat in a matter of seconds without a fan.

[j894]

whops I thought it only had some thermal liquid or something that engaged it.
Didnt know there were springs or w/e in the operation

[blazen]

my electric fan only come on after 180*. when i'm on the high way it never comes on unless I'm towing. but you wouldn't even make it through a burger king drive through with out your truck comeing very close to over heating. plus with out the fan your under hood temps will get pretty high the second you stop, like if you were gonna race.

[bvr775]

the new ones may have liquid in them. I haven't taken one apart yet

[20Xtreme02]

I have to agree, removing the fan is not a good idea. If you are interested in an efan, here's one on eBAY.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33600&item=7952880810&rd=1

[20Xtreme02]

I forgot to mention that the same seller has multiple sizes of fans available along with many other hod rod parts from wheels to distributors.

[T Man]

a while ago i was at car quest and saw this flex -a lite fan that was just a plastic fan that bolted inplace of your stock fan. it cut the weight down a lot. i didnt know about it when i saw it. check it out though

[chesspirate]

thanks for all the help guys. I was just getting greedy I guess, looking for mechanical improvements without money, just time. I guess i'll just go back to my dungeon and think of something else to quiz on later.