Engine Electric Cooling Fan Assembly for 3rd gen tacoma

The fan clutch in this truck is setup to provide a small amount of cooling at idle speed but the clutch is not a fully engaged at cold start temps or even at optimal engine temps on this truck which is around 190°F.

 

Isn’t that the point of a temp gauge? (Plus a truck of this era will definitely pop a warning on the dash if it gets too hot)

Depends how hot it is. Driving around in Phoenix at 116, that fan is fully locked up — definitely consumes some horsepower —and the A/C output sucks

that resistance when you pop the hood, on a cold engine anyway, is actually because the fluid settles when it cools off overnight - hence it being so noisy on cold starts for a bit.
There is variance on it’s level of engagement, heat dependent, once the fluid starts to flow again.

there’s definitely a HP and likely an MPG gain to be had going electric - after all, why else would every other marque be doing it?

 

You are definitely going to need to upgrade your alternator, and do some creative wiring, if you plan on replacing your existing fan.

 

Doubtful the factory charging system couldn’t handle the additional load

i’ve run electric fans on older rigs (with less alternator output) with no issue

 

Wait...is the fan the higher-pitched mechanical whirring noise I hear that seems to have no direct connection to RPM or drivetrain load?

I figured that was some sort of diff noise...

 

Sound alike diff noise. Fan sounds like it's moving air and definitely tied to rpm.

 

@Tape here is a video that will explain how the fan clutch works on the Tacoma.

https://youtu.be/UwM4OqsLek4

 

You won’t find an e fan that pulls as much air as the mechanical fan. You can put dual electric fans and get close to the cfm. But the gains are minimal. When the fan clutch isn’t hot enough it’s almost freewheeling. The initial start up when you start the truck is the clutch locked until the fluid spreads around after sitting. When it’s cold with the engine running you should be able to to stop it with rolled up newspaper

the clutches are proven and reliable. I keep em on all my trucks.

 

I will say, i’ve had a “heavy duty fan clutch” that’s basically engaged all the time - on a 98 discovery - i lost 2mpg and the loss of power was noticeable - switching from aftermarket electric fans

I think if you lived somewhere very hot like Phoenix you would notice a difference. I could feel the loss of power on my taco when it was fully locked at 116*F. Plus the A/C output /sucked/

 

I installed the flex-a-lite 2nd gen electric fan kit on my 3rd gen and it fit perfect. Toyota didn’t change anything. It is a lot quieter than the stock fan and slightly better gas mileage.

https://www.flex-a-lite.com/electri...ostat-controller-for-05-11-toyota-tacoma.html

 

An electric fan would have to be able to cool with the same capacity as the stock clutch fan and the power isn't free. It just moves from the water pump to the alternator. At 116°F and A/C use, loss of power would be equivalent to the mechanical fan. The only difference is the disconnect and mounting options available. The efficiency would be negligible, other wise Toyota would have installed one. Look what they did with the auto transmission for fuel economy.

 

Has toyota quality really gone that far down the crapper or are 3rd gen owners that picky? Seriously?

I can rock crawl my 3.4l 1st gen all day in 90+ degree heat with 90% humidity with the AC going full blast with no loss of cool air or the temp gauge moving from the middle. This is with the stock fan setup and the smallest 4cyl radiator toyota makes and most of the grill being blocked by a winch, skid plate and a huge power steering cooler.

I agree with others there is no way I would ditch the stock mechanical fan setup for electric.

 

Efficiency isn’t the only thing Toyota would have been looking at.

however, a good clue is the general industry trend towards electric fans - because you can get similar cooling, quieter running, smaller packaging - and yes, an mpg gain.

The only rigs besides these tacos with a mechanical fan are the heavy duty pickups - and even those are electronically controlled.


Yota is just a dinosaur on tech. Always has been

 

E fans are more efficient and can provide full cfm at idle. There's a reason the AC tsb adds an efan. Efans have proven themselves to be plenty reliable Toyota just opted for the cheaper mechanical fan.

 

Yes, the shit you will read around here is astounding.

 

They “the dealership“ will not do it they will fight tooth and nail swear up-and-down that there is no TSB for it make you sit up there all day and waste your time

 

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Agree with you here 100%. I had two mid-90's Volvo 245's and a 745 with mechanical viscous-clutch fans. They roared on start-up just like my Tacoma, and then quieted back down again after about 10 seconds: confirming to me they were working as expected. I put 300,000+ miles on all three of those cars and never had any issues or failures with the fans. Once in a while the conditions were right and they would spin-up with a roar; but it was rare. When I heard my son's 2005 do the same thing when he started it for the test drive, it brought a smile to my face... Volvo added an electric pusher fan to the 1993 Volvo's, but they kept the clutch fan behind the radiator. My cars never over-heated. They did it to improve the performance of the air conditioner and it only ran when you turned on the A/C as I recall. It worked. The 1990 a/c really struggled even on a 85 degree day. The 93 (R134) was always ice-cold in any conditions.

My 2014 Taco roars every time I cold-start it, and it's music to my ears.