fan clutch options

Stock replacement or electric? Need opinions -- pros/cons of each.
thx

 

I ended going back with stock replacement.....had her idling with A/C on in 95-100 degree heat this PM. Life is good!!

 

WTF are you on drugs.
What does that mean.

I have a chevy with electric and my taco is stock. Id say if your towing a lot or in a really hot area of the county go with electric, but its somewhat overkill if not.

 

carone..it means I replaced the old stock fan clutch with another new stock fan clutch. It means after replacing the stock fan with another stock fan clutch, I let the truck idle in 95-100 degree heat with A/C on for an hour or more and no more overheating problems.
I chose the stock replacement over electric for nothing more than, I did not have time install/change over to electric.
I do not do drugs, so the answer that question is NO. I have consumed a Bud Lite or 2 in my day if that makes you feel better.

 

Just installed my electric fan this past weekennd and love it. Better throttle response and I'm getting a little better gas milage too!!!

 

The stock fan clutches are actually pretty good to start with. I haul all kinds of crap with mine and drive to the desert every 2 weeks where its regularly over 100 degrees. No problems whatsoever.

 

Pros- Better gas mileage, better throttle response, less strain on your engine, easier at high RMPS, and allows engine to warm up faster

Cons-More expensive, wiring can be hard if you dont know what your doing, and if it stops working better hope your truck doesnt over heat

 

I had a permacool "pancake" fan on my Taco. I had some issues with the controller shorting out every now and then because of a bad rubber seal on the connector. Once I got that fixed up, had an issue where the pin that holds the fan blades on came out and basically the fan drive was slipping on the fan blade portion. It did give me better throttle response and was MUCH quieter. Also had an A/C override control on it that would force the fan to turn on once the A/C turned on. I liked it when it was working but if that fan pin or something else would've gone wrong with it while I was miles away from civilization, I would've been screwed. I did manage to slightly overheat the engine once.

My honest opinion, take a dive and try out the electric fan. It's fun to install and fun to get the few HP's out of it. I would recommend carrying the proper tools AND your stock mechanical fan with you if you go on a trip... just in case. Would I go back to the electric fan? Maybe. But honestly, I feel much safer with the "maintenance free" mechanical fan.

P.S. If you do install an electric fan, I recommend using a fan shroud of some sort. The permacool fan I used can be mounted to the stock fan shroud. W/out a shroud you won't be able to cool your radiator as easily.

 

I think the 4-5 HP number is about right. Talked to a guy over at TTORA who gained 4-5 HP's going to an electric fan. But yeah, after going through some of the headaches with the electric fan, I agree that OEM is worth it for the reliability.

 

Exactly what Poopshute said.....

Electric fan Perma Cool
*<1 yr pin in fan went out
*>1 yr same fan controler switch due to bad rubber seal went out and has caused me to over heat twice.......Ordered another controller today......

All in all, I like it for same as others.......Just seems better to me... Most vehicles today have them....... I am sure there is good reasons to have a mechanical but not for my driving...towing 5000# trailer and normal road use...

The only minor performance change is below a certain speed maybe 40mph, after that the cluth fan does just that cluthes out of service so no real drag on the motor.....

Probably more problems then it is worth, but hey we all keep buying these damn CAI's!!! We just like to spend...

cheers