Fan clutch is on it's way out. Replace or go electric?

MYSTICSVT

Founding Member
May 16, 2001
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16
Meridian, Idaho
My Stang's temp is slowly creeping up at stops. And the A/C pressures are WAY up at idle. It also doesn't seem to be pulling much air at idle. So I'm assuming my fan clutch is not performing at its best. Should I replace it with a new one or go electric? My concerns are cost, reliability, and performance. I'd prefer to go electric. But I'm concerned about the cost and complexity. I'm more than capable of doing some fabrication to make an electric fit. But I'm getting lazy in my old age. So I'd rather it be a bolt-in. Is there any electric fan setup that won't require an alternator upgrade and will work in 110 degree temps with the A/C rolling? Proform maybe? This car is daily driven (approx 50 miles) by my wife, and only has exhaust, intake, and rear gear upgrades. So reliability is paramount. New fan clutch or electric?

FYI, did a search, but I'm looking for some fresh info.
 
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If it were me, I would probubly just slap the stock style fan clutch back in. Being its your wifes car. Unless you race it or plan to, I wouldn't go with the electric, being that you are not wanting to spend a whole lot. If you do go with the electric fan I reccomend www.dccontrol.com the fans are a bit on the pricey side, but are worth the money. My fiances car has this on it and the stock alternator. Read up on it and decide what you need to do.:nice:
 
My thoughts: the stock set-up is arguably cheaper to renew, and it works at all times (nice for the Mrs). The stock set up is hard to beat, CFM wise, IMHO.

I am down in Tucson and have had very good results with the following:

New metal replacement metal fan blade. 30 bucks. For the fan clutch, I am using an Imperial HD unit from Autozone. I chose this route because it has a lifetime warranty. Clutches lose a few hundred RPM a year, so the warranty is nice.

Otherwise, if wanting electric, I would go with a Viper fan, were I you. Be sure to have the requisite 3/6 G upgrade before doing so. Like Cardude said, the variable controller is the way to control it, but it is $$ (you mentioned that as a factor).


Good luck.
 
Another thing to consider is that the stock alternator is just about maxed with the stock electrical system so adding the electric fan may lead to upgrading the alternator as well. I would just replace the clutch and call it good.