Took car to a/c shop... Tech says fan is "too small"

[PoopDawg]

... And it's a Proform (read Black magic under a different name)...It blows nice and cold when I'm moving, but when I stop, the fan doesn't have enough to keep the a/c cool... Soooooooooooo... I took the stock fan setup off cause the clutch was shot in the fan... So I put the electric on it... Now I'm starting to think I will buy a Police clutch, and go back to the tried and TRUE way of cooling it... the STOCK way... What do you guys think? I don't want a Ramcharger or anything huge.. .and the Proform does cover less then half the radiator... Think it will be fine, seeing my car is basically stock? Thanks a lot!

Nick

 

[HISSIN50]

Sounds good Nick. Only other thing I can think to check first is that there are no gaps between the radiator and fan shroud (I used foam weatherstrip tape to seal around the shroud on the 94 - alum radiator).
And make sure the condensor is not too far from the radiator (otherwise, the fan does not want to suck air through both coils).

Good luck bud.

 

[PoopDawg]

You're just the man I wanted to hear from lol. I think I'm gunna go ahead and get the police clutch like you have, and throw it back on tonight when it cools down (it's 95% with 90% humidity today here HOT AS HELL!!!) thanks a bunch man

 

[PoopDawg]

Hey, JT.. Is it the Imperial 215146 model? Just to make sure??

 

[jrichker]

The other option is to put a fan in front on the upper pasenger side. My wife's Isuzu is made like this. The extra fan turns on when the A/C clutch engages.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Do you have underdrive pulleys on your car???


If you do, there's your culprit right there. The U/D slow down the accessories. The A/C compressor needs to spin in order to work right. That's why you notice the A/C works nice when on the highway, and sucks in traffic.

That's one of the drawbacks of pulleys, reduced A/C output.

Before you go switching your fan around, try swapping pullies for the summer.

 

[BlackFox5.0]

Those fans don't cover the whole radiator, and they just suck, theres your problem.

I love my Mark 8 fan. Its been realy hot and humid like where you are, here and with an intercooler in front of my A/C condensor, my rad still stays cool when I flip the fan on. Even with all the heat in the engine bay from the turbo, it doesn't bother anything.

 

[sgarlic]

I also tried that Proform fan a while back.. it leaves so much of the radiator uncovered that I finally decided I needed to ditch it.. fortunately at right around the time that the copper temperature probe broke off. I returned it and got my money back. Paid less for my Taurus fan & DCC than I did for the Proform.

 

[jerry beach]

You can also seal the area between the condenser and rad with foam or alum tape. This will help draw the air all the way through both coil instead of from around the edges.

Is your engine heating up, or is the AC just not getting cold enough for you?

I will never go back to a stock type setup. The taurus fan works great for me. I replaced my clutch on the stock fan because the temp was coming up at idle with the AC on. I put in a brass 3- row rad, that barely helped at all. Put on a taurus fan and cooling problems went away. AC works great too. I think the stock setup was marginal when new, plus it hurts fuel economy while robbing power.

 

[HISSIN50]

You're just the man I wanted to hear from lol. I think I'm gunna go ahead and get the police clutch like you have, and throw it back on tonight when it cools down (it's 95% with 90% humidity today here HOT AS HELL!!!) thanks a bunch man

I actually dont run a SSP clutch - just an Imperial HD clutch from AZ. In a milder climate or for someone who tachs the car up, the SSP clutch is probably a better idea. But since it is often 80-110*F during the day here (Tucson), I like the tightness of the HD Imperial (which is what others [often in milder climates] complain about).

Other folks have had some nice ideas about the U/D pulleys - seems like sound logic to me.
I wont get into the electric conversion stuff vs mech fans, as both sides have good points (and you are a smart guy and know all the arguments).

FWIW, we are in a 30-something-day stretch of straight triple digit temps - I feel your pain. I burned skin off my knee yesterday (through pants), by kneeling on the ground outside for less than 30 seconds.

Good luck bud.

 

[281pony]

FWIW, we are in a 30-something-day stretch of straight triple digit temps - I feel your pain. I burned skin off my knee yesterday (through pants), by kneeling on the ground outside for less than 30 seconds.

Good luck bud.

 

[PoopDawg]

I actually dont run a SSP clutch - just an Imperial HD clutch from AZ. In a milder climate or for someone who tachs the car up, the SSP clutch is probably a better idea. But since it is often 80-110*F during the day here (Tucson), I like the tightness of the HD Imperial (which is what others [often in milder climates] complain about).

Other folks have had some nice ideas about the U/D pulleys - seems like sound logic to me.
I wont get into the electric conversion stuff vs mech fans, as both sides have good points (and you are a smart guy and know all the arguments).

FWIW, we are in a 30-something-day stretch of straight triple digit temps - I feel your pain. I burned skin off my knee yesterday (through pants), by kneeling on the ground outside for less than 30 seconds.

Good luck bud.

I know exactly what you are talking about!! I burned my knees too from about 30 seconds to a minute with them on the ground, while changing end link bushings on my adjustable rear swaybar. IT SUCKS!! lol...

I went ahead and got the HD Imperial Part number 215146... It looks real nice and I'm ripping the Proform off tonight, and putting the stock setup back on. I hope it works out.

BTW, JT... With the a/c on... how hot does your car get at idle in the heat of the day? Today, with the a/c off on the way to the a/c shop... it got up to 210 (with the thermo being 180, and the fan set to turn on at 190), but never went above that... but with the a/c on.. I'm sure it'd be higher.

Thanks for everyones input!! It's much appreciated!!

Nick

 

[PoopDawg]

You can also seal the area between the condenser and rad with foam or alum tape. This will help draw the air all the way through both coil instead of from around the edges.

Is your engine heating up, or is the AC just not getting cold enough for you?

I will never go back to a stock type setup. The taurus fan works great for me. I replaced my clutch on the stock fan because the temp was coming up at idle with the AC on. I put in a brass 3- row rad, that barely helped at all. Put on a taurus fan and cooling problems went away. AC works great too. I think the stock setup was marginal when new, plus it hurts fuel economy while robbing power.

I get ya there man. But the car ran FINE for 15 years before I got it with the stock setup, just the fan clutch started leaking from 6 years of never driving (or it was just time for it to go out)... I like the electric idea, but I want it to look as stock as possible, and the electric always bothered me (as for the look). I hoping with JT's testamony, and his years of experiance in super hot weather with a/c... it will work out just as good for me!

 

[HISSIN50]

I went ahead and got the HD Imperial Part number 215146... It looks real nice and I'm ripping the Proform off tonight, and putting the stock setup back on. I hope it works out.

BTW, JT... With the a/c on... how hot does your car get at idle in the heat of the day? Today, with the a/c off on the way to the a/c shop... it got up to 210 (with the thermo being 180, and the fan set to turn on at 190), but never went above that... but with the a/c on.. I'm sure it'd be higher.

Thanks for everyones input!! It's much appreciated!!

Nick

Nick, I did not tell you a part number because I have no idea. I just went to AZ and asked for a HD clutch for the '88. I know it was an Imperial though.

I have a stock 2 row radiator, Mr. G. 180 stat, metal F-A-L fan blade, Imperial HD fan clutch (just a parts recap to make given info more tangible). In ambient temps up to 100*F, I can have the A/C on full bore and I dont crest 200*F. Over ambient temps of 105*F or so, I can creep up to 205*F. This happens at idle or on the highway, so I think it is simply because the radiator cant reject any more heat, given the operating and ambient temperature delta (esp with the condensor dumping heat into the front of the radiator). But it happens while stationary or at speed so I dont see it as a fan issue. The metal fan blade helps pull more air IMHO, as well. The stocker looked like cracked-plastic poopie.

 

[HISSIN50]

BTW Nick, the heat and humidity you reported sounds like FL weather - I thought you were moving to Detroit or something?
I dont read Talk much (Jerry et al have to PM me with Talk links of interest. ) so I don't know if you decided not to move.

 

[PoopDawg]

Well... I went and got the imperial HD fan clutch... And no go... It heats up soooooo fuggin' fast... After sitting about 25 minutes, it was up to 230 degrees. I guess I'm gunna have to buy a better electric fan or something. I took it out for a test drive, and sure enough... about 5 minutes while driving, it went right down to 180, t stat temp. This is killing me! It seems like this HD is looser then my stock, worn out, leaking clutch. It doesn't really pull much air at all at idle. I guess I'll have to install some ram chargers or something. This REALLY sucks.

 

[HISSIN50]

Hmmm, mine is TIGHT. And that is with a metal blade, which is heavier than the plastic blade (requiring more friction and inertia to spin it).
I am not sure what is going on with yours. Proper storage is important with fan clutches but I dont see a new one being hurt that much by improper storage.

I dont post the spin test info because it is so subjective, but if I lean over my TB, it makes me cry because of the volume of hot air hitting me in the face. I take it that the fan is not any louder then either? Probably not, which it really should be.

Sorry Nick - not sure what happened there, nor can I think of any great ideas. I am sorry that the clutch did not work for ya.

 

[Grn92LX]

My friend had a proform fan and it was garbage. One thing that comes to mind though, is, do you have enough power to support an electric fan? Did you upgrade to a 130a alternator with the proper wiring?

Its been hot as balls here lately with lots of humidity. My car runs around 190* or so with my sn95 fan. If I let it sit @ idle with the fan on it will cool down under 180*.

 

[PoopDawg]

Yeah, I have a 150 AMP 3G with all 4 gauge wiring. Plenty of power. I actually noticed better cooling with the alt and wiring cause it was getting more power. It cools it good (the Proform), but I was just going by what the tech said at the a/c shop.