Easy guide on Five Steps to twin Electric Fans Swap.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Hi!

 

Some time ago, my Weberized BumbleBeast's EA82 engine developed a weird Rattle Noise, I thought it was a worn A/C Compressor's Ball Bearing, as I Posted ~► Here.

 

After more Searchin' I Found the Culprit, it was the Fixed Fan, moved through a fan clutch, attached to the Waterpump's Pulley...

 

The Fan clutch itself had failed around the year 1993, so I decided to Fix it then, by Drillin' a 1/4" Hole thru the Fan clutch and insert a 1/4" Twisted wire into that hole, then Welded that wire to the Fan's Base; as you can see in the Followin' picture:

 

 

 

 

It worked good since then... but now, several years later; the Hole I Drilled on the Fan Clutch's area became Wider, due to normal vibration and the Welded wire became Loose, making the Fan to be Loose; that was the Rattle noise Source: that thing was Ruined.

 

After Asking~►

Here:

 

...or is Better idea to Replace the pulley-driven Fan, retrofitting an Electric Fan?

 

Someone told me that the lack of the Fixed fan on the Waterpump's Pulley, will aid the Waterpump to last longer and also will help to the Engine to gain a healthy amount of more Hp...

 

And getting confirmations like This:

 

Yes and yes. You also gain throttle response and it makes changing timing belts and other maintenance easier...

 

I Decided to Completely Remove and erase the Fixed Waterpump's Fan and Swap there a second electric Fan.

 

First of all, you must know that the EA82 engines with A/C, comes with the above described Waterpump's Fan and one electric Fan, which comes already Wired from factory to Start (turn ON) in two ways:

 

• It Starts when the A/C switch is pressed "ON", Regardless the engine's Temperature; or...
  

• It Starts when the Engine's Temperature reaches the amount of degrees on the Radiator's Thermo Switch.
  

So, factory wiring already comes for the Thermo Switch and A/C with Bypass circuits, that will make things Easier and Cheaper to do.

 

 

 

_________________________________________________________

 

 

First Step: To Remove the Old Fan from the Waterpump's Pulley.

 

 

Certain EA82's has separate Screws to hold the Waterpump's Pulley and to place there the Fan,

 

 

While the most usual setup is that Studs holds both, the said Pulley and the fan assembly at the same time.

 

 

My BumbleBeast came with the said Studs as you can see in the Following Picture:

 

 

 

 

There you can see the Studs still on the Waterpump's pulley and also the Space clearance, between the said Pulley and the Radiator.

 

By the Way I must say that I'm Runnin' my BumbleBeast with a Double Row Radiator.

 

EA82's came from factory with double and single row radiators.

 

Double row ones have better cooling capabilities plus they holds almost Twice the Coolant amount than their single row counterparts... Those double row ones are preferable.

 

You can see the Original stock two fans on the Floor, the Pulley driven one next to the electric one, in the Following Picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Step: To Remove the Studs from the Waterpump's Pulley.

 

 

In order to obtain more clearance and to be Safer, you'll Need to remove the Studs on the Waterpump's Pulley.

 

In the Models with separate screws isn't Big Deal, but in the ones with Studs for both things (Pulley & Fan), the Studs shall be replaced with Screws.

 

In the Following picture, you can see How the Pulley Looks Like with one Stud Removed, three of them still remain in their Place:

 

 

 

 

 

I Found the Right Replacement Screws: M 6 X 12 mm with 1.0 Pitch

 

You Shall Use Lockin' Washers.

 

They not only Lock the Screws in Place, They also reduce the 12 mm screw's Lenght to a safer 10 mm to avoid contact on the Waterpump's shaft.

 

 

 

 

 

The Screws' Heads with Lockin' Washers are less Tall than the Center Shaft:

 

 

 

 

 

You can Notice the Clearance Space:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third Step: The Search for the Proper Replacement.

 

 

Since EA82's Heads usually are Weak and tend to Warp around their Head Gaskets whenever the Engine Runs at High Temperatures for long periods; I Highly recommend to instal a Second Electric Fan in the Place of the Removed mechanical one; so you can Ensure that your Subie's engine coolin' system will Run Safely.

 

By the Way, there are Three generations of EA82 Heads, as you can Read ~► Here.

 

Since the Space clearance Between the Radiator and the Waterpump is around 2½" inches, the selected electric fan must be Thin enough to fit there securely while it left enough free space to let the waterpump's Pulley behind, spin Freely; so a Maximum of 2" thick is the Limit.

 

I went to hunt for an Already Twin Electric Fans in a single Frame steup, to our local Junk Yards (Named here "Yonkers") Because first I Wanted to remove Both stock fans and do the install as Simple as Possible.

 

Lots of cars comes factory with Twin fans in a Single frame, such like certain Sentras (Nissan) or Corollas (Toyota), I Measured all of them and the Nissan ones got their Motor Stickin' out too much (More than 3") while the Toyota ones where Thinner.

 

 

These are the Corolla's:

 

 

But they measured more than 2¾ inches Thick.

 

 

Then, after searchin' a Lot, I found a Toyota Prius, which looked like the Right Setup.

 

The Prius has one of the Worst crowded engine bays I've seen in all my Life, even the hand of a young girl can't go inside there!

 

 

Twin Fans frame, from the Prius:

 

 

 

 

 

Made in Japan, by Nippon-Denso:

 

 

 

 

 

Eleven curvy blades per fan, and 2¼ inches Thick:

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can see How the Prius fans Looked like, placed over my Subie's Radiator:

 

 

 

 

Well, my Subie's Radiator is a Full Metal, made in Honduras Replacement, with Two Rows, that has the Same Measurements than the Stock one...

 

 

I discovered that it needed Maintenance (Cleansing & New Paint), just by Lookin' at it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trying the Prius' Fans made me found this Four Things which I Didn't Liked:

 

 

• You'll Need to Fabricate custom Mounts for the New Prius' Fans on the Subie's Radiator.
  

• You'll Need to Remove the Power Steering's Fluid Reservoir Tank to get Enough Space to Slide the Prius' Fans in Place.
  

• Once Placed, the Space Between the Spinning Pulley and the Fan's Back on the Driver's Side, is very very short. :-/
  

• That will Complicate my Philosophy of Simplifying Things on my BumbleBeast, that made me to even Remove its Timing Belts' Covers, as you can Read ~► Here.
  

 

 

I Even Tried all That, as you can See in the Followin' Pictures:

 

 

 

Removed Reservoir Tank

 

 

 

 

It was Very Dirty:

 

 

 

 

So I Deep Cleaned it and its internal debris catching Magnet:

 

 

 

 

 

I Needed Something Easier to Find and to Work with: The Solution is An Aftermarket Electric Fan.

 

So I Only needed to Find one Thin fan to put in Place of the Removed (Mechanical) one. That lets me Keep the (Original Subaru) Stock Electric Fan...

 

I Was Able to Return the Prius' Fans to the Junk Yard...

Edited February 18, 2012 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
Mispelled word.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Continuing with the Step Three...

 

 

 

I Found that an Aftermarket electric fan to be Placed on my Subie, shall have the Following Characteristics:

 

• Not Taller than 12"
  

• Able to "Pull" Air (Suck air)
  

• Good Quality
  

• Maximum of 2" Thickness.
  

Local Mechanics Suggested me to use "Unipoint" brand.

I Searched for one of those at Comayagüela Citie's Aftermarket car parts' Stores and I Found mine there easily.

 

 

 

Here, The New Fan's Box:

 

 

 

 

Here, the Fan Details & Measurements:

 

 

 

and Here, the Fan Characteristics:

 

 

 

I Sent my Subie's Radiator to a Radiator's Shop for Maintenance, then I Tested the New Slim Fan there...

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Slim fan could be Bolted on Three of the Four original Subaru Mounting Spots on the Radiator

(The ones with Fixed Nuts)

 

 

 

 

 

So the Guy at the Radiator shop only made a New mounting Spot on the Lower left place.

 

You can see the Original Subaru A/C fan, next to the New slim fan.

 

 

This is How I Bolted-on the New Slim electric fan:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used two thin pieces of metal plate,

(1/2" wide X 1/8" thick, one on the left side and one on the right side)

Both Placed vertically, Between the radiator and the fan's mounts,

 

They work as a washers for the Screws and as spacers between the fan and Radiator, at the same time:

 

 

 

 

 

This is how Both fans Looks Together:

 

 

 

 

 

Here I just forgot to place the screws for the Old Stock Subaru Electric Fan before I took the Photo,

But it is in its original (stock) placement.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
to add web Link to the "Unipoint" Word.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Fourth Step: Electrical Wiring!

 

 

 

Now you will Need the Following List of items, to properly do the Wiring:

 

(Some are Optional)

 

 

 

 

 

Running Two Electric fans at the same time, requires a Good Wiring to be Safe; So I Kindly suggest to use New 10 awg gauge AUTOMOTIVE wires.

 

Also, Male / Female couplers and the Relay, must have the same 10 awg Wires.

 

Male / Female couplers with 10 awg wires are found in certain Trucks, I obtained mines' from the electric fan found on Ford Ranger trucks.

 

The Bosch Standard Relay (easier to Find replacement) with Socket that comes with 10 awg Wires (only in the imput and output Wires, those are the Main ones; the Signal Wires usually are 16 awg but that doesn't matter) could be Found on certain Kia vehicles that has under bumper Halogens; such as the Spectra and the Sportage. Those Kia Relays comes with a Covering Rubber protective cover.

 

With caution, Using a Soldering Gun and Soldering wire, You will weld the Ford's twin 10 AWG gauge wire Female coupler on each Electric Fan's wires.

 

Remember to Test first the Rotation of each Fan to be Sure that you're Using the Lighter Coloured Wire for the Positive (+) and the Darker coloured wire for the Negative (-) on the Male side of the Couplers. (on both fan's Male connectors' will go to the Car's wiring; the colours doesn't matter in the Wires that goes from the Female connectors to the Fan's Motors)

 

 

Be sure that Both fans will Spin in the Same Direction: Pulling Air.

 

 

 

 

 

Once Finished, isolate properly each separate Wire with enough amount of Electrical Tape.

 

 

Place one of the New 10 awg gauge automotive Wires inside the electrical conduit

and run that from the Battery to the Passenger's side, to end right behind the Headlamp.

 

 

There will be the Place for the Relay:

 

 

 

Using the Soldering Gun, you'll attach that incoming power Wire, to the Relay's incoming Power input (Pin Nº 30)

 

(I'll give a more detailed Explanation in a picture, but first Read all this to fully Understand the Procedure.)

 

 

In the same Wire's other end, next to the Positive battery terminal,

you must use the Soldering Gun to attach a Good Fusible Holder to be Placed inmediately between the said Terminal and the Wire,

 

 

As you can see on the Following Picture:

 

 

 

 

Don't Forget to properly isolate the welded Wires with enough amount of Electrical Tape.

 

 

Then you will place the Relay's positive (+) output to both Ford's 10 awg gauge Male terminal couplers, using the Soldering Gun:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Negative (-) wire on the Car's wiring to the Ford's Male terminal Couplers, goes directly attached to the Car's Ground

 

 

Finally, Where to Take the Switching Signal for the Relay?

 

From the Original Subaru Wiring for the Old Electric Fan, just Follow the next schematic Drawing:

 

 

 

 

By using the Original electric Fan's Wiring as Signal wires for the Relay,

Both fans will come On and Off as Factory intended;

(as I explained in the First post Above).

Also, if you shut Off the Engine while the Fans are Still Running,

The Key on the Off Position and / or Removed from the ignition, will interrupt the Circuit;

So the Fans will Stop Spinning when you Shut off the Engine.

(That will avoid unnecesary Battery Drain)

Unless you leave the Key in the "On" or "Acc" Positions.

That is the Normal (Standard) Behaviour, Just like Factory Designed.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
Mispelled Word... Again!

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

NOTE: When you Cut the Original coupler from the Stock Subaru electric fan to use the Ford one, please

KEEP IT!

 

 

 

 

 

It will be Needed in another Place of this Setup.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Fifth Step: To Find a Cooler Temp Thermoswitch!

 

 

Finally, Subaru designed the Mechanical Fan being Permanent, that makes it to be the Main fan, while the electrical fan is an Auxiliary fan (Beside of Being the A/C Fan) So it will not turn On untill the Temperature needle marks a Li'l bit more than Half way: 203º F (95º C)

 

That is Because the Thermo Switch on the Radiator is Designed to Open (turn On) when temperature reaches 203º F (95º C) and it Closes (Shuts Off) when Temperature Downs to 194º F (90º C)

 

That is Really Hot to the EA82 Engine and its known Heads' issues with easy damage to their Head Gaskets...

 

So I Was Searchin' for a Cooler Temp Thermo Switch for my BumbleBeast, as you can Read ~►

Here.

 

Because if now the Coolin' System will Depends on Electric Fans only , They'll need to Start earlier than the Risky 203º F (95º C) for Sure, due to the Fact that there will be no More "Auxiliary" Fan, nor a "Permanent" fan... just Twin Electric Fans.

 

 

 

So I Found that the Subaru's Thermo switch has the Followin' measurements:

 

M 16 X 1.5 Pitch

 

 

 

And Doing my Research, I found that some Hyundais come with Same measurements on their Thermo Switches,

 

and certain models came with Cooler Temperature Range.

 

 

This is the Original Subaru EA82 Thermo Switch and its Part Number:

 

 

 

 

There are Aftermarket ones too...

 

 

 

 

But since in my Own Humble Opinion, They're Too Hot to be "Safe"

 

(due to the known head gaskets issues)

 

on long term use on the EA82 without the Mechanical (permanent) fan...

 

 

I Searched, untill I Found This one:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It Belongs to a Hyundai Elantra, this is the Part Number chart:

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can See Both Thermo Switches and their Temperatures, Compared Side by Side:

 

 

 

 

 

This is the New, Hyundai Thermo Switch:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing it to fit in the Subaru's Radiator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same Measurements at All...

 

 

 

 

 

Well... Why I Wrote that you must "Keep" the original subaru Fan's Terminal coupler, on the last Post?

 

Because Hyundai uses the SAME terminal coupler on their Thermo Switch, but the other side; so the Old subaru Fan's Terminal becomes the Coupler for the New Hyundai's Thermo Switch Terminal.

 

You just need to Remove the Old subaru's Thermo Switch Terminal on the Car's Wiring and substitute it (Using the Soldering Gun & Electrical Tape again) with the proper one from the old subaru electric fan.

 

By doing that you avoid to Cut the new Hyundai's Thermo Switch wires and you can easily Change it for another one in the Future without cutting any Wire; also it Looks like Stock.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
Sometimes my Mind goes Faster than my Hands writing... Mispelled Word, Fixed! ;)

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I did all these procedures in the First weeks of December 2011 and I Test drove my Lifted BumbleBeast in Many Conditions, such as Cool Winter Nights / Rainy Nights \ Hot Days in Traffic Jams, With & Without A/C and in Mountain Trials for More than a Month, prior to Post here the Results, and I've found so far, these:

 

Since the Hyundai's Thermo Switch Opens at 185º F (85º C) and Closes at 175º F (80º C) The Temperature needle remains near two milimeters Down the Half way, almost all the Time during Hard Driving Conditions and on Cool Winter Nights; it only drops to 1/3 of the Reading when I'm Driving Downhill for long distances.

 

So Temperature remains close to factory Specs: The Needle Never Reaches 1/2 but will go Close to it; and never Drops Below 1/3.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Secondary Effects of this Setup:

SOUND: Since There's No Mechanical Fan, there's no Noise from that... I've never imagined how Noisy that fan was untill I Removed it: The EA82's Boxer Rumble sounds Clearly on Low and Medium RPM's like Never Before; the engine's Sound becomes more Solid, like an impreza Somehow...

FUEL USAGE: I've Noticed a Fuel consumption Drop, but I'm Still not sure about the real Amount; it is Small but noticeable for Sure.

A/C: This twin fans improves a li'l amount the Coolness of the A/C Performance: Two are Better than one!

ENGINE PERFORMANCE: Better Throttle Response, faster acceleration and other minor advantages.

MAINTENANCE: Now becomes easier to work on that fans and also in the Area nearby, like to servicing the Timin' Belts.

All that let me Think Why I didn't this setup Before?

It seems complicated reading it First, but is very Simple once you're Doing it; the Harder part was to Find the Proper Replacements and figure out the Wiring, but I've already tell you how, here; in this Writeup.

I Hope this can Help.

Kind Regards.