P38 Viscous fan to electric?

Hi All,

Well thanks for the help on the car. its really starting to look great and my dad is really happy with it, So far i have changed all the Air springs, Swapped the intrior for grey leather, stearing wheel for leather, andgave it a right good service.

When i drove it the other day, i noticed that the Wiscous fan was constantly on. being the 2.5dse it does make quite a bit of noise so i was thinking of changing it for an electric fan to reduce the noise. has anyone done this? did it make much difference?

thanks guys

drewsp38 said:

Hi All,

Well thanks for the help on the car. its really starting to look great and my dad is really happy with it, So far i have changed all the Air springs, Swapped the intrior for grey leather, stearing wheel for leather, andgave it a right good service.

When i drove it the other day, i noticed that the Wiscous fan was constantly on. being the 2.5dse it does make quite a bit of noise so i was thinking of changing it for an electric fan to reduce the noise. has anyone done this? did it make much difference?

thanks guys

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surprised you can hear the fan over the diesel!

My fan failed also, I contacted Kenlow, they supplied me with their latest 17" unit, along with 2-speed override switches, works great now, normal driving, it NEVER comes on, when towing my huge trailer over the moors, it'll come on for short periods, cars run fantastic since fitting.

ssmn1234 said:

surprised you can hear the fan over the diesel!

Click to expand...

Much quieter than a V8 with slipped liners or a blown head gasket












:focus:

drewsp38 said:

Hi All,

Well thanks for the help on the car. its really starting to look great and my dad is really happy with it, So far i have changed all the Air springs, Swapped the intrior for grey leather, stearing wheel for leather, andgave it a right good service.

When i drove it the other day, i noticed that the Wiscous fan was constantly on. being the 2.5dse it does make quite a bit of noise so i was thinking of changing it for an electric fan to reduce the noise. has anyone done this? did it make much difference?

thanks guys

Click to expand...

There are already 2 electric fans fitted for the aircon that rarely operate, it's a simple mod to fit a thermostat to the radiator top hose and wire it across the aircon dual pressure switch pins 4 & 5. (see RAVE section K4 page 14) I have purchased an adjustable thermostat for £12 and will be fitting to mine while it is off the road due to my little foray into a ditch on the ice!

Removing the viscous fan going on past experience will make it a lot quieter and mek a small improvement in economy, the engine will also warm up quicker.

everlatesparky said:

Much quieter than a V8 with slipped liners or a blown head gasket












:focus:

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I reckon Drewsp may have a cooling problem also by the sounds of it, not just the V8 have them issues.

Hey,

thanks for the advice. I think im going to go for the Kenlow 17" as modelman has. I will of course let you know how i get on..

Thanks fot the word of warning ssmn1234 but the car doesnt have a colling problem at all. because of the fan being on all the time, the car wont get upto temp and is in the blue in the cold weather all the time.

I have noticed (on a different topic) today that the new leather seats i have fitted although being manual have got the wires out the bottom for heaters. Am i right in thinking that because i dont have the Highline Becm there is no way of making these work?

drewsp38 said:

Hey,

thanks for the advice. I think im going to go for the Kenlow 17" as modelman has. I will of course let you know how i get on..

Thanks fot the word of warning ssmn1234 but the car doesnt have a colling problem at all. because of the fan being on all the time, the car wont get upto temp and is in the blue in the cold weather all the time.

I have noticed (on a different topic) today that the new leather seats i have fitted although being manual have got the wires out the bottom for heaters. Am i right in thinking that because i dont have the Highline Becm there is no way of making these work?

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The viscous fan is supposed to "run all the time" as you put it. If the car is not getting up to temperature either the thermostat is duff or the guage is reading incorrectly.

Fitting your expensive Kenlowe aint going to fix it except maybe when the car is stationary with no airflow through the rad on a warm day.

Datatek said:

The viscous fan is supposed to "run all the time" as you put it. If the car is not getting up to temperature either the thermostat is duff or the guage is reading incorrectly.

Fitting your expensive Kenlowe aint going to fix it except maybe when the car is stationary with no airflow through the rad on a warm day.

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Agree, it does rotate all the time, slowly when engine is below specified temp, when and if engine reaches or exceeds specified temp it locks up and it is "only then" that it becomes noisy.
I'd say if it can be heard over the diesel then one of two things, the temp is hot, or some do gooder has locked the viscous head with a bolt.

Datatek said:

The viscous fan is supposed to "run all the time" as you put it. If the car is not getting up to temperature either the thermostat is duff or the guage is reading incorrectly.

Fitting your expensive Kenlowe aint going to fix it except maybe when the car is stationary with no airflow through the rad on a warm day.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but I can't agree with that, my DSE fan was virtually 'locked' & 'Roared' above the engine-noise, thus the engine was always over-cooled, a properly functioning fan will freely spin with the engine stopped, upon starting from cold, it WILL spin, but with no torque, if you've got the nerve, it can be stopped with your hand!! I know, i've done it!!
HOWEVER, as the hot air from the warmed engine/rad passes over the viscous vanes, the unit begins to lock & you have the cooling from the fan, another way to check the fan is working correctly is to switch-off the engine & the fan usually continues spinning for a couple of seconds.
Also, the stat & temp guage were working correctly as it now shows 'normal' temps & the good thing about the Kenlow is that it comes with a manual thermostat control, meaning that you can ajust the temp at which it cuts-in, I've set mine so it cuts in just below the red on the dial, this means that my particular fan NEVER runs in 'normal' driving (needle at 12 o clock all day) & only comes on when heavy towing, & then only for a few mins at a time, PLUS the fact, with the override switches, I can pull the fan in any time I want!!
If you look here:
KenloweSwitches on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
it will show where I fitted the switches.

modelman said:

Sorry, but I can't agree with that, my DSE fan was virtually 'locked' & 'Roared' above the engine-noise, thus the engine was always over-cooled, a properly functioning fan will freely spin with the engine stopped, upon starting from cold, it WILL spin, but with no torque, if you've got the nerve, it can be stopped with your hand!! I know, i've done it!!
HOWEVER, as the hot air from the warmed engine/rad passes over the viscous vanes, the unit begins to lock & you have the cooling from the fan, another way to check the fan is working correctly is to switch-off the engine & the fan usually continues spinning for a couple of seconds.
Also, the stat & temp guage were working correctly as it now shows 'normal' temps & the good thing about the Kenlow is that it comes with a manual thermostat control, meaning that you can ajust the temp at which it cuts-in, I've set mine so it cuts in just below the red on the dial, this means that my particular fan NEVER runs in 'normal' driving (needle at 12 o clock all day) & only comes on when heavy towing, & then only for a few mins at a time, PLUS the fact, with the override switches, I can pull the fan in any time I want!!
If you look here:
KenloweSwitches on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
it will show where I fitted the switches.

Click to expand...

Yep I can do all that on mine with the existing electric fans and my adjustable stat and it didn't cost me a wodge of cash like your Kenlowe