[Heideisadog]

Hey guys!
Just about to do my alternator upgrade and would like to instal a thermo fan aswel!

Could someone please point me in the right direction into what I need to buy, where I should buy one from, how to set it all up so it automatically switches on and off and if I can have an override switch so I can switch it off from inside the car for mud and river crossings.

Al help will be amazingly helpful and if you have any pictures that'll be even better!

Thanks!
Thomas

[Gwagensteve]

Here's the ultimate installation guide:

Remove the fan from it's packaging.
Put the packaging in the recycle bin
But the thermo in the normal rubbish bin.

sorry

Fit a Vitara Viscous clutch fan and avoid having to wire, switch, temp control something that will never throw as much air as a Vitara fan, will be far less reliable, and will cost a fortune by the time you get it completely sorted. You'll also likely never 100% trust it either.

I have thermo fans on Piggles (for obvious reasons - the radiator is int he back) but I can see no reason at all to use one if there an engine sitting right there ready to drive a fan. They were a pain to wire and switch, and although it's all good now, I have had to replace a fan even though mine are away from mud and heat.

Steve.

[jdk81]

Viscous clutch fans are awesome

[Heideisadog]

Alrighty then.
So how do I go about doing that and what and where should I look for that?

So would all I need is the Vitara Viscus fan? I haven't heard of one before, would you be able to give me some
Information on them and the instal maybe?

Thankyou

[Gwagensteve]

A) Buy a vitara viscous fan, new, reco, copy, or from a wrecker.
B) Bolt in place of your Sierra fan. It just bolts in.
C)if it gives trouble, open up and refill with Toyota viscous fan fluid.

Not any more complicated than that, and eleventythousand times better than a thermo.

[Gwagensteve]

Oh, ALL vitaras have a viscous fan. There's lots of Vitaras sitting in wreckers and/or being thrown away, They aren't hard to find.

Steve.

[lauby]

Here's a link to the toyota viscous fan fluid refill how to,

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=28644

[Sookie]

I have a g16b viscous fan.
got it thinking it might be better or a little upgrade for the g13bb one but.....

[pezz]

Sookie wrote:

I have a g16b viscous fan.
got it thinking it might be better or a little upgrade for the g13bb one but.....

Hello pm me a price

[Sookie]

pm sent

[Marko_SJ]

I'll be doing a vit viscous hub fan soon.

Not that I have an over heating problem though.

[Heideisadog]

Easy as pie! So these fans are better then the stock sierra ones too?
Thanks heaps, I'm off to pick up my pulleys and alternator on Saturday. I'll see if they have a Vitara Viscus fan for me too!

Thanks for the help!

[SuziBlu]

Love my thermo fan, runs bugger all, so zero power loss, when i does run, it runs only briefly, perfect IMO

[Heideisadog]

I got a Vitara Viscus fan. Bit filthy but should be good!
I'll clean it up and hopefully doesn't need a refill, I'm in a lazy as mood!

[Gwagensteve]

SuziBlu wrote:

Love my thermo fan, runs bugger all, so zero power loss, when i does run, it runs only briefly, perfect IMO

You do realise there's zero power loss with a viscous fan too?

Steve.

[SuziBlu]

Steve, it turns, nothing is free, for the fan to turn, even slightly, but in most quite fast, it has to rob power from the wheels.

Not as much as a belt driven fan, but still some.

[JrZook]

SuziBlu wrote:

Steve, it turns, nothing is free, for the fan to turn, even slightly, but in most quite fast, it has to rob power from the wheels.

Not as much as a belt driven fan, but still some.

That's correct, nothing for free. So when your thermo fan is drawing the 10 odd amps from the battery and loading the alternator you are "robbing" power.

When the engine temp is low the viscous fan is "off" and slips probs around 90%. So the power loss is negligible eg ~0.1kW?? End point is you wont notice it with your butt dyno nor will the economy suffer.

[SuziBlu]

ok so i dun fucked up agen ay.

[jdk81]

An electric thermo fan I pulled from a Toyota, is 15amp. It is the same size as a stock sierra fan, but it moves much less air, as it spins much slower.
I would hate to rely on it offroad to keep the car cool on a hot day, let alone some junk aftermarket thermo fan.

The benefit of an electric one, is when its not needed (on the highway etc, its not using power), the downside is, when needed they can not move as much air as mechanical, and will be a lot less efficient at moving air.

For lots of crawling/offroad a mechanical is way better.
For cars on road, an electric is often enough (but they can struggle on really hot days, and a mechanical one is better).

IMO for an off road setup you would need two big oem quality thermo fans to move as much as a vitara fan can, and then package it nicely, and be las light as possible, to give you the efficiency gains you require. The loss of energy when offroad wont be too noticeable, and if one fails, you can limp around on one fan.
On the highway (if the radiator is in the stock location), they will not be required.

Reliability
the sierra solid fan is very reliable, as it has no other parts to fail (doesnt move as much air as vit, and robs more power).
Vit moves more air, a lot more, but needs some attention to ensure the viscous clutch is ok
Electric thermos - most likely to fail when offroad.

For driving through water
the electric can be fitted with an override (which people often forget to turn back on) -And mud usually shortens the life
viscous - can be left alone
sierra solid - I never had a problem in lots of water, but can loosen the fan belt a little if doing water crossings.

A good electric thermo fan setup will probably cost a lot more than a vitara viscous hub fan.
It seems silly to go the more complex, more expensive, and least reliable setup.

[murcod]

The below link is info on the conversion I did on my 2004 XL-7. Not a cheap conversion, but it's worked perfectly in up to 45 degree C temps in city traffic.

http://www.suzuki-forums.com/1g-2001-20 ... o-fan.html

There's been no noticeable difference in fuel economy, but the engine is a lot freer revving and oh so quiet!

The only time there has been any problem with this setup was last summer when the 6yo+ starter battery dropped a cell.