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Which electric fan is best to use on 1995 V8i?


herman_the_tank

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Hi there,

I'm wanting to remove my viscous fan off my V8i discovery and replace it with an electric version with a relay in the car so i can turn it off when going through deep water. Can anyone advise which make/model is best to use, where i can get it from and how much it will roughly cost? A local Land Rover dealer told me I need a double blow fan which would set me back £298 + vat!!! Seems a little expensive!

Anyway, any information would be greatly appreciated!

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I've got a pair of Pacet fans which I bought from Scorpion Racing. It was those or the Kenlowe product and I think you "pays yer money and takes yer choice".

The Pacets were easy to fit and can be rigged to meet the requirement you have for remote switching.

I think you will do better than the price you were quoted, but I'm fairly sure that by the time the VAT was added, what I paid had a two in front of it.

I had never really believed the "you will save money on fuel" adverts, but I changed the fans and the air filter at the same time (for a K&N) and got a noticeable improvement. :mellow:

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Renault Laguna, Ford Mondeo, Pug 405 & 307 I believe have decent 16" fans, Escorts, Audis and a few others have good twin 12"-ish setups.

Mine came from an Audi estate and cools the V8 beautifully:

radnfans.jpg

They look a bit like Kenlows and It SUCKS :rolleyes: which is better according to modern thinking on cooling fans in vehicles.

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  • 2 years later...

'Dont forget that a V8 3.9 radiator incorporates an oil cooler and it's only the coolent temperature thats controls the fan so there may be times the oil is getting too hot but the fan is not running'

I've been thinking about doing the same mod to my 3.9 V8i for wading but have been worried about the oil getting hot when the rad coolant isn't.

Any suggestions on a way of solving this?

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As much as i hate to take business away from simon (x-eng), if you get a thermostat housing from a v8 that had aircon, you can screw that radiator fan switch into it.

G

You can do that and I have done, but you will need a different rated temp switch to an X fan as the x fan is designed to measure the output temp of the rad.

I find that the standard 100C aircon switch is good for this location, anything else just runs the fans constantly.

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They look a bit like Kenlows and It SUCKS :rolleyes: which is better according to modern thinking on cooling fans in vehicles.

Hi,

Just wondering why? And why do Peugeot for one, ignore this and still put blower fans on their cars?

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Is it easy to get 24V stuff?

Spal has a whole range of 24V fans. Not cheap but very good quality!

Here's my new setup in parts..

IMG_8638.jpg

24V dual 11" Spals. They suck a combined 2600cfm and are rated at 7A each while doing so. Should cool quite well I reckon.

Oh, those 2 fans where 320euro together..... Like I said.... not cheap!

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Fair point Fridge Freezer.

I'm probably just being over cautious and have run V8's before that didn't have an oil cooler.

I suppose as a fail safe I could also wire the fans into the oil temperature light circuit so, if the oil was ever overheating, this would trigger the fans on?

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You can do that and I have done, but you will need a different rated temp switch to an X fan as the x fan is designed to measure the output temp of the rad.

I find that the standard 100C aircon switch is good for this location, anything else just runs the fans constantly.

i run the same temp as what x eng use, but i go with the theory of better safe than sorry. Coupled with the fact that my rad is in the rear and i work the engine hard at low speeds :o

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Personally, I don't like electric fans.

One thing to note: the thermoswitch to trigger the fans should go in the radiator *bottom* hose, not the top!

Far too many people put the switch in the top-hose. The fan then comes on much too soon because it's sensing the temperature of the water coming out of the heads, not the bulk-coolant temperature.

No current-production vehicle fitted with electric fans has the sensor in the top-hose/radiator-inlet-tank.

You should aim for a bulk-coolant temperature around 90-105 centigrade. This gives good engine efficiency, low fuel consumption and prevents the buildup of sludge/mayonnaise in the oil. A hot engine is an efficient and long-lived engine.

Pretty much all Land-Rover products are overcooled for UK use anyway: back in my days of driving a SIIA I blanked of the bottom third of the radiator, and even when towing a 3-ton flatbed trailer it showed no signs of getting hot-and-bothered.

--Tanuki.

"Badgers are always the problem and never the answer"

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Far too many people put the switch in the top-hose. The fan then comes on much too soon because it's sensing the temperature of the water coming out of the heads, not the bulk-coolant temperature.

No current-production vehicle fitted with electric fans has the sensor in the top-hose/radiator-inlet-tank.

So what if no current production vehicle has them in the top hose ? It's a nice simple way of doing it. If you're not happy with the temperature switch, just choose another one that switches higher. For what it's worth your temperature gauge reads from pretty much the same place.

I know mine works perfectly for my application. :)

G

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As this still a disco thread all D1s 3.9s when they left the factory had an engine oil cooler and like the coolent the oil is 'air cooled'.

There's no oil temperture light circuit what ever in a disco, although the autobox atf has an over-temp warning lamp indicator in the dash.

Also to stop an electric fan running constantly the temp switch should be at least 5 to 8 deg higher then the normal engine running temperture so is that a good idea to let an alloy 3.5 or 3.9 run at a higher temp then normal? you can make up your own minds.

Neadless to say i wouldn't go near an electric fan on an alloy engine not designed to use one. And the Kenlow installation guide states fit the temp sensor in the top hose, i know that as I have a Kenlow fitted on another car I own as it gives me 5 extra BHP which is handy.

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I have had electric fans fitted to Rangies for over 10 years and find them excellent. They are great for slow work where the motor will most likely get hot. That is, I know that they will always pull the maximum air no matter what revs the motor is doing. Having dual fans also gives me a backup if one fails. I have always ran the thermostat in the top hose. This is the same location as your temp gauge and the factory switch to turn the air-con fans on when the motor gets too hot. Use to have a lot of temp issues before I fitted them and have had known since. I am not sure what the oil cooler in the radiator has to do with anything. It is the best place for the oil cooler and works a lot better than an air operated one. I would not run a Rover V8 without an oil cooler as the oil temp shoots up when you start working the motor.

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Very interested by all the additional comments that re-opening this topic has inspired and now feeling very undecided about if to fit a twin-fan set-up or not.

Given I was only really considering this mod as a add-on for wading I'm now thinking maybe I should just water-proof my electrics as well as I can rather than start modifying something that's working fine as originally supplied.

Thanks for all the comments.

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