Gen I radiator fan - replacement options

[Titan1969]

I had a posted previously that I had repaired my 1995 Gen I original "offset single style cooling fan".
Unfortunately it was short lived and sheered the motor pin off again, Im thinking due to the fan blade being warped.

Instead of trying to repair it again, or put a new blade on, Im going to replace the fan and motor.

I have read numerous writeups and comments on this option, but what I have found is thin on specifics.

Ideally I want to keep my original shroud and just install a SPAL style fan.
If someone has done this, what fan did you use?

If you went the Gen II fan/motor, what years will mount up close to my 1995?

thanks in advance

 

[Titan1969]

No responses, soooo project is underway.

I'm attempting to use the original shroud and will be removing the stock motor/blade and mounting a SPAL fan in place.

Pics coming soon

 

[Titan1969]

The below is my current cooling fan setup with the fan blade removed. The fan blade had become so out of balance it was cutting into the frame of the shroud. I made one attempt to re-pin the shaft and straighten the blade, however after 23 years it was not salvageable.
So Im attempting to salvage the shroud itself and scrap the OEM fan.

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[Titan1969]

Heres is a pic of the where the OEM blade was cutting into the shroud.

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[Titan1969]

I did a lot of research of fan options, CFM, voltages, amps, relay issues, heat issues and finally decided to go with the SPAL 30102049 16" Curved Blade Puller.

Why? Im attempting to leave the stock shroud, alternator, relays, wiring in tact. This SPAL fan maxes out at 19amp and pulls 2000CFM (but yes higher amp at initial start up ). Will it be enough CFM? Im not sure yet...stay tuned

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[Titan1969]

I needed to drill out the OEM motor 3 rivets then cut out the OEM motor frame to make room for the SPAL fan. Here the SPAL fan sits nearly perfect in the OEM shroud opening...guess I got lucky.

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[Titan1969]

Since the shroud plastic is very brittle and shatters easily, I needed to find a method to mount the fan but not create excessive stress at the mounting locations of the SPAL fan.

I purchased qty:4 of 2 1/2" by 1/4 - 20 course thread bolts.

I triple checked the position of the SPAL fan so its located perfectly over the OEM shroud opening, marked the 4 post mounting holes, drilled 4 holes in the shroud.

I then threaded the bolt (head on the rad side) adding a very wide spacer washer to spread out the load on the shroud.

On the engine side I mounted the bolt first by adding a nylon threaded 1/4-20 nut. Again I used locking nylon nuts in an attempt to reduce pressure on the shroud yet assure the bolts would not vibrate loose.

Then added another washer and nylon 1/4 - 20 nut to the top side of the SPAL fan.

Here is the engine side with bolts and fan mounted, bolts showing.

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[Titan1969]

Here is the rad side of the shroud, not pretty but spreading out the stress on the shroud.

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[Titan1969]

Wiring....

I have the ROE Racing Fan Control Kit, this is already wired to the Dark Green low speed side of the OEM harness, however the SPAL fan is a SINGLE SPEED ONLY, not dual like OEM.
Knowing this I eliminated the OEM high speed fan connection ( capped of the harness ) and will use only the low speed line. This will trigger around 200 degrees by the ROE kit.
This means the fan is HIGH SPEED even though low speed line trigger.

I tested the A/C and the 200 degree low speed ROE trigger and fan came on and cycled very well. Alternator gauge does not seem to be dropping as the fan kicks in, no smoke, no fire..so far so good.

 

[Titan1969]

Soooo...whats next?

Nope havent taken it for a drive yet, thats next and Ill post results and outside air temps.

I will also check the OEM fan relays for any signs of prior heat ( I have never looked at them before, not sure of their condition ).

Ill continue to watch the relays and connectors for several months as Im concerned the fan may pull more amps than OEM.

stay tuned....

 

[Welfare racing]

Which fan did you use and who was the supplier? Wait I see it above, when are you testing? If you don't use a roe fan kit, will the low voltage side of the system shut down when the high voltage side kicks in, looks like I'll need to do this myself in the future, but don't want to buy a roe fan relay kit

 

[Titan1969]

Test #2

I drove the car in 70 degree outside temps for about 10 miles. I have the ROE fan control set to energize the low speed line at slightly above the 3 tick mark in the center of the gauge.

The fan is cooling very well so far, cycling on and off in traffic 2-3 minutes on then about 2-3 minutes off.

I also turned the headlights on the draw more power and though it was a short drive, the alternator gauge did not move. However the lights dimmed briefly inside the car as the start amperage on the fan kicks in. Then interior lights go back to normal brightness quickly, less than a second.

 

[Titan1969]

If you don't use a roe fan kit, will the low voltage side of the system shut down when the high voltage side kicks in, looks like I'll need to do this myself in the future, but don't want to buy a roe fan relay kit

Yes the high temp trigger will shut off the low temp/low speed line is my understanding of the OEM circuitry.,

The ROE is a totally separate circuit from the Viper controller and because the ROE is reading a trigger temp set by me( 200 - 210 approx ) it will continue to energize the fan until the temp drops.

Even if the temp continues to rise higher and higher the ROE will not stop energizing the low speed line.

The Vipers temp system will trigger the high line in a higher temp scenario, however I have capped off the high line OEM wiring by the fan.

I personally have never had my Viper get the the high speed trigger temp ( fortunately ) even in 110 degree temp days in CA. I think the engine is cooler than the driver some days

 

[ViperJeff]

Here is the rad side of the shroud, not pretty but spreading out the stress on the shroud.

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Have you considered bending and painting the washers/bolts to make them less noticeable. ( not criticizing, just a question)

 

[Titan1969]

Have you considered bending and painting the washers/bolts to make them less noticeable. ( not criticizing, just a question)

I cant see them now that the washers are located between the shroud and radiator

 

[ViperJeff]

That works

 

[Titan1969]

Test #3

Ok out for a longer ride today, still pretty cool outside at 67 degrees.

Fan controls heat very well and it is loud, but I have no muffs so the fan is not to noticeable.

I needed to bump up the trigger temp on the ROE, as the fan kept cooling the temps down the 1st mark on the center of 190 degrees.
I raised the ROE until it kicks on just above the 3 tick mark in the center.

I ran through the gears very hard then hit traffic several times, the SPAL had no issue bringing the temp back down.

Seems 2000 CFM puller with a SPAL and OEM shroud so far, works very well.

I then parked it in the garage, with the car off, the SPAL was kicking on like it normally does. Ill check if the engine cranks tomorrow or if the SPAL drew the battery down, during its on / off cycling with key off.

UPDATE****
The Viper started up no problem, despite the fan controller cycling the fan on and off last weekend after my drive and parking the car a week with no battery tender.
I do use a battery tender regularly since I do no drive the Viper often.

 

[MoparMap]

That's some great reverse engineering! Always nice to see people do their best to reuse parts. Sometimes you just don't have any other options either. Glad it seems to be working out well so far.

 

[Titan1969]

Final test...

Drove around for a few hours, 80 degree outside temps, a lot of traffic and running the A/C.

All went well, the SPAL could drop the temps no matter the conditions, to a point where it would cycle on and off. It never needed to run continuously.

I'll post up if any issues occur in the future.
Thx for reading.

 

[bubbajones_ya]

Not sure if you'll see this being that this thread is five years old but I had a question about the fan wiring. It looks like my Viper may have had the ROE Racing fan control kit already installed like you have.

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I'm trying to do the same thing as you because my Viper seemed to be getting too hot last summer after I got it. It gets hot here in Phoenix, so I want to make sure my fan is working well.

Despite being a 98 GTS, I had this Gen I shroud, maybe I got unlucky, or maybe it was previously replaced. I'm also missing a little flap so I'll have to fabricate that, but I bought a Flex-a-Lite 16" fan that's supposed to be 2500-3000 CFM (which I believe is higher than stock). The original fan I have on seems to have very slight binding when I try and turn it by hand. It sounded fine when it was on, but unless I was going 50+ MPH, it got a little warmer than I was comfortable with and on the way back from Texas when it was 90+ degrees, the AC stopped blowing cold in stop and go traffic (which to me means the cooling system is in trouble). I read these Vipers run hot, but if the AC starts blowing warm because poor air flow, that's a problem!



Anyways, how did you bypass the high side wiring? I see you said you capped it off, is it something at original fan plug (car harness side), or is it somewhere else?

 

[bubbajones_ya]

I managed to get the old fan out but unfortunately had to damage the center piece slightly and cut the nub off the fan motor.

The shaft and center bushing piece of the old blades seemed to be corroded together. I still have the old fan blades in tact, so if I ever need to get a new motor and put them back together, I should be able to. I did heat up the center a bit though and got the plastic somewhat hot, so I'm not too sure about the structural integrity of the piece anymore.

My old fan shroud had a crack in the bottom flap piece, and was also missing that flap. I bought some JB plastic weld and am attempting to repair the crack. Hopefully the JB plastic weld is a strong enough repair.

I purchased an 8" OD 4" ID 1/4" steel ring, and am going to use that as the interior mounting ring for the Flex-a-lite fan I purchased. The inner fan blades are almost exactly the same diameter as the fan shroud, but are ever so slightly smaller. I'm hoping I can drill holes in the steel ring and use some metal bushings to space it off properly on the inside of the shroud.

I still need to take a look at the wiring and see if I can have it just activate like Titan1969 did since the Flex-a-lite fan is a single speed fan as well.

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Shroud repair. I had the crack in the bottom already JB Welded, and am attempting to JB weld the wiring harness clamp piece back on (since it split into three when taking the old harness off...)

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The Flex-a-lite 238 LoBoy fan. It says it has a 2500-3000cfm speed which from what I read is around 300-800cfm higher than stock. Not sure if that's actually the case, but I'm hoping it pulls more air.

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Still waiting on the rack and pinion I ordered off ebay.... The Viper has been on jack stands for almost three weeks now... I got the clutch slave cylinder all back up, fluid fully flushed, and am also replacing the front brakes. My old rack and pinion was almost streaming fluid out though so I wanted that fixed before putting everything back. I couldn't find anywhere locally that had another rack and pinion, and thought it would be faster buying a rebuilt one. I might have to send mine out for repair.

 

[GTS Dean]

You might want to check out the G1-2 rack rebuild thread at the Alley. Leaky steering is most likely your rack end seals.

 

[bubbajones_ya]

You might want to check out the G1-2 rack rebuild thread at the Alley. Leaky steering is most likely your rack end seals.

Thank you, I did see that thread a while back and ordered the seal kit that they used. I think it was from a Dodge Dakota. However, that was about a year ago, and I couldn't happen to find where I put the kit......

We bought a house right after getting out of the Air Force, and I'm doing 100% of the remodeling. We're tearing up everything (kitchen, floors, drywall etc..) while living in the house. I ended up bringing my rack and pinion to a local shop here that said they could rebuild it for 300 bucks in a day, so that seems like the going price for these now.

I don't currently have all my tools or a work bench due to the remodeling, so I figured that would be the best bet!

 

[GTS Dean]

I'd suggest that you refer to the thread I mentioned to confirm that they have the rack centered properly and the master pinion spline indexed as it should be. It's a lot of work to R&R and you don't want to have to do it twice. If you did not keep track of the shims under each side of the rack, you MUST have the car bump steered, or it will not be a pleasant driving car.