YJ Electric Fan Install: Tutorial with Pics

Re: RE: Is the RUBICON lifted compared to a stock tj.

Ok, I got the electric fan this week, and have been dying to get dirty putting it in. I figured I'd try to do a tutorial with pics for the board when I do put it in. I'm hoping to get it done this weekend, but Sunshine seems to have other plans for me. 1st we have to drive down to Mulvane to pick up a cow....yeah, she bought a cow. Just hope we have room in the freezer for it. Then we're going up to Hutchinson for the State Fair (exact same thing every year, but I've been there every year for the past 36 years!) for the day, which will no doubt wear me out too much to work on the Jeep today. Then that leaves Sunday. No....I'm not going to church with you, Sunshine! I got work to do!! Ok, so I'm sure I could get this thing done in one day, but if I'm stopping to take pics along the way, I don't know. We'll see, I guess.
 

What kind of fan did you get? I'm gonna be searching around for a used one from a Taraus soon.
 
I got the Flex-A-Lite 475 fan from 4wd.com. It's designed to bolt right in with no modification at all. See the write-up below....
 
RE: Humor for Anyday

Glory be, how things can change at a moment's notice. So, our son stopped by this morning because the job he was supposed to do (satellite installation) cancelled on him. I talked him into taking Sunshine down to Mulvane to get the cow so I could stay home and start the install. I was finished before they got back!! So, without much further ado, here's the long and short of it:


I bought the Flex-a-Lite 475 Electric Puller Fan from 4wd.com. It's a single 15" fan and produces 2030 cfm at 13.5 volts with only a 9 amp draw. The fan has a built in adjustable thermostat and has the option to switch it off for deep water crossings if you buy the separate switch. It comes with everything you need for installation in the YJ and bolts right up with no modifications.

First, you'll need to detach the rubber splash shield that attaches to the original shroud. It's held on with three plastic snap bolts on the bottom of the shroud:

Fan2-5.jpg


The snaps should come out with a little help from a flat blade screw driver:

Fan3-5.jpg


However, they didn't. So, I used a pair of dykes (no, not the flannel clad butch hair cut types) to snip them off:

Fan4-5.jpg


Next, remove the 5 bolts that hold the shroud and power steering fluid reservoir to the radiator. Save these bolts to use when installing the new fan. Note: On '97 and newer models, the power steering fluid reservoir and overflow tank both mount directly to the shroud, but Flex-a-Lite includes a voucher that you can mail in for a free bracket to use to reattach these. On mine, the power steering fluid reservoir bolts on at the top of the driver's side of the radiator. After removing these five bolts, tuck the reservoir out of the way:

Fan1-5.jpg


Now that the shroud is loose, you'll have to remove the four nuts that hold the fan and fan clutch to the waterpump pulley. The shroud cannot be removed until the fan is taken out. This is a bit difficult, as the pulley wants to turn as you try to loosen the nuts. I used a second wrench to wedge between two of the studs to hold it still while I loosened the nuts. You'll want to remove the fan and fan clutch as one unit:

Fan5-5.jpg


Once the fan and clutch assembly are out of the way, rotate the shroud 90 degrees and lift it straight up out of the engine compartment. Replace the nuts that held the fan assembly back onto the studs and tighten. Just look at all the freakin' room there is in there now!!!

Fan6-5.jpg


Now you're ready to attach the brackets to the new fan. The pictures in the instructions are pretty clear and easy to follow. This shot is looking at the fan from the engine side. The thermostat control is on the right in the picture, and the bracket with the wider angle will fit over that. The brackets bolt on easily with two supplied bolts each. Leave the bolts loose until the fan is installed after the next step:

Fan7-5.jpg


Once the brackets are attached, slip it in between the radiator hose and air box. Be careful not to damage the fins on the radiator coils, and also the rubber gasket on the fan shroud. Attach the lower two and upper passenger side bolts loosely first to hold the fan in place. Move the power steering reservoir back into place and reattach it with the original bolts. Tighten the five bolts down, then make sure that the rubber gasket on the new fan shroud is in contact with the radiator all the way around as you tighten the four bolts that hold the brackets to the fan:

Fan8-5.jpg


Now that the fan is installed, the wiring is a snap. I didn't bother to take pics or do a write-up on the wiring because it was relatively simple. There was, however, one very important part missing; they neglected to include the 40 amp auto-resetting circuit breaker, so I had to make a quick run in to town to buy one at Advance Auto Parts. Cost $2.69. I will, however, call them on Monday and have them send me one to have as a spare. That will be the test of their customer service department, so I'll report on that as it progresses.

After it is wired in, setting the thermostat is very simple. First, to test the fan, turn the thermostat control knob all the way counter-clockwise until the fan turns on. Then turn it back all the way clockwise. This will turn the fan off. Start the engine and let it come up to operating temp. Once the engine is at the desired temperature, slowly turn the thermostat knob counter-clockwise until the fan turns on. It should be good to go at that point. I set it one time at the normal 210 degrees, drove it for 20 miles, and it never came up above that mark, staying between 190 and 210 just like it did with the old fan. You can adjust the thermostat at any time to suit different driving needs without damaging the fan or thermostat. You also have the option when wiring the fan in to install a manual cut-off switch for deep water crossings. I haven't done this yet, and don't know if I will until after I get set up better for deep water crossings (i.e.; snorkel, raised transmission and diff breathers, etc.). Also when wiring it in, you can choose to have it shut off with the ignition by wiring the switch wire to a switchable source, or wire it direct to the battery to have it run after the engine is shut off to continue cooling the radiator. I did the latter out of laziness because I didn't want to bother trying to find a good point to wire it to a switched source. When the Jeep is off, it took about 13 minutes before the fan shut off, and upon restarting it, the temp guage showed about 120 degrees. It's actually pretty loud when the engine isn't running, but I can't hear it when the engine is running. In the garage with no wind, it will suck the smoke from my cigarette through the radiator from about 4 feet away!! It definitely moves a lot of air!!

I tied up all the loose wires neatly with zip ties, and re-attached the front edge of the splash guard to the back side of the new fan shroud. Pretty professional looking job, if I do say so myself!

Total install time not counting pictures and the trip to get the circuit breaker: 45 minutes!!! This write-up took longer than the whole install did! And that's from Sparky, a guy who ain't really much of a mechanic at all!! If I can do it, anyone can, believe me!!

Now, my next mod is to build me a hot box to cook breakfast on my way to work.....I mean, what else are ya gonna do with all that space?

Fan9-5.jpg
 

It's kinda wierd in the winter when it hardly ever turns on at all.

How'd ya like the difference in performance?

by the way, where did you hide the wires???
 
RE: What

TwistedCopper said:
It's kinda wierd in the winter when it hardly ever turns on at all.

How'd ya like the difference in performance?

by the way, where did you hide the wires???

Wires? What wires? :shock:
 
Mine was missing the breaker too. I did the same thing (called them). They ended up sending out a second fuse and fuse holder.
 

Everyday driver and moderate off road

TwistedCopper said:
Mine was missing the breaker too. I did the same thing (called them). They ended up sending out a second fuse and fuse holder.

The fuse in the little rubber holder on the orange wire? I got that with the kit, but it had a 25 amp fuse and the instructions and diagrams never mentioned it. Surely that isn't what they're wanting to use as a 40 amp circuit breaker is it? If not, where was it supposed to go? It's still in the bag with the other spare parts (wires and connectors for the A/C relay).
 
RE: OEM Fan and Shroud,

Yup, that's what I used. I checked the maximum current draw and it was less than the fuse they supplied. I figured it was temporary until they sent me my breaker, but they just sent another fuse (same rating) so I left in in there. Never had a problem, I just kept the extra as a spare in the glove box.

I had mine wired to the battery too, I preferred to let it cool down after shutting down the engine. It never ran long and it seemed to make sense.
 

RE: OEM Fan and Shroud,

Snitty said:
Thanks for the write-up

You're welcome. It ain't much, but I figured I could show folks how simple it was. I mean, if I can do it, pretty much anyone with opposable thumbs can do it! :lol:
 
Check to see what the maximum current draw for the unit is... I can't remember. I'm pretty sure the 25A fuse did the trick. I do know for sure it never blew.
 
TwistedCopper said:
How'd ya like the difference in performance?

It actually took a few days for the computer to "learn" the new set-up (kinda the same as when I pulled the air intake restrictor tube). Now it's got all kinds of gitty-up boogey! I noticed when I'm rolling along at about 15 mph in 1st gear and goose the throttle a little the tires chirp now. Pretty impressive for a 4-banger with 31's. Funny thing, though: even with no air restrictor tube, acetone in the fuel, and an electric fan, my mileage on this tank was down to 20 mpg from 23-25 mpg before the fan.....I'm guessing it has something to do with that dent in the floor pan under the skinny pedal!!!! :lol: Got power, will use it!! :lol:

Ok, so on this tank full I'm going to run it normal to see what difference the fan made on top of everything else, if any. I don't reckon it can get much better than the initial 25 mpg I got on the first tank with acetone.

Any bets?
 

Man if you do better then 25 MPG I'll be lovin' it. It'll be the perfect justification to getting one for a DD>
 
T5 Transmission Question

Well, I've tried calling their customer service several times this week, and keep getting put on hold and then getting cut off. Finally, two days ago, I managed to get one of the CS tech's voicemail, left him a message about the missing circuit breaker, and told him to call me ASAP. Nothing. If I don't hear from them within a week of that message, I'm going to start working my way up the supervisor chain at Flex-a-Lite. :evil:
 
RE: this may sound stupid...

Will the same thing work with a XJ? Also do you have a 4cyl, and what air restrictor tube are you talking about? I'm trying to get more gas mileage out of my 01XJ. So far the best I got was 22mpg driving from East TN to Arkansas. Will it help much if I got a K&N cold air intake, hood vents, and the electrical fan?
 

RE: Well, wish me luck!

Yeah, I'm sure it will work with an XJ. I'm running a 4-cyl engine. Somebody with an XJ may want to chime in here, but I think you have the same restrictor tube in your intake. Here's a link to how to remove it:

http://members.fortunecity.com/jeepinjay/id10.htm

That link is for the older 4 and 6 cyl YJ's, don't know if there is anything like that in the newer XJ though.
 
Re: RE: Optional extras/pressies for my jeep

My XJ already has a factory electric fan to supplement the mechanical one.
 
Yea mine has a small one. Would it be any help if I took the mechanical one off and did another electrical? Take a little stress off the engine?
 
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