Auxiliary fan - purpose.

[Pinger]

Knock on wood, I haven't had issues on my Burb with the rear heater lines--except for the little plastic Y under the hood and the plastic heater control valve. I'm sure after 21 years of underhood heat it's probably gotten cooked pretty good which is never a good thing for plastic! Also where they are, they are prone to getting whacked when doing repairs on that side of the engine. If you have to replace the spark plugs or wires it'll help you a lot to move the air cleaner box, makes it lots easier to get to the right bank of the engine!

For the work I've been doing (LPG) I had to move the coolant reservoir which necessitated removing the air filter box and now with the AC gubbins removed - I can see all the heater hoses!
Your right, removing the air box helps massively and with the AC gone... This is all part of a rolling plan to enable better access to the things that can be troublesome. My heater hoses have the further complication of supplying hot coolant to the LPG reducer. Getting there - more work to do today.....

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Yes on these trucks, there's not a lot of room underhood to start with so anything you can do to make more is good from a wrenching standpoint. I started working on the 70s and 80s square body trucks and there was lots of room underhood on my 350 pickup and Burb. Dad had a 454 Burb and that engine compartment was full! As they get more streamlined, there's less room underhood, and more stuff in the smaller space! My dad's 06 Denali is worse in that respect

 

[Pinger]

Compared to working on a smart......
With the air box off, the induction trunking pulled out of the way, the big coolant reservoir moved and the AC gubbins gone - that side of the engine bay reminded me of the old, simple trucks. Then I looked over to the other side jam packed with electrics. Compared to cars though, these things are a whole load easier.
Strange day. Loads of work done on the truck and no questions to ask here. Strange indeed!

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Compared to working on a smart......
With the air box off, the induction trunking pulled out of the way, the big coolant reservoir moved and the AC gubbins gone - that side of the engine bay reminded me of the old, simple trucks. Then I looked over to the other side jam packed with electrics. Compared to cars though, these things are a whole load easier.
Strange day. Loads of work done on the truck and no questions to ask here. Strange indeed!

Oh yeah I guess there's no room for much of anything in a smart car is there? Those look like there should be a hamster on his wheel for propulsion

 

[Pinger]

Oh yeah I guess there's no room for much of anything in a smart car is there? Those look like there should be a hamster on his wheel for propulsion

A guy I know has a Honda Blackbird engine in his tweaked to 185hp. I've not driven it but I've been in it. It's off the scale quick. He wants me to build one too. Which is kinda on the cards (I have an R1 engine here) as there's a few in the area sitting around doing not very much. Part of the thinking behind getting the Suburban was it can tow things home. We shall see....

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Yes Burbs are very good for towing, even more so the 2500s

 

[Pinger]

All back together aux fan included. Surprised how early it cuts in. Started it and before I'd even closed the bonnet/hood it was running. No more than a couple of minutes.

 

[stutaeng]

So is the aux. fan for the AC? I went and looked at my K3500 (GVWR = 9200#) and I don't have it, but have another little condenser/radiator where your aux fan is located on the photo. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...ickup,5.7l+v8,1358715,heat+&+air+conditioning

The previous Owner cut one of the AC condenser lines for some reason. I've been meaning to get the AC back running, but don't even know what to replace yet.

 

[alpinecrick]

Fan is going back on - not a problem as the mounts are on the body. It will just be the thickness of the AC rad away from the main rad - but airflow to the main rad will be improved.

The oil cooler for the trans is the problem now as it was mounted on the (now removed) AC rad.
Why it has a separate rad for the trans I have no idea. The pipes which once connected the trans to the main rad's cooler have been cut. A lot happens in 21 years....

Other than the radiator, the external trans cooler is the most important thing out front of that truck. If you want your trans to live a long and useful life, treat that trans cooler with respect and keep it operational...

None of the external coolers in your pic look factory to me--that's all been added, I think. Maybe the power steering cooler is stock.

The dufus that bypassed the auxiliary trans cooler (those are the heat exchangers located in the radiator tanks) did a nice job installing the extra coolers but he didn't know what he was doing bypassing the auxiliary trans cooler. The auxiliary engine and trans coolers both heat up the oils on cold start and help to keep the oils roughly around the engine coolant temp. It would be in yours and the trans best interest to restore the trans lines to the auxiliary cooler in the radiator and keep the external cooler too.

 

[Pinger]

So is the aux. fan for the AC? I went and looked at my K3500 (GVWR = 9200#) and I don't have it, but have another little condenser/radiator where your aux fan is located on the photo. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...ickup,5.7l+v8,1358715,heat+&+air+conditioning

The previous Owner cut one of the AC condenser lines for some reason. I've been meaning to get the AC back running, but don't even know what to replace yet.

Must be engine cooling as it cut in with all the AC gubbins removed.

See alpinecrick's post below. Mine seems to be a hotch potch of rads. Somebody with the proper set-up can advise you better!