electric cooling fan help...

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El Tigre

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Yeah, while the electricity has to come from somewhere. My fans only rarely engage,unless the A/C is on. Belt service,along with many other service tasks are made much easier w/o fan,and/or that huge fan shroud in the way...
 

L31MaxExpress

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Isn't the Trailblazer SS fan clutch electronic?
If so, how do you make this work?
Interested in this upgrade.

2007 had a thermal clutch option. Uses the same thread as a L31 water pump. The fan bolt circle is the same as a duramax blade. Bolted the two together, spun it on, a little trimming on the shroud and it worked perfectly.
 

L31MaxExpress

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Yeah, while the electricity has to come from somewhere. My fans only rarely engage,unless the A/C is on. Belt service,along with many other service tasks are made much easier w/o fan,and/or that huge fan shroud in the way...
Once you learn how the belt is routed it makes no real difference if the fan and shroud are there or not. I put the belt on my Express van from under the van and it takes about 2 minutes to do. The clutch fan freewheels when it is not needed too with almost zero resistance. I love the simplicity of the clutch fan and feel if its not broken why complicate it. I needed to replace my fan clutch at the time and the Duramax blade upgrade cost me less than $60 to do taking into account I was changing the clutch anyway. The Hayden severe duty clutch was about $80. Price for the clutch was about the same for the L31 clutch and the TBSS clutch.
 

L31MaxExpress

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I have had both setups and the Duramax fan blew the Tahoe fans out of the water a/c and cooling wise.

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El Tigre

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The other drawback to engine driven fans is the additional load they place on the nose of the water pump. Plus,the additional work to replace a water pump with engine driven fans. I remember when all vehicles had them. Now they're becoming fewer,and fewer... Doubt OEM's would add additional costs/complexity without there being significant advantages.
 

L31MaxExpress

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The other drawback to engine driven fans is the additional load they place on the nose of the water pump. Plus,the additional work to replace a water pump with engine driven fans. I remember when all vehicles had them. Now they're becoming fewer,and fewer... Doubt OEM's would add additional costs/complexity without there being significant advantages.

Actually many OEMs still use clutch fans. Just not on cars. GM, Dodge, Ford, Toyota and Nissan to name a few still use mechanical fans. Last I checked a water pump is cheaper than an alternator and fan motors. Like 8-10 bolts to remove the upper half of the fan shroud and well placed crescent and few taps from a hammer are alot of work...I can change a water pump on a GMT400 Vortec engine in about 30 minutes.
 

AK49BWL

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Just because you don't notice any difference doesn't mean your case applies to everyone else. My fans never run unless I'm sitting still, and my fans only take about 18 amps under full load thank you very much. About 7a on low speed, which is all they ever need to run.. And that's in Texas while towing a 24' travel trailer. Upgraded AD244 MORE than makes up the difference, without the added load on the engine coming from the clutch fan. I did a similar swap on my 2003 4.3 blazer, and the difference between mine (3.42 gears) and my mom's (same year with 3.73 gears) is EXTREMELY noticeable, particularly on takeoff. Plus, if I want extra cooling for whatever reason, I flip a switch. Can't do that with your clutch fans, can ya??
 

BNielsen

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Hmm...this has got me thinking about a decent fan set up on my 454.
I've already got an S10 fan and severe service clutch; my A/C blows cold at idle and even colder driving.

Temps typically stay anywhere from 183-193 on a hot day cruising or 195-197 on a hot day with the A/C on, but when the fan spins up it'll drop to 190.
 

El Tigre

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Why do those with clutch fans seem to think electric fans run all the time,when mine rarely ever come on at all. Hard on alternator? Yeah,if they run all the time. Only a moron would hook them up that way. Had my factory alternator rebuilt one time in 20 years.
 
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