Electric Fan?

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Oldseadog

Oldseadog

Well-Known Member
Posts
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Location
Tynemouth
After a very long and liquid chat with a friend yesterday, I am wondering if it would be worth changing my viscous fan for an electric one mounted directly behind the rad.
The rad has plastic head and foot manifolds with alloy fins.
Has anyone got any recommendations for fitting an electreakle fan to a 1989 2.5 N/A 110 Hard Top?
Serious reesponses would be appreciated, but normal LZ rules also apply :p:p
 
I did this to my 1993 defender. Simple job, just need to make up some brackets to support it properly.
I bought a single fan in plastic mounting cage off e-bay (can't find the actual link as it was 4 or 5 years ago but this is similar https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-12-In...731521&hash=item237c3fafce:g:~cQAAOSwUKxYhxoz)
Wired to a switch in the cab and i'll be honest I've never had to use it, ever.
Heater works better, engine runs better, all good.
 
I use range rover assist fans on a switch, only because I had to, ill get a photo later.
 
My Defender XS TD5 fan unscrewed itself and fell off several years ago and due to the blades getting chewed up I never put it back on, engine temp has ran fine and never gone above normal in any conditions. I have aircon and there are electric fans in front of radiator so not sure if these are controlling engine temp or are for aircon or both, may be someone can enlighten me.
 
Last edited:
Fitted my 1990 90 19j with twin electric fans twenty plus years ago.Went down one fan when 200tdi replaced the 19j.Fan is mounted on bars across the engine bay just behind the rad and do not touch it. Rad can be removed without messing with the fan.
Warm up is quicker, water pumps last longer as there is no fan loading it.

Scooby the fans in front are for the aircon.
 
WOW!!
Thanks for the rapid responses, which are very much appreciated.
I used to have a pair of lecky fans on my Series II Trials Landy because the rad was mounted behind the roll cage, but that was many moons ago, and if I remember correctly they only went on maybe half a dozen times over 10+ years of competition!
@Bantam1, the one on the Bay of Fleas looks as though it could be the canines reproductive sacs! Thanks :D:D
I'll let you know how I get on after it has arrived.
 
Oldseadog said:
WOW!!
Thanks for the rapid responses, which are very much appreciated.
I used to have a pair of lecky fans on my Series II Trials Landy because the rad was mounted behind the roll cage, but that was many moons ago, and if I remember correctly they only went on maybe half a dozen times over 10+ years of competition!
@Bantam1, the one on the Bay of Fleas looks as though it could be the canines reproductive sacs! Thanks :D:D
I'll let you know how I get on after it has arrived.
Click to expand...

I fitted one of those. But I added an RDX rad frame mount (mounts to the rad using the original mounts) and I used a thermostatic switch for auto functioning, I also wired a manual override switch so I can turn it on when I want.

3 years ago, still works fine although I rarely need it tbh
 
I fitted a Kenlow electric fan on mine. I ended up going back to a Viscos fan. My thinking was a quicker engine warm up time and perhaps the heating system would improve. It didn't make any difference what so ever. Oh, an I read reports about improved fuel economy. That was also rubbish.
The Kenlow worked very well. Did a trip across Morocco with it. I live in the South of France. The fan would trip in about two or three times a year during the summer. Just goes to show how over cooled a 200 tdi engine is. The kenlow was mounted behind the rad, engine side. All the attachments were provided. and a temp sensor to automatically trip the fan in when required. Can't really fault it.
However I always found myself listening to see if the fan was going to trip in and I found I always had one eye on the temperature gauge. And always wondering if things like earth wires were OK etc.
I went back to the Visco's fan as my thinking was that is what it was designed with. If the Viscos fan is working properly it is only ticking over when the engine is running anyway. And I now find I don't have one eye on the temp gauge etc. I tried a electric fan and will not go back to it. Far more piece of mind with the Viscos fan.
 
Oldseadog said:
After a very long and liquid chat with a friend yesterday, I am wondering if it would be worth changing my viscous fan for an electric one mounted directly behind the rad.
The rad has plastic head and foot manifolds with alloy fins.
Has anyone got any recommendations for fitting an electreakle fan to a 1989 2.5 N/A 110 Hard Top?
Serious reesponses would be appreciated, but normal LZ rules also apply :p:p
Click to expand...

I fitted Kenlowes behind the rad on my 2.5TD. Didn't much like em, ended up taking them off and fitting Viscous and Cowl.
The Kenlowes are still in my workshop, might get round to selling them one day.
Not had any issues with the Viscous since 2012, when I refitted it.
 
tottot said:
Fitted my 1990 90 19j with twin electric fans twenty plus years ago.Went down one fan when 200tdi replaced the 19j.Fan is mounted on bars across the engine bay just behind the rad and do not touch it. Rad can be removed without messing with the fan.
Warm up is quicker, water pumps last longer as there is no fan loading it.

Scooby the fans in front are for the aircon.
Click to expand...
Thanks, tottot.
 
If you do any sort of slowish high rpms off road work you will need a fan of some sort, Ive had mine get red hot even when outside temps were below zero.
Dont rely on the std fit temp gauge as they are not linear, ie they only read within a certain range and crudely at that.
Cheap generic universal 16 inch 40 quid from ebay works well.
 
I dont go off roading these days, and in hot weather the aircon is usually running so fans keep engine cool, I have never had a problem with engine temp (always below half way).
If I see a reasonably priced viscous fan on ebay I will buy one and put it on. But I must say there is a nice lot of space to access things at the moment without the fan there.
 
Scooby22 said:
I dont go off roading these days, and in hot weather the aircon is usually running so fans keep engine cool, I have never had a problem with engine temp (always below half way).
If I see a reasonably priced viscous fan on ebay I will buy one and put it on. But I must say there is a nice lot of space to access things at the moment without the fan there.
Click to expand...

That is another advantage of an electic tbh, the front of engine bay is empty basically, the fan only adds about an inch or two to the depth of the rad - you can sit on the front slam panel with your feet in the axle to work on the head!
 
flat said:
That is another advantage of an electic tbh, the front of engine bay is empty basically, the fan only adds about an inch or two to the depth of the rad - you can sit on the front slam panel with your feet in the axle to work on the head!
Click to expand...

Electric do make for slightly easier access for some jobs. But removing the viscous and cowl doesn't take long either on most models.
 
Turboman said:
Electric do make for slightly easier access for some jobs. But removing the viscous and cowl doesn't take long either on most models.
Click to expand...

Thats very true. When I had the NA and a viscous I slightly notched the cowling so I could remove it without taking the fan off etc
 
Oldseadog said:
After a very long and liquid chat with a friend yesterday, I am wondering if it would be worth changing my viscous fan for an electric one mounted directly behind the rad.
The rad has plastic head and foot manifolds with alloy fins.
Has anyone got any recommendations for fitting an electreakle fan to a 1989 2.5 N/A 110 Hard Top?
Serious reesponses would be appreciated, but normal LZ rules also apply :p:p
Click to expand...
look for my leccy fan writeup
its a devisive Q. some for, some against.

my own thoughts... if you go in water, then it is useful to turn off the lecky fan. It also isnt necessary most of the time, if you have a doosil.
 
flat said:
Thats very true. When I had the NA and a viscous I slightly notched the cowling so I could remove it without taking the fan off etc
Click to expand...

On my TD, I notched the cowl, and replaced the bolts holding the cowl halves together with little stainless bolts, with nuts and spring washers.
With a long extension bar, a socket, and an assistant holding a spanner underneath, it took about ten minutes at most to remove the cowl and fan.

Some later Tdi etc have a one piece cowl, they were much harder to get off.
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
look for my leccy fan writeup
its a devisive Q. some for, some against.

my own thoughts... if you go in water, then it is useful to turn off the lecky fan. It also isnt necessary most of the time, if you have a doosil.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't say it was divisive for me, the electric worked OK, but I removed them on the grounds that the simplest solution is usually best! And I like to be as original as possible.:)

I haven't actually seen viscous fans to cause issues with water, provided you are only on very low revs. And I wouldn't want to go any deeper than the bottom of the hubs anyway, and only that briefly. It is damaging to all kinds of areas of the vehicle.
 
Retroanaconda said:
Stick with the viscous, Land Rover knew what they were doing.
Click to expand...
+1 for that, and Mikescuba's comments. I fitted one to my previous CSW - waste of time. All the hype about performance increases and fuel economy...well, I'm no expert and didn't have the micrometer measure that I think you'd need to confirm it one way or the other, but I didn't see any noticeable difference. I removed it before 2 x trips to Morocco and a hot summer in the Alps and didn't suffer any ill effects, and that was including several days of hamada-crawling at +30 degrees and 5mph. It was a gift (from someone who'd already learned the lesson, possibly), otherwise I'd have felt a bit sick given the costs involved. The immediate reason I got rid of it was the horrendous vibration it generated when a stone chipped one of the blades. I had to tape a 1 euro coin to it for counterbalance otherwise it might've shaken itself to bits.
 
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