Viscous fan or electric?

landy-lee said:

Cheers for the input lads.

So if i was wanting to improve my viscous fan setup for max cooking for lets say im in low range in sand going up a large sand dune in morocco i just weld the viscous unit up so it is at engine speed all the time?

Cheers Landy Lee

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Nope as most viscous fans do not run at engine speed, run them to fast and they will explode.
I would hazard a a guess fans work best in a certain rpm range, much like aircraft and boat props, ie faster and faster does not actually achieve any more flow/speed?

Many moons ago truck viscous fans used to have a bolt so in the event of a failure you could lock them up solid, but had to run at a reduced engine speed.

The thing is your car will have been tested in hot weather situations, so I would say so long as cooling system is in good nick dont worry.

Thanks all for the help on what type of fan to use. Looks like the viscous fan wins so will spend the money I’ve saved up to change it and buy a performance intercooler for the 200tdi instead

landy-lee said:

Aup guys hope you are all well.

What is best for ultimate cooling a viscous fan or electric?

Also pros and cons of each?

I would think electric would cool better and improve house power but not as reliable as a viscous fan?

Cheers Landy Lee

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Stick with the mechanical fan.

Nodge68 said:

Stick with the mechanical fan.

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Another plus got a fan with the vicious clutch then.

When I got my 2.5 petrol 90 the PO had replaced the viscous fan with an electric.
I kept the setup when I put a V8 in as I didn't have the correct shroud/cowling but I don't like it! It comes on ~90 and off ~83 (thermoswitch in bottom hose) and I don't like seeing it heat up and cool down like that. On my former V8 with viscous fan kept the temp steady at ~90 in traffic and in slow traffic as it spins faster as the clutch heats up.
I'm still looking for a shroud/cowling but might end up making one so I can put the viscous fan back on. The V8 is a 3.5 hot wire efi from a Disco1 and the rad is a V8/TD version and the only shroud I have doesn't line up.
As mentioned above, when they fail they tend to lock up hence keep cooling which is better than an electric that fails. I have heard of viscous fans breaking, spinning off or failing unlocked but I think this is very rare.

Edited- should read 'On my former V8 with viscous fan kept the temp steady at below 90 in traffic and in slow traffic

capo said:

I'm still looking for a shroud/cowling but might end up making one so I can put the viscous fan back on. The V8 is a 3.5 hot wire efi from a Disco1 and the rad is a V8/TD version and the only shroud I have doesn't line up

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This has been an interesting thread & I'm glad I didn't switch to 'leccy when I considered it years ago. After all (as said) the original design was intended to cope with the various conditions that the car would encounter.
My 3.5efi auto has more fan blades than the carb. equipped versions, but when the radiator was replaced several years ago I ended up with a generic item & finding a shroud with an acceptable fit was a nightmare, eventually one off a Rover SDI was as good as it gets.
Should have had the original rad. re-cored, then the original shroud would have still fitted. Hindsight is a wonderful thing