Power Robbing Pully Fan To Electric

Coachmenguy · April 10, 2007

has anybody swaped out the pully fan for an electric one?? i have an 03 and i see that somewhere around 05? they came with electric fans from the factory, so would this be an easy swap for me?????? considering not much has changed from 03 to 06, my thoughts would be that it would bolt right on, and then program the pcm for it???

ridnlow · April 10, 2007

very common swap but expensive.. youd need a 34 inch radiator, the fans, a harness and then the pcm tuning.. the cheaper alternative is get a set of ls1 fans..

gmforlife · April 10, 2007

actually, it isn't very expensive if you shop it. If you go to Nelson Performance, they sell the harness for LS1 Electric fans for like $90, and you can buy a set of LS1 fans off ebay for $100. I have this exact setup and have had it for a year and it is awesome. Also the harness enables you to tap a wire into the pcm, so if you have a tune, or have someone tune your truck they can tune your on/off temps and everything. I do 99-Current Truck Tuning if you are in need if you go this route.

C & A s Dad · April 10, 2007

Ryan, I see your truck is a 2500. I believe I am correct in saying that GM has not installed elect fans on anything other than the 1500 series trucks. I am not saying it will not work, but just know there is a reason GM has not used e fans on their HD trucks. If you do not work the truck or tow anythin of significcance, you will likely be fine and will free up a few ponies.

I researched this for my 02 Yukon XL because I was looking to free up some HP. I found that a properly operating fan clutch pulls very little HP when not engaged. Of course, when it is engaged it does take some HP from your rear wheels. However, when the E fans are on, they too are pulling some HP by loading the alternator. Which brings up the fact that you need to make sure your have a 140 Amp Alt if you plan to install the e fans. If you have something less than a 140 Amp, you would likely not experience any problems unless you got caught in a situation where you had to idle for a long period of time. An alt produces about 40% of it's output at idle. So with a 140 amp alt you would have approx 60 Amps to work with at idle. The E fans, your AC Blower fan, Wipers, headlights etc, all running at idle would push the limit of anything less than a 140 Amp alt.

Not trying to be an alarmest, just offering some "food for thought". You will see where Andrew and others have made this swap successfully. If it were not for me towing a 6500 lb camper, I would have likely already made the change as well.

ridnlow · April 10, 2007

Yea i said the ls1 setup is the cheaper alternative.. the prices on doing the "factory setup" are high however..

Coachmenguy · April 10, 2007

Ryan, I see your truck is a 2500. I believe I am correct in saying that GM has not installed elect fans on anything other than the 1500 series trucks. I am not saying it will not work, but just know there is a reason GM has not used e fans on their HD trucks. If you do not work the truck or tow anythin of significcance, you will likely be fine and will free up a few ponies.

I researched this for my 02 Yukon XL because I was looking to free up some HP. I found that a properly operating fan clutch pulls very little HP when not engaged. Of course, when it is engaged it does take some HP from your rear wheels. However, when the E fans are on, they too are pulling some HP by loading the alternator. Which brings up the fact that you need to make sure your have a 140 Amp Alt if you plan to install the e fans. If you have something less than a 140 Amp, you would likely not experience any problems unless you got caught in a situation where you had to idle for a long period of time. An alt produces about 40% of it's output at idle. So with a 140 amp alt you would have approx 60 Amps to work with at idle. The E fans, your AC Blower fan, Wipers, headlights etc, all running at idle would push the limit of anything less than a 140 Amp alt.

Not trying to be an alarmest, just offering some "food for thought". You will see where Andrew and others have made this swap successfully. If it were not for me towing a 6500 lb camper, I would have likely already made the change as well.

you've got a point i've never really noticed that the HD's dont have E fans, and i do to a travel trailer the same weight as yours, i figured i throw the idea out there and see if it was worth it, a few extra HP is always a plus, im going with a wait4me tune anyhow so mabye i'll just settle with that!

redvett · April 10, 2007

The only reason the HD's dont have the electric cooling fans is because they are not in the CAFE fuel economy family. Any vehicle over 8600lb GVW is exempt.

C & A s Dad · April 10, 2007

The only reason the HD's dont have the electric cooling fans is because they are not in the CAFE fuel economy family. Any vehicle over 8600lb GVW is exempt.

In your opinion, the E fans will work as well if not better than the mechanical set up for a truck that is used for towing or other heavy work?

I ask this because I have not given up on converting my Yukon XL. However the last thing I want is to compromise the cooling system and end up with problems while I am sitting in traffic somewhere on a 95 degree day with my family and my camper hung behind me. Right now it runs a nice 194 to 196 degrees no matter what the outside temp is and the AC blows snowballs no matter how long it sits idleing.

I drive a Dodge Caravan daily for work and on a hot day, if I come to a stop in traffic, I can almost turn the AC off because it simply will not bring enough air accross the condensor to keep the AC cooled down. This is my 5th Caravan and they have all been that way. Maybe I should not be basing my decision on this.

redvett · April 10, 2007

Well i haul my ATV up north and have gotten stuck in x-way traffic at construction or accidents and sat :-( for 30 - 60 minutes and never have had an overheating problem in 80-90F. I used the LS1 Corvette fans and used the controllers from Jeg's. If you do convert the first thing you will notice is the off idle throttle response.

C & A s Dad · April 10, 2007

I have 2 more questions if you do not mind.

Your AC worked well while sitting in traffic?

Did the LS fans mount like the OE units on the late model trucks or did you have to "engineer" a mounting system.

Thanks for the info, as I said before, I really want to do this but have just been cautious.

redvett · April 10, 2007

I have 2 more questions if you do not mind.

Your AC worked well while sitting in traffic?

Did the LS fans mount like the OE units on the late model trucks or did you have to "engineer" a mounting system.

Thanks for the info, as I said before, I really want to do this but have just been cautious.

The bottom of the fans fit into a slot and i made 2 aluminum straps to attach to the top bolt holes.

Yes AC worked perfictly and i have an extended cab. Even towing in hot weather the temp stays at 195F.

Did your van have dual air? that could be the problem with it not cooling. I know the Tahoe's & Surburban's need the rear air.

C & A s Dad · April 10, 2007

No, the Caravans I have had were all front air only. My Yukon XL has rear air of course.

Do you think the rear air units require more airflow than a Pick Up like you have?

One of the other things I have been waiting on is we (CARQUEST) sell a lot of Dorman/Motormite product and they supply many OE fan set ups in their OE Solutions line. However, the 05 and 06 Chev truck fan unit has yet to become avail through them. If it does, I would be able to get a new set up at a really nice price.

What is you opinion on the rear air?

redvett · April 10, 2007

No, the Caravans I have had were all front air only. My Yukon XL has rear air of course.

Do you think the rear air units require more airflow than a Pick Up like you have?

One of the other things I have been waiting on is we (CARQUEST) sell a lot of Dorman/Motormite product and they supply many OE fan set ups in their OE Solutions line. However, the 05 and 06 Chev truck fan unit has yet to become avail through them. If it does, I would be able to get a new set up at a really nice price.

What is you opinion on the rear air?

I know that the GM fans are under rated and are more than able to do the job. I actually do not use both fans i have a switch to make both run and a diode between the two to isolate them. Never have a problen overheating even with on fan. I believe the Vett fans are rated at 3500cfpm. You must use dual fans to get the max cooling according to GM.