Electric Fan Issues - space?

[J48chevy]

So running into clearance issues with installing my electric fan set up on LS1 motor. Want to mount it between motor and radiator but do not have enough clearance between water pump and radiator to do this. So I mounted on front of radiator and reversed fan to ensure proper flow. Now my question is, has anyone else done this and where did you then mount your condesor for air condition? I know this might be easy for some but I am perplexed. Anyone have pics of their set up would help.

[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by J48chevy

So running into clearance issues with installing my electric fan set up on LS1 motor. Want to mount it between motor and radiator but do not have enough clearance between water pump and radiator to do this. So I mounted on front of radiator and reversed fan to ensure proper flow. Now my question is, has anyone else done this and where did you then mount your condesor for air condition? I know this might be easy for some but I am perplexed. Anyone have pics of their set up would help.

I don't think a pusher between the radiator and condenser will provide enough air flow for the AC, putting it in front of the condenser will reduce air flow across the radiator. Keep in mind that pusher fans are less efficient than pullers, which only complicates things further. I run a high cfm Spal pusher on my '58 without AC because there's not enough room between the water pump pulley and radiator.

Something like this is one alternative.

[Jesse Z]

Is it possible to relocate your radiator farther forward to make room for a puller fan? That's usually what I see the LS crowd do.

[hogfarm]

How much room do you have between the radiator and the pulleys? cooling components makes a real narrow fan,with a lot of CFM (don't remember how much,it was 1500 or 2500) but I run them on both of my trucks

[joedoh]

use a puller as often as you can. sometimes you can move the fan around and miss the water pump just barely, but if you are running a side tank rad and a 16" puller, you may not have the room.

alternatively, you can cut the core support at the edges to put the rad inside the support, GMCs are made this way because the GMC engine is longer.

do not use a pusher except: when you install the ac condenser if it is not sandwiched right to the rad with no air gap you will need a second fan on the condenser. not having a fan on the condenser will be tremendously hard on your AC compressor when sitting still (no air moving)

[Rickysnickers]

Ok, so on a related note, and not intending to change the subject, why is it that aftermarket radiators for the TF trucks are spaced about an inch or so away from the core support? The one Black Sheep posted looks as though it will go right up to the support, without leaving a gap. This would allow for more room in the engine bay.

[J48chevy]

Here is the pic. Only about 2 inches of space. Need about 3 1/4 for fan to work. Going to have to figure out some fab work for sure.

[J48chevy]

Well here is yet my other issue. Mounting air condition compressor with the LS brackets supplied with unit. Would not fit in stock holes as it hit the inner fender. Made new holes and now as you can see it is next to impossible to install oil cap. Only have about an inch of space now between inner fender and compressor. Now what to do? Just one more fun thing when doing a custom truck. Oh boy.

[J48chevy]

Pic not rotated.

[dsraven]

check tire/wheel clearances at full suspension retraction and steering wheel turned I all that way. if you have sufficient clearances you could cut into the inner fender and make room for the compressor or mount it lower possibly?

[Erics51chevy]

I bought a fan/radiator assembly off of ebay that is very slim. I moved my ls very close to the firewall. I have about and inch or more between the fan and pulley. The truck accessory drive sticks out farther than the car ones do. Say from like a corvette. But is there any possibility you could move the motor back?

[J48chevy]

No way to move motor back as it is close to firewall now. I think I will look at altering the radiator core support to move the radiator forward about 1.5”.

[Erics51chevy]

Maybe because you have the mustang 2 front. I have the stock crossmember on mine.

[J48chevy]

Yes that could be. Guess it is what to expect when doing a custom truck. Haha

[Daze57]

you may want to look in the '' SIDEWINDER'' fan its a puller fan with the motor off to the side and can be rotated in different configurations to fit --- check it out
it may help in your situation

[youngrodder]

I had space issues with my 48 and originally went the route out a cheap pusher fan of Ebay. I soon learned I had cooling issues. I went with a Cooling Components puller fan. Here is their site:
http://coolingcomponentsinc.us.com

One of their fans is 2 5/8" thick and comes with a housing you can trim to fit. They also offer a two speed switch and they move some CFM's. They are not cheap but very effective.
After talking with them they also suggested not using the (convenient) flex radiator hoses. The corrugated surface of the hoses causes turbulence on the inside of the hoses which effects your coolant flow rate. Once I changed my hoses (I went with bend pipe for hoses) and my fan I no longer had any cooling issues. I should mention that I did notch the core support to push the radiator as far forward as I could to clear to gain every inch I could.

Good luck

Marc

[Matt_50]

Inside the radiator support can give quite a bit of room. I've seen one set up that way, top of radiator support was cut and he had his radiator inside it. That said I managed to get both a full support and a cut one with my truck. I think I'll stick with the cut one. I don't have a serpentine system and I need a lil space for an electric fan. My giant mechanical fan fits... but it is real close to radiator hose.

Radiator slides right in, and you have some play to space right where you want to.

[J48chevy]

Thanks. I think I like the idea of cutting the top and sliding the radiator forward.

[nthogdog]

I'm still in the process of figuring out my fan space also. Dropped a big block into my 57 gmc with a top to bottom flow aluminum radiator. I have 2 1/2 inches clearance. I also notched the support to gain some space. I have to be careful how far I notch because then I may run into hood latch problems. Hopefully you will not have to worry about this issue.

[roger55]

My opinion is that with A/C, you will never be happy unless you have dual puller fans and a full shroud. You just have to keep working on exploring different options until you find a solution on how to accomplish that.

Dual 11" Spals on mine. I'm controlling it with a Dakota PAC-2750 for a 2 speed setup using 3 relays.

[Matt_50]

Roger55, that looks awesome. I plan on adding a/c.. why the flaps?

[roger55]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

Roger55, that looks awesome. I plan on adding a/c.. why the flaps?

The flaps help for highway driving to let more air flow through the radiator.
But, it's better to have the openings closed while stopped or at slow speeds so the fans can't re-circulate hot air.

[Erics51chevy]

I like the flap idea

[Root2812]

J48, I was in a similar position to you and just changed my accessory drive. This was a better solution for me because I wanted to run the LS6 intake with fuel rail covers and that made me have to change the accessory drive anyway.

My engine looks to be in almost the same position as yours but since I went with the tightest accessory spacing (corvette spacing but holley bracket) I gained 1.5 inches belt location to belt location over the truck accessory drive. Then you can see your waterpump has a nub for the mechanical fan where the later corvette waterpump I used doesn't. I chose the later pump vs the earlier bell pulley pump to save room. In total I saved about 2 inches or so. I still need to buy a radiator but I think a slim low profile fan will fit in there now.

I went with no AC so I can't help you there. Also I have to clearance the inner fender to clear the alternator similar to what you will probably need to do with your AC compressor.

[J48chevy]

Thank you. I may try the different pulley also. I did go online and ordered a 16” slim fan that is only about 2” thick so this will help also.

Originally Posted by Root2812

J48, I was in a similar position to you and just changed my accessory drive. This was a better solution for me because I wanted to run the LS6 intake with fuel rail covers and that made me have to change the accessory drive anyway.

My engine looks to be in almost the same position as yours but since I went with the tightest accessory spacing (corvette spacing but holley bracket) I gained 1.5 inches belt location to belt location over the truck accessory drive. Then you can see your waterpump has a nub for the mechanical fan where the later corvette waterpump I used doesn't. I chose the later pump vs the earlier bell pulley pump to save room. In total I saved about 2 inches or so. I still need to buy a radiator but I think a slim low profile fan will fit in there now.

I went with no AC so I can't help you there. Also I have to clearance the inner fender to clear the alternator similar to what you will probably need to do with your AC compressor.