What the heck is a clutch fan? I have an '89 LX with a 351W in it. What would be the advantage of having one? If you recommend it, where do I get one?

 

A fan clutch works one of two ways, the first is thermal, when the temperature rises enough to engage the fan it locks the fan in to pull more air through the radiator, a friction clutch is just that, the it operates more at higher rpm's, the biggest advantage to a fan clutch is fuel savings, when the fan is not fully engaged it takes a strain off of the motor, thus saving gas, also with the thermal, it allows for faster warmups, a big help in the winter with an iron block. What ever you do, do not put a flex fan on it they are the most in-efficent and dangerous pieces of crap ever made. My personal reccomendation would be to take the belt driven fan off altogether and run a thermstatically controlled electric fan ie: Black Magic being one of the better ones, just look for one with a higher cfm (cubic feet per minute) and wire it so it will run after shutdown to prevent heatsoak, most good kits come with a capillary tube controlled switch that you can set your temp range on and will go on and off as needed.

hope this helps,

Matt

 

what do you mean by a "flex fan"? something made my flex-a-lite?

 

No a flex fan is a thin sheet metal direct drive fan that bolts solidly to the fron of the water pump with or without a spacer. The fan blades actually flex flat when the motor is revved, they are usually riveted together and I have seen many come apart, even slicing through the hood and destroying many other parts as well.

 

yeah i don't need anything getting sliced. So what would you recommend? an 18" metal, non riveted ________? like, can you give me a brand name or something? or a product number from summitracing.com?

 

Get an electric fan like the Black Magic mentioned earlier. I use a Black Magic 185 and it works great. You'll notice less drag on the engine and a lack of fan noise when accelerating. They just cost a few bucks more than most want to spend, or they'd be more popular.

 

this is one of the best fans you can get....


SUMMIT - Flexalite Black Magic

Along with this...
SUMMIT - Fan Control

 

You shouldn't have to buy the extra controller. My kit included that same controller.

 

would having an electric fan create much drain on my electrical system? I have dual subs and a 300W amp going off the battery right now. would it make a difference?

 

Yeah, you'll want to upgrade your alternator to a 130 amp G3 since you already have a decent draw. I ran my electric for a year with the stock alt, but I didn't have any other high draw accessories. I have a 3G now though just to be safe.