Anyone know offhand, who has the best prices on flex-a-lite electric fans?? I'm thinking that will be my next mod... then the exhaust. Any help will be (as always) greatly appreciated.

 

Summit Racing seems to have the best price. They sell the FLX-210 for around $216, plus shipping. This price includes the Adjustable T-Stat and the AC Relay.

Hope this helps.
Dr. Z

 

Dr.Z Thanks for the link. The flex-a-lite fan I need is #165. (I drive a 2nd gen.) The 165 is even cheaper @ $209.95. They claim it will "free up up to 17 hp." I dont know if I believe that. Are'nt the 3.0's only about 20 hp stock? Do you run one of their fans? Are they worth the moola?

 

I'd be interested in how much performance increase this gives also. I was looking at the Downey electric fan kit that they claim it was "engineered" for the 4Runner. It's more pricey though at $267 but I assume it includes a little more stuff and more specific instructions. How many of you have done this?

 

This is the site I used to find my fans. I found the price difference between dealers to be astronomical.

For the FLX210...

Checker Auto: $199 w/thermo (everything you need)

Off-Road store: $379 for exactly the same thing

Be sure to call around, and if you cant find it for cheap at one of the dealers, call Summit.

I lucked out and found the FLX 210 for $199, and Summit had them for $216+shipping ($9).

I know you are looking for a different fan, but this will give you a good place to start.

I noticed what seemed to me, as a 10HP increase. It was the best mod I had on my truck. I will always go electric!

 

This thread's a bit stale, but I figured that some folks may be subscribed to it who'd be interested in updates.

I just installed an FLX-210 on my truck today. I put up a small page of notes and pics at the link in my sig.

The short review: !

 

hmmm this thread is almost.... chewy. Thats ok, they only get better with age. And thanks for bringing it back to life. I had forgotten that I really really want to get this. I HATE THAT DAMN CLUTCH!

 

One of the things that I noticed when I pulled my old fan off is that the "clutch" was incredibly gummy - I doubt that the fan was ever free-running. The thermostat spring that's supposed to activate the fan clutch was rusted and pure butt-ugly.

I'm pretty happy to get that thing off of my engine.

 

So what's the consensus on this mod? It's been coming up alot lately and has sparked my interest. Is it worth the cash?

 

I have no idea how it performs on a stock engine, as I added mine after I did everything else. People say that it doesnt do a thing, but how can that be true if the engine no longer has to turn a fan clutch that weighs about 20 pounds? It's going to help some, to say the least.

 

I'm happy with it on a few different levels...

- There's more room up in front of the engine. This is a cosmetic thing of course, but my engine compartment is just looking "neater" these days.

- The -210 moves a LOT more air than the stock fan.

- With the mechanical fan gone, there's definitely less load on the engine. The "seat-of-the-pants" meter says that there's a nice increase in pull starting around 1800rpm. For me, that means that if I'm driving at around 35mph, then when I jump on it, I definitely have more torque pulling up through 50mph.

- Outside of the weight/mass of the mechanical fan being gone, the drag from the blades cutting through the air is removed as well.

- With the weight/mass/drag of the mechanical fan gone, then the engine should have to work less for the same output. That should translate into better MPG. I've been keeping numbers on my rig for the last few tanks, I'll post up the results from the next tank or so.

- A small point is that the _sound_ of the blades on the mechanical fan is gone now as well. It's subtle when you're in the truck, but there's a clear difference. If you're running intake mods, then you'll notice more of a auditory change.


My bottom line: "thumbs up"

 

Thanks guys.. I been kinda stuck on my next mod where before they came very easily... Think this might be it.. If nothing else I can get rid of that screaming fan when I fire her up in the morn that drowns out the harmonious sound of the borla.. ya I've lost my mind!! haha

 

!

I have another benny for ya'... The truck warms up faster since there's not a constant flow of air blowing across it.

Have fun!

 

I would be interested if there is a increase in mpg. any one have any info here???

 

There's a mileage statement on one of the larger install pages I found:

http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~dneece/fan/fan.html

The quote is:

 

So how difficult is it to install? Is it an easy bolt on thing?
Thanks
David

 

I installed my TRD t-stat today and will probably get the fans next. Need all the extra cooling I can get here in the desert

Paul :fireman:

 

It took me about 3 1/2 hours from the time I first popped the hood to setting the thermostat. (i.e., start to finish)

Things to watch out for that can suck up time:

• There are two ways to deal with the thermostat probe. You can insert it into the radiator hose (the lower one on our trucks) or you can insert it between the cooling fins of the radiator. Inserting it into the hose is the right way to do it since you will get the most accurate measurement of temperature changes. But, this means that you'll be draining the radiator. So, you need to have 3 gallons of coolant ready to go; you need a container to drain the old coolant into; you need a GOOD screw-type hose clamp to replace the spring type that's on your lower hose. If you forget any of this, then it will cost you time while you borrow a buddies car to go get 'em. You'll have to borrow a car, because of course you've already taken the fan off and that pulley is still loose on the engine, hence making your truck undriveable.
  
• When you pull off the fan, the four bolts that held it on are actually studs with shoulders on them. The original nuts ill _not_ pull tight enough to secure the pulley. To counter this, you will need a number of washers to take up space on the stud so that the nuts can get a grip.
  
• Have you ever done any electrical work? If not, then you'll want to find a buddy who has and can explain the wiring diagram in the instructions or the others that are around the net. It's not hard, but if you haven't done it before, it can take a couple of looks to figure out what you need to do.
  
• Likewise, if you've never worked with crimp-on electrical connectors before, it can take a minute to figure out how they work.
  
• If you want to use the feature that forces the fan to run anytime that you have your A/C on, you'll spend some time looking under the hood to figure out where the electrical connection is for the compressor.
  
• Do you have metric sockets _and_ metric open-end (or box-end) wrenches? If not, you'll need 'em. You need the open-end/box-end _as well_ because you will NOT be able to get a socket in-between the original fan and it's bolts.
  
• Get a hacksaw. You'll need it to cut the mounting brackets for the fan so that you can use the original shroud mounting points.

That's about all that I can come up with on the fly. If I think of more, I'll post 'em up here.

Take a look at my page on the install (from the link in my sig). There are some pictures there were I've circled things to look at. As well, there's a link to a better documented install, but note that my own experiences were a bit different than that author's. For example, the brackets that came with my fan were _great_.

 

Just put in the flx-210's today, funny there are quite a few people bringing this up. One more word of caution is that you might need different bolts, nuts or washers for installing rather than what is supplied. Find out what you need before you tear into it and run to your hardware store to get any extra parts you need. The old fan on my tacoma (w/ the clutch setup. which doesn't seem to actually work) weighs about 6 lbs. That's six pounds your engine doesn't have to turn, all the time. That means quicker response, and less strain on belts, pulleys, and all that stuff. I will quit blabbering now, but I would recommend the fans to anyone who wants them. For those 1st and 2nd gen's, I think performanceproducts.com has fans for your trucks or 4 runners.

 

Thanks for posting your pics and notes Mark! It makes this mod much less threatening to those of us who wouldn't know where to start...

It looks like there's plenty of room to mount an additional transmission cooler and oil cooler as well. Where have folks installed these?

The fan is set to pull air, right?

Thanks,
Ryd