Thermo Fan for GQ

Submitted: Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:04

ThreadID: 29797 Views:2285 Replies:6 FollowUps:8

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cokeaddict

Hey guys, I want to replace the original fan infront of the condensor with an aftermarket one... anyone done this to their GQ and if so, whats the bigest one you can fit ?

Have you run it through river crossings ?
Did it still work after you did or did the fuse blow.

My concern is that maybe aftermarket ones are not as well sealed as the Nissan original, my reason for wanting to replace mine is cause she is on her way out.

Cheers
Ange

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Reply By: searay27 - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:30

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:30

hey coke I have ef falcon ones on mine andthey havent blown yet in water and the temp bearly gets above 1/4 on gauge on the hottest day so I changed thermostat so they come on at 3/4 when u run the aircon they are going all the time so the moptor is always cool. Also wired them separatley as if one breaks theother goes still. good luck price was good I think 240 2nd hand but 270 brand new and moved nothing.

AnswerID: 149192

Follow Up By: cokeaddict - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:32

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:32

Hi searay,
thanks for replying mate, off the top of ur head...do u know what size they r?
I will be wiring it up to the original plug...im fussy like that :-)

Always believed that these car makers know the best way to do things or they wouldnt do it that way.
Cheers
Ange

FollowupID: 402344

Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:54

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:54

There are heaps of fans on ebay at present....including a number of dual fan set-ups from Falcons etc.

FollowupID: 402349

Reply By: cokeaddict - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:33

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:33

Then again...if they knew what they were doing, maybe they would have stopped production of the 3ltr time bomb.

AnswerID: 149193

Reply By: searay27 - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:41

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 18:41

heycoke do you mean in diamitor dont know off top of my head but i put in a diesal radiator or something as mine broke and they stopped making them for the3ltr petrol if you realy need to kbnowi can measure them can use any plug as i got a v6 in my car so i useda commodore plug

AnswerID: 149195

Follow Up By: cokeaddict - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 19:27

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 19:27

Its cool searay,
no need thanks.

FollowupID: 402354

Reply By: peterK - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 19:06

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 19:06

Ange
I looked at this option last year. There is a good thread HERE

The only bad thing I read about it was on one site which popped up in Google - the page was someones trip report on a personal site. They had an issue on a trip . They had attached the fans with a strip screwed to the top and bottom of the radiator. Withthe corrugations the screws had split the radiator at both ends

I didn't do it in the end as my heating up was a new prob - rather then something I had always experienced - so I had the core replaced instead . Which has fixed things

pete

AnswerID: 149202

Follow Up By: cokeaddict - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 19:32

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 19:32

Thanks Pete,
I dont have the overheating problem Pete, I just wanted to replace original before she locks up. They are there for good reason, everything helps in extreme hot conditions when stuck in traffic because all you 4wd'ers are heading home from your dirty weekends :-) .
I will check out the falcon twin system and measure it up.

FollowupID: 402355

Reply By: Bullwinkle - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 22:29

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 22:29

Cokeaddict; I did this very thing on my GQ about 2 weeks ago. The genuine one was real noisy (not siezed yet) but too noisy. I put a "Brown Davis" thermo fan in it. They're as common as dog's **** and I think they're the fan most people get off the shelf. I chopped the mesh stuff off the original cowling and removed the old fan. I then had to drill the mounting holes into the centre bit to mount the new one. It fitted perfectly inside the original cowling. This was on a 97 GQ 4.2EFI. The whole job took about 2 hours. A lot cheaper than genuine and not all that hard to do. Cheers.....

AnswerID: 149245

Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 23:00

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 at 23:00

What size fan did you buy.....Are you sure it wasn't a "Davies Craig" brand?....they come in 10, 12, 14 & 16 inch sizes.

FollowupID: 402414

Follow Up By: cokeaddict - Wednesday, Jan 18, 2006 at 05:55

Wednesday, Jan 18, 2006 at 05:55

Thanks Bullwinkle,
Thought of doing same thing, but i decided to fit the biggest size i can.

FollowupID: 402446

Reply By: S&N - Wednesday, Jan 18, 2006 at 22:28

Wednesday, Jan 18, 2006 at 22:28

how do you know if the fan is shot? is it supposed to come on when the temp guage rises? (we are talking about the fan infront of the radiator yeah?) we have the 4.2 diesel and when towing it can get hot, and i got out to see if the fan was going (the little one on the front) and it wasnt.....should it? or just when the air-con is on?
thanks

AnswerID: 149502

Follow Up By: cokeaddict - Thursday, Jan 19, 2006 at 13:22

Thursday, Jan 19, 2006 at 13:22

S&N,
the fan is on its way out when you spin the blades and they either wont turn at all, or feel lumpy. Usually a good indication that its time to replace it before it locks up completely while you are off on a long trip.

The fan (behind the grill, mounted on the air conditioner condenser) Is supposed to switch on when engine temp gets to a certain degree. It is wired up to the air conditioner. So it wont run unless you have your air con switched on.

In answer to your question.. "should it run when hot", its designed to run when engine reaches higher than normal running temperatures, usually this happens under load (climbing hills while accelerating or towing) BUT it is wired up with a safety cut out switch which will shut your air conditioner down if the engine gets way too hot. Reason why this happens is to remove the extra load that the air con system puts on your engine. Thus helping your engine try to cool down faster.

Chances are, you probably checked yours while engine was too hot and the system shut down your air con from running alltogether, including the fan.
Hope that helps mate..cheers
Ange

FollowupID: 402878

Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Thursday, Jan 19, 2006 at 13:42

Thursday, Jan 19, 2006 at 13:42

Ange,
Not sure about the GQ, but the 4.2TD GU is different to what you just described.
On mine there are 2 switches located in the bottom radiator tank. The one on the passengers side (which I have unplugged), causes the air conditioner to switch off when the coolant temp reaches a certain level....this means the air con pump AND the fan in front of the condensor.
However, if the coolant continues to rise in temp, then the 2nd switch (on the driver's side of the bottom radiator tank), is triggered and turns the fan on again (but NOT the air conditioner)....this is to try to aid the radiator to cool the system down again.
As stated, I have unplugged the passengers side plug so the air cond does not cut-out.....but I do have the extra VDO gauge fitted, so I can keep an eye on the temp of the coolant as well as several other areas of the motor.
I have also fitted another electric fan (only 10" at this stage, but I'm looking at fitting a larger one) to the opposite side of the air cond condenser (ie: the driver's side). Thsi is controlled by a switch that i can turn on/off at will. I turn this on whenever the ambient temp is over about 30oC if I'm going out of town.
Cheers
Roachie

FollowupID: 402882