Dan Wheeler's Explorer 4.0 Radiator and Taurus Fan Thread

[Viperwolf1]

Who's controller is that? The relay says it's good for 40A continuous. I like the adjustability feature.

 

[DanWheeler]

or do I just go for the non-adjustable thermostat and hook it up to a 40 amp relay

the adjustable kit is $39 and the non-adjustable thermostatic switch is $35. I wonder how reliable the adjustable switch is with all the heat and mud and water in the engine bay?

 

[DanWheeler]

Who's controller is that? The relay says it's good for 40A continuous. I like the adjustability feature.

the adjustable unit is derale. They advertise that it works for a 25 amp fan but obviously the relay is a 40 amp.

 

[Viperwolf1]

the adjustable kit is 39 and the non-adjustable thermostatic switch is 35. I wonder how reliable the adjustable switch is with all the heat and mud and water in the engine bay?

It should be measuring the temp at the sensor so engine bay heat shouldn't matter. I'd try the adjustable kit if it's that cheap. The other would end up costing more once you buy the relay and misc parts.

 

[Viperwolf1]

the adjustable unit is derale. They advertise that it works for a 25 amp fan but obviously the relay is a 40 amp.

25 amps is not much. If you wanted to tinker with it you could make it work your own relay and wiring.

 

[DanWheeler]

this is another interesting option. For 25 bucks you can get just the flex-a-lite adjustable circuit board (comes with a radiator probe)

I wonder if the board could be hooked up to a 87-93 ECT sensor? (i believe I have an extra lying around somewhere)

 

[Viperwolf1]

this is another interesting option. For 25 bucks you can get just the flex-a-lite adjustable circuit board (comes with a radiator probe)

I wonder if the board could be hooked up to a 87-93 ECT sensor? (i believe I have an extra lying around somewhere)

The temp probe is more than likely just a thermistor but it's resistance/temp curve may not match the ECT. You'd have to experiment with it.

 

[DanWheeler]

I just ordered the Derale adjustable thermostat kit from Summit. I think I'm going to mount it in the cab so it stays cool and dry. Something tells me that little potentiometer used to conrol the on/off point won't last long in the engine bay.

 

[DanWheeler]

I'll see how big the wires are when it gets here but more than likely i'll just be using the temp sensor and the control unit to control another relay in the engine bay.

 

[DanWheeler]

i got the Derale adjustable fan controller installed but I wasn't able to use it as is with the Taurus fan. The derale unit is designed to switch ground to the fan. The instructions tell you to wire the fan's positive lead directly to the battery and without a fuse. The control unit then has one large black wire that connects to ground then a large red wire that goes to the fan. it's really a goofy setup.

I may have been able to switch negative for positive but there are just too many wires coming in and out of the unit and i didn't feel comfortable doing that not knowing what was inside that little box.

so i used the ground output of the derale unit to switch another relay sending 12v to the low side of the fan.

this should work OK but now I have 2 points of failures - oh well.

 

[70EB]

Any update on how the radiator is holding up?

 

[DanWheeler]

Ask me in August when its 95 degrees out ;D

So far so good though. The fan only seems to turn on after I've come to a stop or am sitting in traffic.

I'm getting too much swing in the temperature right now but that is probably because my temp gauge sender is mounted in the water neck and it SHOULD be on the manifold where my fan thermostat sender is. I need to get a smaller temp gauge sender so I can swap locations and put them both where they should be.

My Derale adjustable fan switch comes on around 205 and goes off about 30-45 seconds later at 170 degrees. I'd like it to be more like 190 on, 180 off but there's a lot of factors at play so that may be wishful thinking.

I am going to wait until summer to give it a yay or nay.

 

[70EB]

Great. What about the build quality of the rad and would you recommend any different way to mount it? in case you are wondering, I am preparing to switch to the Explorer front dress and might go this way for the radiator at the same time as a cheaper solution.

Thanks and great build threads.

 

[DanWheeler]

not too sure on the build quality. It seems fine but time will tell. It's a nice looking radiator. I really like the way it mounts. Technically, my bottom mounts should not be on the frame like they are since the top mounts are on the body. Potential for putting stress on the radiator if the body flexes but there is a lot of room for play in the mounts on the Explorer 4.0 radiator so hopefully it will be OK.

Somebody posted recently about a lower hose you can get at the parts stores that works with the stock radiator. No need for crossover hose. Can't remember where though.

Looking back, i probably should have just bought the cross-over hose. I was stubborn though and didn't want to pay $100 for it. So instead, I paid $150 for a new radiator, $40 for 2 Taurus fans, $25 for a PAC-80 relay, $40 for a Derale adjustable fan switch and spent a bunch of time modifying my core support.

 

[fungus]

Mine is holding up awesome! A few weeks ago I actually had the Taurus fan motor (older style) go out on me. Granted, I live in Hawaii now, but I made it over the mountains crossing the island 3 times w/o a cooling fan and the radiator/ thermostat did ALL the work! As long as I had forward motion (not in traffic or lights) the temp never went over 190. I have my thermostatic switch set to come on at 190 and it works for 30 seconds or so, temp drops below 185 and its back off. Only comes on in traffic. Radiator is holding up great as well as the other components of the Taurus fan, Exploder rad system. I'm really impressed with it's fitment and performance thus far...

 

[DanWheeler]

wow that is great to hear. Not great to hear the motor went out

I tried pulling just the motor on one of those fan units and wasn't able to get the blades off the motor. Did you replace the motor or the whole unit including the shroud?

where in the world do you find junkyard parts like that now that your in Hawaii?

 

[fungus]

wow that is great to hear. Not great to hear the motor went out

I tried pulling just the motor on one of those fan units and wasn't able to get the blades off the motor. Did you replace the motor or the whole unit including the shroud?

where in the world do you find junkyard parts like that now that your in Hawaii?

I customized my shroud for the exploder rad so I re-used it. I had a buddy of mine in Socal ship me my spare Taurus fan (complete unit) as well as an exploder clutch fan (mech backup/ spare). I pulled the motor (newer style) from my spare shroud and used it and the fan blades that were on it. The older style fan blades/ motor are not interchangeable with the newer units. They're a beotch to seperate but I did get them apart... Both the shrouds were the same so I just had to put the newer motor/ blades on the shroud I was running, rewire the whole damn thing as the motors are wired different (go figure!) and I was up and running again.

Junkyards out here are few and far between but rumor has it there is a "pick-n-pull" on the island somewhere. I've got a local buddy who wants to scope it out one of these weekends so we'll see what turns up. I got spoiled in Socal with so many yards to choose from!

I think part of my rigs problem is that she's just adjusting to the island lifestyle... Culture shock!

 

[blakerj10]

Good to hear the radiators are working guys. Thanks for doing the R&D for the rest of us. Keep us informed as the temps go up for summer.

 

[Tito]

Good to hear the radiators are working guys. Thanks for doing the R&D for the rest of us. Keep us informed as the temps go up for summer.

Agreed, getting ready to order one myself. Going to hit the yard to get the lower mounts to mount to my core support.

 

[fungus]

I thought I posted pics of my setup on this thread but it must've been your original thread Dan... Here's some pics of how I mounted this sucker!

1st 2 pics are of all the stock radiator mounts removed from the c/s. Next two are the lower mounts I fabbed from 1/4"x 3" flat stock w/ holes bored for the lower bushings. Next two are pics of the upper mounts that I grabbed from the 4.0 exploder w/ the rad and I dropped the rad down to mount flush with the top of my c/s.