Just installed thermos!

spope · 15-09-2005, 06:49 PM

After having them sitting in the shed for about 6 months now, and the wiring in the car for about 5 months, I finally installed thermofans. Literally 10 minutes ago.
Cheers to Dellboy for giving me a heads up as to how to mount them on the right hand side (an extra hole through the shroud, the metal rib at the top of the radiator, and a 10mm bolt did the trick)
And all I can say is wow. My fan clutch has been bent for a little over 12 months, since I dinged the car, so it has been a tad louder than normal, but now it is so quiet it's amazing. I have a gearbox whine in first gear that I've never been able to hear before. :hihi:
The throttle response is much better, engine revs a lot more freely now - acceleration is improved a little, not overly noticable yet, but there are still other issues with my car.
All in all, given how easy it was in the end to all hook up, I'm regretting not doing it earlier.
Better fuel economy, here i come.

Damo · 15-09-2005, 09:37 PM

nice one. How do thermos produce better fuel economy ?

InitialD · 15-09-2005, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damo

nice one. How do thermos produce better fuel economy ?

"apparently" by fitting the thermos and take strain off the motor, you use less engine power meaning less fuel?

Im not sure if its actually proven, but I didnt notice any difference with my car really.

Good to hear Steven that you fitted them ;)

superloweb · 15-09-2005, 10:36 PM

hey there can i ask what the thermos were originally of or are they aftermarket if so where to get em from and av price, by the way i fitted bosch super 4 plug to my eb ages ago and that improved economy i heap. my car cops a flogging everywhere and trip comp says 9.2L 100 km's but i got exptractors n aswell prolly helps about. GO THE SUPER 4's!

spope · 15-09-2005, 10:51 PM

I run iridiums - no problem with my plugs. Smoothest idle ever!
I picked the fans up from Jolly's U Pull It (TM) in Dandy - $125 - they pull them out when they get a good set and put them on display.
There are two avenues of thought: re fuel economy improvement. I too, doubt wether I will see an improvement but anything is possible.
The first is less strain on crankshaft = less torque lost = more torque to rear wheels = less power required to do equal amount of work = less fuel consumed.
The other point, for me specifically with the short distances I cover is that the car will warm up quicker. Once the car is out of cold start mode, less fuel is pumped in. Or so the theory goes. I'm not expecting much, the 2 biggest factors where the noise, and the fact that with the clutch fan the car liked to overheat in summer traffic.

BlOWN-EA · 16-09-2005, 12:53 AM

If any one wants to buy a brand new set of genuine
ford thermo fans, email me at egraphics@bigpond.com

CruizinEB · 16-09-2005, 02:12 AM

so it was eay to install then hay ,how did you remove the factory fan?

NZ · 16-09-2005, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InitialD

"apparently" by fitting the thermos and take strain off the motor, you use less engine power meaning less fuel?

Im not sure if its actually proven, but I didnt notice any difference with my car really.

Good to hear Steven that you fitted them ;)

Yeah but the 'propellor' will be helping to pull the car foward

When i fitted my thermo's I didn't notice any improvment in revvyness or throttle response or any of that crap. Might be because it was workking correctly in the first place.

That guy with the blue EB turbo thats got the turbo and plenium hangin (or sticking) out of the hood lost .1hp with a clutch fan so it kinda blows the theory they drain all this hp. Naturally a stuffed fan thats locked up will, and one thats stuffed the other way and spins freely all the time won't do jack for cooling.

spope · 16-09-2005, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruizin EB

how did you remove the factory fan?

With a clutch fan spanner - available from bursons - easy when you have the right tools.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NZ

Yeah but the 'propellor' will be helping to pull the car foward

When i fitted my thermo's I didn't notice any improvment in revvyness or throttle response or any of that crap. Might be because it was workking correctly in the first place.

Lol @ propellor - my mate refers to the ea as a "Boeing 747"
I know for sure that my clutch was buggered, all I can say is that I got straight line wheel spin this morning - first time ever without using the brakes. That's gotta say something!

ilsautomotive · 16-09-2005, 11:10 AM

Great stuff mate, surely one of the best mods out there. Maybe I'm biased against that godawful worn-clutch-fan racket.

The actual gains will vary depending on the application but there will always be noticable improvements overall.

NZ · 16-09-2005, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trouty

The actual gains will vary depending on the application but there will always be noticable improvements overall.

Less technical talk for simple things Jack.

How do you mean the actual gains will vary depending on the application?

The clutch fans all work the same way whtever 'application' they are in.

ilsautomotive · 16-09-2005, 01:25 PM

What I said was basically the same as what you said smartass. :P Firstly it depends how worn the clutch fan is, and secondly a V8 will cope better with torque-sapping add-ons like clutch fans.

neb · 16-09-2005, 01:29 PM

Yeah great modification... the best thing about when I put them in mine is you get rid of that damn clutch fan noise. Also the engine did seem a bit more revier, and better throttle response. Didn't notice any difference in fuel economy

NZ · 16-09-2005, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trouty

What I said was basically the same as what you said smartass. :P Firstly it depends how worn the clutch fan is, and secondly a V8 will cope better with torque-sapping add-ons like clutch fans.

Nah you said the actual gains will vary on the application.

A clutch fan is going to take x amount of hp to spin weather its a cfi, mpi, whatever. Nothing will change that except for maybe if you were at the top of mt everest with your eseries where the air is thinner.

As soon as the clutch fan is gone yes that hp will be avalible for other things such as moving the car forward.

What you should have said was ' The actual gains will be the same whatever application but what you notice will vary on the application'

Who's the smartass now

Psycho Chicken · 16-09-2005, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spope

The first is less strain on crankshaft = less torque lost = more torque to rear wheels = less power required to do equal amount of work = less fuel consumed.

Ignore hungover crackpot rantings!

I just want to get rid of mine cos I hate the noise. My car is a boat, not a hovercraft.

spope · 16-09-2005, 11:23 PM

I can't quite see more torque - less strain than a slipping clutch, yeah, because the fan will be spinning at the same speed as the water pump pulley - but it's still a strain on the engine, a clutch fan at speed takes a fair effort to move.
But like I said, better performance was at the bottom of the list of reasons to do the conversion. Number one was the noise factor, number two the fact that my clutch was bent. So I was always going to see an improvement, because a fan spinning off centre takes more effort to move than a balanced one.
The car is so much nicer to drive now - I can't hear it idle when I'm at the lights, which is a very good thing

Walkinshaw · 16-09-2005, 11:42 PM

M3's run clutch fans............

Psycho Chicken · 17-09-2005, 03:06 PM

lol ignore me, I wasn't thinking clearly, getting confused here.

Those V5 Volkswagens have a clutch fan and a thermo fan.

JUZXR8 · 17-09-2005, 04:39 PM

when you put in thermos do you have to remove the clutch fan completly and the water pump?

Psycho Chicken · 17-09-2005, 04:48 PM

Clutch fan goes, water pump stays. I had to grind a bit of the pump pulley to clear the fans, but haven't heard of anyone else having that issue.

InitialD · 17-09-2005, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

Clutch fan goes, water pump stays. I had to grind a bit of the pump pulley to clear the fans, but haven't heard of anyone else having that issue.

I had that issue and the thermos motor fixed it for me lol

I had to take a little of my pump after the ding to clear it correctly

**Papa Smurf** · 18-09-2005, 07:00 AM

Scope, a great job and I have a set of them in my back room waiting for some inspiration to fit

How did you wire them up? Both motors at once or in sequence?

**Polyal** · 18-09-2005, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

Clutch fan goes, water pump stays. I had to grind a bit of the pump pulley to clear the fans, but haven't heard of anyone else having that issue.

I had this issue but it was because I used AU thermos...e series ones should be fine AFAIK

**Papa Smurf** · 18-09-2005, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollin

if you have two thermoswitches you can run them in sequence, but most people (including myself) just run them togather.

do a search on here, i did a big instruction type thingo in someones thread ages ago, and have posted a link to it many many times. it should at least get you in the ballpark.

Thank you Rollin

spope · 19-09-2005, 07:16 PM

Thanks to rollin (and others) I now have a much nicer and easier to use engine bay:

As you can see, an XH thermostat cover and top hose work very nicely.

The only slight worry is that the top hose is touching the coolant temp sender for the climate control - but it shouldn't be an issue, and it's better than touching the fans. I think it's a much better top hose design, should be less subject to air pockets now too.

Psycho Chicken · 19-09-2005, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

I had this issue but it was because I used AU thermos...e series ones should be fine AFAIK

My pulley was chopping into the fans, dunno why. Car had a front end hit a few years ago as far as I could tell, that's probably it.

spope · 19-09-2005, 08:49 PM

The leads are Top Gun 10mm. I bought them from R & E Autos in Glen Waverley - they aren't cheap, but combined with Iridiums, I've got one of the smoothest in gear idles that I've seen in an EA.
You are probably looking around $120 for the set - I'm not really sure, I got them cheap because I was misquoted when I ordered them.