Fixed Flex Fan - Complete DIY Part Number List

Quiksilver · **Posted:** Tue Nov 16, 2010 5:22 am

flyingdoc wrote:

Have a look at this product is this not the answer to this viscous fan. http://www.kenlowe.co.uk

What am i looking at exactly?

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Nov 16, 2010 8:46 am

We just came through our hottest Summer on record here in Kentucky. In August, temps. outside were regularly in the 100°F range with heat index temps. in the 115-125°F range for weeks on end.

Not one single time did my temperature guage in the Jeep ever go above half-way...and that is with NO fan whatsoever. Once, while towing 7,000 lbs. uphill in Tennessee it did go about 3/4 scale...but that's to be expected. Running with no trailer is no problem with no fan in any weather. So I'm sticking with the cheap route, and throwing the fan in the garbage.

Squeeto · **Posted:** Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:21 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

We just came through our hottest Summer on record here in Kentucky. In August, temps. outside were regularly in the 100°F range with heat index temps. in the 115-125°F range for weeks on end.

Not one single time did my temperature guage in the Jeep ever go above half-way...and that is with NO fan whatsoever. Once, while towing 7,000 lbs. uphill in Tennessee it did go about 3/4 scale...but that's to be expected. Running with no trailer is no problem with no fan in any weather. So I'm sticking with the cheap route, and throwing the fan in the garbage.

My fear would be August temperatures and sitting in traffic. You would need to make sure the electric fan was keeping some air moving through the rad.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:27 pm

Squeeto wrote:

LibertyCRD wrote:

We just came through our hottest Summer on record here in Kentucky. In August, temps. outside were regularly in the 100°F range with heat index temps. in the 115-125°F range for weeks on end.

Not one single time did my temperature guage in the Jeep ever go above half-way...and that is with NO fan whatsoever. Once, while towing 7,000 lbs. uphill in Tennessee it did go about 3/4 scale...but that's to be expected. Running with no trailer is no problem with no fan in any weather. So I'm sticking with the cheap route, and throwing the fan in the garbage.

My fear would be August temperatures and sitting in traffic. You would need to make sure the electric fan was keeping some air moving through the rad.

I'm sandwiched between Cincinnati, Louisville, and Lexington. There is plenty of sitting in traffic to do around here. Again, the heat is never an issue. My e-fan kicks on occasionally, but that's it.

flyingdoc · **Posted:** Tue Nov 16, 2010 5:10 pm

Try this link www.kenlowe.co.uk/fans/consumers/fans04.html I see guys using them on land rovers all the time

CIMARRON13 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 17, 2010 5:07 pm

Did anyone get around to getting a sound clip of the this setup? Very interested but would like to know how loud it will be first.

jnw010 · **Joined:** Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:51 pm **Posts:** 9

Re. Kenlowe fans
On the old Series Land Rovers they were / are popular as the original fixed fan was a heavyweight bit of kit that consumed a not insignificant amount of energy to turn.
The electric fan reduced weight, allowed the Landy to warm up quicker (even with a fully functioning thermostat - you can still buy rad muffs / snow blinds for the Landy), and you can switch it off when wading so you don't completely soak the engine bay with the fixed propellor (you had to disconnect the belt to avoid this).
Most owners noted small increases in mpg.

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2011 12:39 pm

Got a couple email updates from Greg in Australia so I thought I'd share (not sure the username on lost jeeps since he contacted me by my yahoo emial). Greg couldn't get the fan there in Australia and summitracing and others wouldn't ship international so he asked me to pick one up at a local store and ship to him which i was happy to do for him.

Quote:

Hi Mark,
finally had time to install it. Wow, what a difference. I did a test tow with my camper trailer up some serious hills, which I know before would take the temp up near the top at low speed. With the new fan 110 Kph, 3500 rpm for several minutes and didn't even get to 1/2 temp on the gauge! Even normal highway driving where it would be on 1/2 temp, it sits on about 3/8, which is some improvement.

Thanks for the solution to a long suffering problem.

Regards
Greg

Quote:

Hi Mark,
hope you had a great Christmas and New Year!
We have just come home from a week in the bush and all of my over heating problems are definitely gone. The flex fan really has done the job, with the camper trailer on the back (about 1 tonne) 2500 rpm up mountainous hills for half hour at a time, the temp gauge never went over half! It was great to drive and not worry about the engine temperature.

I can't thank you enough for your idea and help getting it all together.

Kind Regards
Greg

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2011 12:57 pm

jnw010 wrote:

Re. Kenlowe fans
On the old Series Land Rovers they were / are popular as the original fixed fan was a heavyweight bit of kit that consumed a not insignificant amount of energy to turn.
The electric fan reduced weight, allowed the Landy to warm up quicker (even with a fully functioning thermostat - you can still buy rad muffs / snow blinds for the Landy), and you can switch it off when wading so you don't completely soak the engine bay with the fixed propellor (you had to disconnect the belt to avoid this).
Most owners noted small increases in mpg.

Warm up time is not changed much by an electric fan or fixed fan configuration since the thermostat is not open when an engine is cold. coolant is constantly circulating through the engine only and not the radiator thereby not being cooled by the fan.

Therefore a fixed fan like the FFF will not change the warm up time. It does have a bit mor drag than a fan clutch fan, however it has leess drag compared to a fan clutch locked up since it weighs nearly 1/3 the weight. At cruising speeds air is already flowing through the radiator so there is virtually no drag on teh engine. At high rpms there is some drag, but it is also reduced by the blades flatening out some. All in all it is THE MOST ROBUST fan system available, it will never fail and will always cool fantastically. It will also improve Air conditioning performance, intercooler performance, and transmission cooler performance as added bonouses since those coolers are colocated with the radiator.

- Mark

- Mark

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:01 pm

Squeeto wrote:

LibertyCRD wrote:

We just came through our hottest Summer on record here in Kentucky. In August, temps. outside were regularly in the 100°F range with heat index temps. in the 115-125°F range for weeks on end.

Not one single time did my temperature guage in the Jeep ever go above half-way...and that is with NO fan whatsoever. Once, while towing 7,000 lbs. uphill in Tennessee it did go about 3/4 scale...but that's to be expected. Running with no trailer is no problem with no fan in any weather. So I'm sticking with the cheap route, and throwing the fan in the garbage.

My fear would be August temperatures and sitting in traffic. You would need to make sure the electric fan was keeping some air moving through the rad.

Traffic was never an issue for my jeep, the big issue was w/ torque converter locked and nearly full throttle (high boost) like in a steep hill situation - particularly at low speeds like when OD is off and locked in the lower gear around 40mph.

Diesel · **Posted:** Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:05 am

I have an 05 CRD that overheats when pulling a trailer in summer months - fully locked up on hills. Just ran hot sitting in traffic for the first time. Unfortunately, I trailer a bayliner 175 throughout the Adirondacks. I've obtained my TSB's and been to the stealership multiple times - no luck. Flushed radiator, cleaned fins - taken all the normal interventions. Here's hoping the FFF mod will do the job. I will do the mod within the next two weeks and will be gone on vacation throughout July. I'll let you know how it goes.

4x4kingx889 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 17, 2011 6:42 pm **Posts:** 235

Is this better then the hayden fan mod?

papaindigo · **Posted:** Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:34 am

6 of one 1/2 dozen of the other. Cost is about the same. The fixed fan is "old" school and runs all the time in conjuction with engine speed so all things being equal will never allow coolant excessive temp but might?? cost a small amount of mpg and might?? over cool in winter (shouldn't if tstat is working properly); always works unless serp belt breaks. Hayden clutch - fan sort of spins as an idle speed (just like stock) until clutch engages in which case it runs just like the fixed fan as long as the clutch is engaged; will allow some coolant temp rise under load or high ambient temp but clutch kicks in sooner than OEM so catches heat rise quicker, might?? save a bit of mpg but no more than OEM; if clutch dies fan dies and engine overheats but Hayden is very unlikely to die.

I have the fixed fan parts and will install. If my son needs a fan job will likely do Hayden but like I said either way is way way better than stock particularly for the 05 CRD which is reputed to have a weak fan clutch.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Wed Mar 28, 2012 3:40 pm

See viewtopic.php?f=5&t=66086 for a report on my install followed by a ca. 600 mile drive.

mk38tech · **Joined:** Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:25 pm **Posts:** 72

been in virginia now for about a year. lived in florida for 13 years. i use to have to beat on my jeep to get it to come even close to the halfway mark. here in va i cant even get to 150 on my way to work. this sucks. need electric fan conversion soon. jeep shut off on me this morning backing out to head to work(as soon as i shifted into drive). it had been idling for about 10-15 minutes and i think my temp was about 65-70. outside temp was 35. my cummins loves the flex-a-lites. wish my jeep could have them

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Nov 14, 2013 7:55 am

If that 150 is referring to coolant temp you need to replace your thermostat. If the CRD shut off like it "stalled" you have the transmission fluid drain back problem; either do a transmission fluid service including new OEM filters or when you first crank up shift into neutral, according to the FSM the fluid pump rate is higher in neutral than park, and hold a high (ca. 1,200) idle rpm for like 15 seconds then drive off; if the transmission does not immediately engage repeat high idle cycle.

If you are idling for 10-15 minutes to "warm up" the engine stop doing that. That practice has been recommended against for decades and, in any case, does not work for diesel engines that essentially will not warm up from a cold start by idling. Crank up wait for a few seconds and drive gently (like under say 35-45mph) until the temp gauge shows signs of life. If it's really cold (in the 20sF or below) use the block heater. Remember the decades old traditional warm up leaves your transmission, transfer case, and differential fluids stone cold.

mass-hole · **Posted:** Mon Mar 27, 2017 10:16 pm

I did the flex fan mod today so i thought I would post up some pictures:

Went with the 851 Adapter but decided to use a Flex-Fan 1/2" spacer #14524 instead of the washers. It wasnt much more expensive, it allows the fan adapter to fully thread onto the pulley, and it has a centering pin that centers the fan just like the adapter.

There is the assembled fan on a scale: 4 lbs 8oz

Stock fan on scale: 7 lb 0.5oz

Fans overlaid, the flex fan is actually a bit larger diameter so I am curious how it will fit the radiator shroud, mines broken at the moment.

Its not much louder than the stock fan at idle but once you rev up to 3000 rpms it sounds like a C-130, at least in my garage.

Fixed Flex Fan - Complete DIY Part Number List

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