Modernizing Your Fan.

[Don Coatney]

I was doing some reading on 50/50 premix coolant, that the manufacture used filtered water with the mix, and did

 

not recommend using distilled water.      I have been flushing the cooling system of my newly acquired Cherokee with

 

rain water the past few weeks.      A few more flushes will be  needed before adding coolant.

I wonder why they do not recommend distilled water?

[DonaldSmith]

My guess is that distilled water is an aggressive solvent.  It's got to have some minerals, etc., dissolved in it, so it might attack the metals in the cooling system.  

[Barabbas]

Distilled water SHOULD BE perfectly neutral but apparently that isn't actually the case:

"Distilled water ideally consists of only hydrogen and oxygen, with a completely neutral pH of 7. In reality, it almost always is slightly acidic, from 5.6 to just under 7, because the water absorbs carbon dioxide from the air. A gallon of distilled water can be made neutral by adding 1/8 tsp. of baking soda, a substance with a pH of 8.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_4623914_ph-distilled-water.html#ixzz2YaPNfY4c

[TodFitch]

. . . I have been flushing the cooling system of my newly acquired Cherokee with rain water the past few weeks. . .

 

 

Distilled water SHOULD BE perfectly neutral but apparently that isn't actually the case:

"Distilled water ideally consists of only hydrogen and oxygen, with a completely neutral pH of 7. In reality, it almost always is slightly acidic, from 5.6 to just under 7, because the water absorbs carbon dioxide from the air. A gallon of distilled water can be made neutral by adding 1/8 tsp. of baking soda, a substance with a pH of 8.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_4623914_ph-distilled-water.html#ixzz2YaPNfY4c

 

 

Seems like rain water, distilled out of the oceans and lakes and then condensed in the atmosphere, would have as much CO2 in it as possible as well as acidic pollutants like SO2. So if distilled water is bad wouldn't rain water be worse?

[50desotocoupe]

Sorry to bring an old post back up.  I read a story somewhere where a guy upgraded his stock fan with a 6 blade stock fan from a dodge truck.  I ordered one and am going to give it a shot. 

[Don Coatney]

Sorry to bring an old post back up. 

 

 

Why would anyone be sorry to bring an old post back up? I think it is great that you searched an old post looking for answers. If more folks did this there would be a lot less repete questions. Good JOB!!!

[ptwothree]

Here's what I'm using..........

[Plymouthy Adams]

53 flatheads introduced the 6 blade fan...and could even get a small fan shroud....often these are on the internet at a fair price..

[plyroadking]

I have one of the '53 6 blades on my `40, solved most of my overheating issues sitting in CA bay area traffic, the first thing i noticed with the fan is that it made the car sound like a vacuum cleaner about to take off at higher rpms, however 5 years later i dont notice it anymore.

[ptwothree]

Just remember... You are taking a chance with a 60 year old fan has seen a lot of stress.  I have a nice neat slice in the drivers side inner fender to repair because of one.

[thrashingcows]

Sorry to bring an old post back up.  I read a story somewhere where a guy upgraded his stock fan with a 6 blade stock fan from a dodge truck.  I ordered one and am going to give it a shot. 

 

Is this a "New" fan..or a used one?

[Robert Horne]

Seems like rain water, distilled out of the oceans and lakes and then condensed in the atmosphere, would have as much CO2 in it as possible as well as acidic pollutants like SO2. So if distilled water is bad wouldn't rain water be worse?

 

Here in Virginia cow country, tap water, that comes from the river is not the greatest.

 

Alot of stuff in in my house water filters, and hot water has the clorine smell.

 

So I would rather use rain water in my cars...

[martybose]

Just remember... You are taking a chance with a 60 year old fan has seen a lot of stress.  I have a nice neat slice in the drivers side inner fender to repair because of one.

I know what you mean; when mine let loose it sliced both the passenger-side fender and the hood.

 

Marty

[50desotocoupe]

It is a good used fan.  That is good point. I will take extra care to make sure it is put together....even a couple of spot welds.

[Frank Elder]

It is a good used fan.  That is good point. I will take extra care to make sure it is put together....even a couple of spot welds.

Spot welds will affect the balance of the fan..........????

[Plymouthy Adams]

of course it will and first thought across my mind...weld without balance of the assembly will increase the vibration and lead to metal fatigue/failure but hey..who am I tell others how to do things..

Edited August 16, 2013 by Plymouthy Adams

[deathbound]

I thought I'd add my .02 re:the 6 blade fan some have upgraded to. I recently changed out my stock 4 blade fan for a later 6 blade fan (purchased from the P15-D24 store link above). The 6 blade fan profile has a different pitch than my original (the blades hit my gennie pulley), so I added 3/8" thick collars to get the clearance I needed from the gennie pulley. I also used longer grade 8 bolts. I now have about 3/16"-1/4" clearance from the pulley and about 3/4" clearance from the radiator. I put about 75 miles on it the other day at freeway speeds with no issues.

 

original 4 blade fan:

 

replacement 6 blade fan:

 

 

[50desotocoupe]

Thank you for posting these pictures!  Have you noticed a cooling temperature difference with the 6 blade fan?

[deathbound]

Thank you for posting these pictures!  Have you noticed a cooling temperature difference with the 6 blade fan?

 

You're welcome. Not really sure. Before I changed the fan, I had the water pump rebuilt, replaced the water dist tube, & changed from a 185* thermostat to a 160* thermostat. I only drove it a few times before changing the fan, so it's hard to tell. It is running noticeabley cooler since all the work prior to changing the fan.

[Frank Elder]

Is it quieter?

[sorensen_dk]

I would like to offer a couple more observations on the fan topic.

 

By pure coincidence, I noticed that the fan pulley on my T236 engine (Canadian) measured an almost one inch smaller diameter than than the original D8 engine pulley. Smaller diameter means higher speed and consequently more fan noise.

 

Switching to original pulley and fan lowered the noise significantly. At 55 mph the improvement was huge. I also ran the engine without fan but I feel that going with the original setup (large pulley) there is not much gained. I know larger pulley means slower circulation in the block, but that's how it was designed anyway.

 

So, look out for pulley size.

 

BTW: the original 4 bladed fan is made from two peaces of stamped metal bolted to the pulley so the fan blades can never "take off".

[martybose]

(snip)

 

BTW: the original 4 bladed fan is made from two peaces of stamped metal bolted to the pulley so the fan blades can never "take off".

I beg to differ with this observation, and I have a cut fender and hood to prove it!

 

Marty

[sorensen_dk]

Wow, did you lose the bolts on the pulley? My point being the fan blades are not separately riveted to a hub.

[Niel Hoback]

  I had a fan blade pop off of a chevy six years ago because it had cracked from vibrating finally broke off. It made the neatest slot in the hood on its way out. That fan was also bolted to the pump but the break was outside the bolt pattern.

[martybose]

  I had a fan blade pop off of a chevy six years ago because it had cracked from vibrating finally broke off. It made the neatest slot in the hood on its way out. That fan was also bolted to the pump but the break was outside the bolt pattern.

Same thing here.  I had beadblasted it, inspected it, then painted it, and 6 months later a blade broke off.  Go figure.

 

Marty