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Triumph TR6 - Push or Pull


Ok, I'm going to be installing my Kenlowe fan over the Thanksgiving holiday so I'm taking a survey of which would be the best method of installation (BTW, coolant will be changed at same time). Here are the choices:

1. Mount fan in FRONT of radiator and leave factory pulley-driven fan in place as original.

2. As above but remove engine-driven fan.

3. Mount fan BEHIND radiator (read: engine side of radiator) and remove engine-driven fan. HP gain??

Obviously those horrible "zip tie" mounts supplied with the fan aren't going on my car!! I've fabricated some steel "L" brackets for the job.

Also, rather than fiddling with placing the temperature sensor inside the top radiator hose, I've been informed (and saw firsthand) of a new way which works equally as well; Mount the temp probe to the fins of the radiator itself up near the top on the engine-side of the rad..I saw this done on a BRM which is at another restoration shop here in town (they also removed the engine-driven fan). From what I hear, its worked perfectly so far.

Rgds,
Aaron (whose TR6 beats his age by four years)
Aaron

Aaron - Check you e-mail. I've e-mailed you three photos as to how I mounted my Kenlowe fan on my TR3A as a pusher.

Anyone else want to see the brackets - let me know.

Don Elliott, 1958 TR3A
Don Elliott

I ve mounted my fan as a puller. I got rid of that long fan extension and put in a shorter bolt. My suggestion is take the radiator to a shop and have them install a threaded insert (down low) for the sending unit ,makes it look more professional.
Don K
PS I also suggest you check out a different sending unit for a cooler one.Many turn on to high.
DON KELLY

Moss UK [and others] can supply a bottom pipe with a boss welded in for a thermostat
R. Algie

Don Elliott, I've watched and learned alot from these threads and recognize your wisdom and experience.Yes send me some pics of your fan setup. Also, any info on the fan itself. Send a few of you baby. Mark
Mark Johnson

Sadly, I have come to distrust electric fans, having overheated twice due to failed thermal switches. Whatever else you do, run a parallel manual switch and don't forget to watch the gauge. I have reverted to totally reliable engine driven fans on all my cars. Fortunately, it was not the TR this happened to, but it cost me a blown head gasket and a cracked head on my Jeep. A couple of horsepower is a small sacrifice for peace of mind, besides, my car is 'propeller' assisted now.
Peter 74 TR6
Peter Gooch

I never installed the thermal switch that came with my Kenlowe fan. I wanted to keep it all as "original" looking as posible. I have a lighted toggle switch just under the dash and a relay (30 amps draw when starting) hidden further under. I always watch the gauges, especially when I stop in heavy traffic. Then I flip it on. Twice, I forgot to switch it off but when I parked, I could hear the "whirr" of the exextric fan and immediately turned it off. Never had a problem like a drained battery.

Mark above asked me for info about my fan. Kenlowe is from England and I discussed all the models with them by fax (it was back in 1990 or '92) and on a trip over there went to maidenhead and picked it up. It is 12" diameter with 10 blades. The outer tips of the blades have a shroud all around (like on their web site) - to send the air through rather than let the air spin sideways off the blades at the end. My blades are straight but they now are also available with a curve. The rotating fan is made of one-piece plastic and the motor is of the "pan-cake" design. It is installed as a pusher and I think that the fan blades plus the motor plus the brackets I made impede the air flow going into the radiator. That's why my bracket arrangement has holes in it to releive weigh and to let more air through. It pulls the Temp down really fast - like a minute or two - then it stays there. The fan motor can be connected as a pusher or as a puller.

Naturally, I have a duct to force all the air into the rad so the air won't take the easy path and sneak around the rad.

Kenlowe fans are really expensive.

http://www.kenlowe.com/fans/consumers/fans04.html

Don Elliott, 1958 TR3A
Don Elliott

This thread was discussed between 24/11/2003 and 25/11/2003

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