Extra cooling for 106 degree St. Louis days?

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itwonder

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Does anyone know if the two-speed fans on 93+ SHOs have more CFM on high than the single speed fan on my 92? Our cooling system is in pretty solid shape, however my son reported the SHO's temp ran above the top of the "N" when he got into slow traffic today. I think the fan is the likely weak link. I'm thinking about fan and/or fan wiring upgrades.
 

itwonder

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Coolant recently flushed, and all looked fine; running regular ole Peak green AF and distilled water. I'll check out Water Wetter; sounds like a good idea. I'm suspicious of the fan's performance more than other cooling capacity issues because he had no trouble at all running out to St. Louis; he said he was cruising at 95 MPH for over 100 miles straight, and I think that would have surfaced any issues. Seems like everything works fine when there is good airflow.
 

sperold

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As I have recently put a 95 fan into a 92 shroud, I can tell you that the 95 fan motor is about half as big again as the 92 unit. It is quite difficult to turn when it is out on the bench while the 92 spins easily.
However, the wires you use to bench test the 95 fan get hot really fast.
I have a feeling you would need the Integrated Relay Control Module (IRCM or CCRM) and the wiring harness to make it work, and it would not be worth all the experimenting to make it work.

The 92 unit works pretty well, even though it is not as powerful as the 95 unit. The fan wheels are identical in form except you cannot use the 93 fan wheel on the 95 motor as it has internal fins that hit the top of the motor (motor is longer).

If you wanted to experiment, I would hook up a direct small rad fan (E-Bay) on a toggle switch that you turn on manually when the temp gets up while in slow traffic. Even if it dumped directly out the bottom, in slow traffic it would still help increase the airflow through your rad.

If you could re-locate the overflow bottle there might be enought room to add a 10" fan on that blank part of the shroud, but that would be a lot of effort with no guarantees.
 

SHOdded

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If you suspect airflow, I'd check for and straighten out bent fins on the radiator and hose it down thoroughly. Radiators tend to collect dirt/bugs/more over the years.
 

jimtash

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If you suspect airflow, I'd check for and straighten out bent fins on the radiator and hose it down thoroughly. Radiators tend to collect dirt/bugs/more over the years.

The AC condenser is in front of the radiator.

Changing the fans won't make a difference. They'll run as long as the temps demand it. You can drain the coolant and run straight distilled water with an additive during the summer that will have the most effect. And then when the weather cools down, drain half the system and replace it with coolant.

BTW, calling it coolant is actually a misnomer. It's really anti-freeze that has less cooling ability than water.
 
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itwonder

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Stuff is aging on these cars and I wonder if the voltage drop through the IRCM, it's relay, and wiring harness is more than it once was. The supply has a big effect on electric fan performance. An easy fix for that would be to have the IRCM activate a HD relay coil instead of powering the fan directly. Then power the fan from the battery via the HD relay contacts with 8-10 ga. wire and a suitable fuse.

I like the idea of a supplemental fan too. Seems to me there is a lot of room in front of the condenser; wonder if a low-profile pusher fan could be fit in there. Flex-a-Lite makes some nice units. I can't look right now because the car is in St. Louis.
 

sperold

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I took a look at the fan support shroud and there is no room for another small fan on it, the main fan occupies a lot of the area. And like I said, works pretty well.

If you think your total amps are suffering, run a dedicated wire from battery post to battery post with a fuse at the positive terminal and a toggle switch. Get push on connectors at you fan terminals and give it a try for a day. Probably a $30.00 exercise.

A quick fix is to use a cowl hood in the summer months. That way the original fan would be flowing more CFM, as there is no "closed window" (ie engine, inner fenders, bottom of hood) on the downstream side of the fan.
It would require experimentation, but even longer hood bolts with spacers to elevate the rear of the hood would help. You would have to work on the hood latch on the front of the hood possibly, as well. It is kind of a long shot, but 106 means desperate measures.
 

projectSHO89

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Exaggeration. It hasn't hit 100 here in St Louis this week.

As long as the gauge reads within the N-O-R-M-A-L range, it is NORMAL.
 
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