Thread: push or pull

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long time no ask but would like thoughts on cooling fans .IS it better to push or pull seeing their is no room for stock fan.I am running a 283 in my willys pickup rod ? all answers are welcome and appriecated Thank"s MARCO:

Pull is always better than push in regards to drawing air through a radiator.


Ditto:


Don

Yep. With an electric fan, you need a shroud. If you put the shroud in front, you effectively block off a part of the airflow.

A setup like this will keep your cool. The shop that built it for us is cooling an 800 HP Willys with the same radiator.

Don

Hi Marco, nice willys, If you have the room to use a pull style fan then do that but if your water pump is to close then you can run a pusher. You need to make shure that the complete system is in exlant working order. I had to go pusher my system has a Stewart water pump stage 2 Griffin radiator 24x19 2 rows 1.25 tubes and a 16" becool electric fan Ron Frances switch on at 200 off at 185 running a 180 tstat. I have not had one problem so far and I'm cooling a stout 383 stroker, when it is cold in the morning 40< the temp wont go past 160-165

Thanks for all your input .I just bought a new aluimun four core from Absolute Radiator on line Fluidine brand but do you think I sould install a shoul like the picture your posting ?Thank"s guys your great..Marco

install a shoul like the picture your posting ?


A shroud will definitely help. I have been running my Jeep/5.0 for 3 years without a shroud, but when I tear it down to put a fresh engine in it (its really getting tired) I am going to add a bigger fan and a shroud.

You mention Absolute Radiator. I have one of theirs sitting waiting to go in the '39 Dodge. Looks like a nice piece, and I'm anxious to see how it cools the 394. The picture I posted is the one my Son had built for his '29 Sedan with 455 Olds. I don't remember who built it, (we ran into them at Turkey Run last fall) but it is a work of art. Like I mentioned, he was worried about cooling that engine here in Florida, and they told him they use that very same radiator in the 800 HP blown Willys.

Like 49willysSD said, sometimes you have to use a pusher, or even two, because of space limitations. I would have used a couple in the Jeep (because the darned 5.0 is so close to the radiator) but the grille is right up against the front of the radiator. I finally went to a very slim fan, but had to give up CFM's because they have a smaller motor on them.

Finally, if you can, use a SPAL brand fan. From previous posts on this forum, the general consensus is that they are the best, air-flow-wise. I also heard that from the guy at Turkey Run. He says he continually tests every fan that comes along, and none have matched Spal for doing what they claim.

I HATE sitting at red lights and seeing that needle climb, so we are really overengineering the cooling system in the two cars we are currently building.

JMO,

Don

On my 37 the engine is too close to my radiator and my water pump is only about a 1" from the radiator so I have to use a push fan. I set mine at 190 degrees and it works fine. If stopped for periods of time, if the temperature goes over 190 then the fan comes one and cools it down with a minute.

Originally Posted by chevy 37

On my 37 the engine is too close to my radiator and my water pump is only about a 1" from the radiator so I have to use a push fan. I set mine at 190 degrees and it works fine. If stopped for periods of time, if the temperature goes over 190 then the fan comes one and cools it down with a minute.

Chevy, you know I love you to death, but don't tell me that the engine is too close to the radiator. For heaven's sake, move the radiator forward. Cut the core support and re-position it.

Originally Posted by chevy 37

On my 37 the engine is too close to my radiator and my water pump is only about a 1" from the radiator so I have to use a push fan. I set mine at 190 degrees and it works fine. If stopped for periods of time, if the temperature goes over 190 then the fan comes one and cools it down with a minute.

I have much the same problem in my 455 Buick powered 32 roadster.

Solved by machining the front sheave off a three sheave pulley and bringing the fan back as far as possible.
In fact, it clears the alternator pulley by 1/8", but that's ok because the blades pull forward when the engine is running.

The trick here is to use a wide blade stainless flex fan that has the blades set back from the hub.
Other similar fans have the blades centered on the hub and these blades protrude too far forward to be usable in my car.

The fan I'm using is a Hayden 17" diameter 6 blade with wide stainless blades.

I tried a Derale 6 blade with the same dimensions etc., but the blades are centered on the hub.
Hayden fan blades - in the wide stainless blade models - have the blades set toward the rear.

WELL that settels it.I'll take all your ideas and try to keep the temps under 215. YA .. It runs that hot .Hopfuley things will work out after new installs. THANK YOU very much. I dont post much -but I read often see-ya

Fed EX just deliverd new 16 inch spal fan ready to install but trying to have shroud made at local fab shop BUT was wondering about how much space shoud I allow between the raidator.Not much room as I said before.Maybe 1 inche at best.The four core aluminum rad measures Core only 16 by 17 1/2 .The fan covers most of it.Thanks one more time.Marco

Marco: Probably even 1/4 inch is ok clearance, but you need enough clearance so your fan blades don't kiss the radiator fins. All the shroud is going to be is a flat aluminum or sheetmetal plate, made to the same size as the radiator core, sealed on all the outside edges, with a hole cutout in the middle as big as your fan.

Not sure how you would seal the outside edges. Maybe some sort of weatherstripping around the perimeter, with little bolts and nuts holding the shroud to the radiator frame. The idea is, you want as little leakage of air as possible so you can get as much air as possible being sucked through the core.

Then the fan simply bolts to the plate, centered on the cutout. You should be able to fab up one of these with a jigsaw in an evening.

The 1/4 inch I mentioned is only because of your space limitations. If you have more, you can make it deeper, but then your shroud would have to be more than just a flat plate, it would need to have sides to come up to that depth and touch the radiator for a good seal. Just make sure the spinning fan has enough clearance to operate without hitting anything.

I'm posting the picture of ours again. Maybe it will give you some ideas.

Don

Push or Pull? A puller, by itself, is definitely better than a pusher by itself. Mine has both, a 10" pusher and a 16" puller. Pusher comes on and off with engine, puller is thermostatically controlled. Set up has been this way for 15 years with no problems.

First off thanks for all the opinions you guys had on the cooling system, I decided to go with a 180 failsafe thermo, 16' elec. fan @2800CFM's, aluminium shroud, and a 4 core fluidyne radiator. Here's how it looks now, and again, thanks for all the help! -Marco