Got one of these on my 92 rs parts car, it seems that a lot of people want to convert to the dual fans. Is the single fan up to the task of cooling a Vortec 383? I think the single fan looks a lot better than the factory dual fans.

If not I have a dual speed mn12 Thunderbird fan sitting on the shelf that I know will do the job if I can make it fit. If I go this route, will the factory 105A alternator keep up? Thanks.

 

Where do you live and what's the weather like there? And how often do you drive it, and what's your basic style of driving?

 

I'm in Michigan, it gets very humid when it is hot, generally upper 80s low 90s 2 months out of the year. The rest of the time when the salt isn't flying it's usually 40-60 degrees when I care to drive a car like this. Planning on running the a/c on those hot days too because it has a roof. Car will have 4.10s so more rpm, 5 speed. This is a toy, the engine is forged and I'd like to take it to the road course too.

I know at some point it will likely split a plastic end tank on the old radiator, but for now I think I want to clean out the stock one from the 92 and use it because I'm not made of money. Then maybe I'll buy a Killer Raditor for my Killer Camaro from the place that advertises on here but can't spell what they're trying to sell... Looks good on them. Anyways I just don't know what the limitation is for the single fan, if switching to un-shrouded dual fans is even really an upgrade or if people just perceive it as one since the tpi cars had it.

 

Run it and find out. Then post back here and let us know. Set a mental temperature limit and drive the car. If it starts to hover around that limit just upgrade the fan.

 

Thirdgens without A/C used the single fan until the end. There's nothing wrong with the single.

 

The 1992 Anniversary RS 305 I have has the single fan with A/C. I think it was made in the last month of production. Too bad it's high miles and infected with rust. That is what I'll do, Aaron. It's going to be awhile though.

 

Ahem, I was referring to the super secret showroom stock SCCA win on Sunday sell on Monday COPO factory race cars, ie TPI cars. The single fan was the only option on V6 and TBI cars, the only cars with duals were TPI cars with A/C. The single fan should be fine.

The fan isn't responsible for most of the cooling anyway, that is handled by the air dam, and baffling around the radiator and under the front end. The fan only comes on when the AC is on, or when stopped, when temps hit 220-230*. If the rest of the system is functioning, the fan rarely comes on at all.

 

Thanks Drew, I didn't realize that those cars got single fans. I know that when moving in a Camaro, you don't need the fan... It sounds like I should be ok, unless I get crazy and try to idle it through the Woodward Dream Cruise. The only real experience I have with one of these single fans was on a bone stock 88 Camaro 305 tbi. It kept up with that just fine, but that isn't saying much.

 

I idled my way through the Dream Cruise 2 years ago. 4 hours from Pontiac at the north end of the Woodward loop to Ferndale, and back up to 12 mile or so as they were closing it down for the evening. Single fan TBI car (stock). T-tops, so I didn't use the A/C, but it's a cruise...who wants to drive through the route with their windows up and A/C on? System cycled between fan-on and off temps all afternoon. No issues. (No issues as in, ran at designed temps, but understand what those factory temps are...they are probably higher than a typical owner would prefer).

The back of my wife's legs from the heat off the catalytic converter? That's another story. She's a trooper though...never even mentioned it until we got home. I had no idea.

 

My Camaro is a black hard top with a black interior, so it will be like a green house inside without the a/c running. I agree, you're doing it wrong if you have your windows up at the Dream Cruise.

 

I'm using a Mustang GT two speed fan (same thing, different shroud. Ford used the same basic fan on 'Stangs, T-Birds, Crown Vics, and some others) on my car. Disclaimer: I only did this because I happened to have one lying around, and I needed a fan.

The factory alternator can't really keep up; at night, with the fan on, A/C on, at a stoplight, the lights were getting pretty dim.

I had a local electric shop upgrade it to 140 amps, and all is good now.

Those fans pull A LOT of current; it took me a grand total of a couple of years to finally get the wiring sorted out; I'll spare you the trial and error story, but here's what I did:
I used a Bosch 75 amp relay and 8-gauge wires for the load section. I disassembled the Ford fan connector and soldered the 8-gauge wires to the terminals.

I didn't bother with the two speeds, I just wired it on high, and used the factory green trigger wire, and a Hypertech 176 degree fan switch.

Fitting it in there is a whole different story; I had to fabricate some brackets and trim the lower radiator support.

If I was to do it all over again, I'd just use a dual fan setup out of a mid- '00 -up GM car.
Here's my thread about fitting a Malibu fan setup.

Another option is a Dodge Charger dual fan setup; one of the guys on the LS swap board used them, and they look pretty good:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...ml#post6369516

 

Thanks Dixiebandit. 2 of my other cars are fitted with the 2 speed t-bird fans, and Volkswagen temperature switches so both speeds work. I had to upgrade to different alternators on both of them. Your alternator is upgraded to 140a in the same case? I'm going to have to look into this.

 

I used 4th gen dual fans with the integrated shroud and the 140A CS-144D alternators for a 97 Vortec 350 Van or Suburban on the F-cars I have messed with. One other one with a high HP 406 I used the shroud from an early carb car and an 8 blade fan from a small Ford RWD SUV or Truck on a reverse rotation serpentine setup. The dual LT1 fan was marginal for a 300 RWHP TPI engine. The clutch fan worked well with the 406 using AC. The TBI fan is terrible even on a V6 or stock 305.

 

Okay, thanks Fast. Are those alternators plug and play on a 1988 Camaro or is there any other wiring necessary? Fit the factory bracket? I think I'll try to use the Thunderbird fan I have, but if not maybe I'll get one off of a Volvo s70 or something and make a shroud. I'll make it look good somehow.

 

A buddy at work put one of those round-case van alternators on his '94 Silverado; it plugs in the same, but he had some minor fitment issues getting it into the factory bracket; he had to do some grinding. I was there when he did it.

If I were you, I'd just have your factory alternator upgraded, and install a smaller pulley to get the speed up.

 

They factory large case alternators have larger bearings, bigger fans and put out more amps at idle than a rewound small case all adding reliability and better idle charging with the large case alternator. Only modification I did was drill open the mounting holes on the alternator case and use a slightly smaller bolt to mount it into place on the TPI car I put them on.

 

It's routinely over 100 here and the stock single fan can't keep up, especially with the AC running. I think the factory shroud for the single fan is completely inadequate since the sides of the radiator are just open and no air is flowing when idling. Has anyone fabbed up a shroud for the stock single fan? I'm trying to get ideas for what I want to do.

 

The single fan works fine. Worked fine in my 83 when I lived in the deep South. Still worked fine after I put a 400 in it; 100°, 100% humidity, sun on the T-tops, A/C blowing cold. VASTLY more stressful than CA. Or more specifically, when I LIVED in So CA (N SD Co), later on.

Can't speak to "Vortec" or "383" as such. Can't see how any of that would make any difference in any case but w/e. Also can't speak to the overall condition of your parts, the correctness of your tune (inadequate ignition advance or poor fuel tune either with a carb or FI will make a motor overheat RUTHLESSLY for example), and so on. But as far as the "system" itself being "adequate", no problem there.

A shroud is unnecessary and in fact counterproductive. When the car is moving faster than around 35 or 40 mph, more air is forced through the rad by that, than the fan, by far. Adding a shroud actually DECREASES the cooling capacity of the system.

I suggest you focus more on making your car WORK RIGHT as opposed to "improving" that part of it. Things like, a truly GOOD fan motor (not just "it spins"), good wiring to it so that the full electrical system voltage reaches it without excessive voltage drop in poor connections or corroded grounds or whatever, 60/40 or so DISTILLED water to AF ratio, good rad cap, no leaks, and so forth.

 

It's all too often over 100 here but my stock single fan works fine. Is your air dam intact?
Does the fan turn on at the right temperature?
Is the fan motor turning quickly with plenty of torque to get it going?
Have you cleaned out any and all leaves, etc in front of the radiator and/or AC condenser?
All things Sofa mentioned. It should work just fine if functioning properly like it was designed to

 

The car is immaculate, a fresh rebuild. Everything in the cooling system is brand new except for the fan and the car runs great. I went through the harness when I rebuilt it and cleaned all the connectors and patched anything that looked frayed. It never overheated in the Winter or Spring, just when temps started creeping above 95. The radiator is a three core aluminum way beefier than the stock radiator. Even when the car is rolling it will overheat to the point of boiling over.

 

The stock single fan pulls PLENTY of air compared to lots of other fans out there. I thin its due to its size and what not... I just swapped to dual LS fans cause why not....They seem to cool slightly better than the single. but honestly the single cooled very well but was kinda loud. but I knew it was working.

The dual TPI fans were not that good.... I think its because how only one turned on then the other turned on at a certain temp blah blah etc... The LS fans are more less the TPI fans but with a shroud and stronger motors..... Even the blades are the same.



It kinda sounds liek it may be something else, but maybe your single fan motor is maybe old and weak.... its turning but just not turning fast enough.
Depending on what single fan blade you have, you can throw on a delco LS fan motor.. those spin a bit faster than the old motors and bolt right into the 3rd gen fan housing...both dual and single....... As far as I know, the stock 3rd gen sigle blades wont work on a delco motor... but I found that the single blade from a 93 cutlass ciera would bolt on and fit in the 3rd gen...


Other motor brands like Napa might work with the 3rd gen fan blade but I do prefer delco.

 

I've been looking for a good replacement but everything I've found so far pulls too much amperage. The fan motor was new in 2008 and I honestly don't drive the car that much. It probably has less then 300 hours on it. Do you have a link for the Delco LS fan motor? I did a search and there are too many results.I appreciate your time!

 

You can look on rockauto,under 2002 camaro 5.7

The part number for the delco motor is 158404 ... I see this on amazon as well. The problem with this motor is you'll see the little integrated hub / spacer where the fan blades would sit. Unless the fan you have has an indent for this...., it won't sit properly. The TPI, newer Cutlass Ciera single fan and LS1 fans have the integrated indent....someone on another forum claimed there was a separate part number for delco motors that don;t have the spacer, but they were never able to back it up with a part number..... and I personally have never been able to find one even for the older non LS fan motors... they all have that integrated spacer...

Four seasons makes one that appears to have the spacer as a separate piece..... ..part number 35379... Ive gotten these before and IMO they are crap compared to the Delco motors... I've had some that are out of round, and they don;t last long.....even the housing seems flimsier.... the delco ones have lasted me years.

its possible your fan motor is weak since its old but im thiking there's another issue for the motor overheating, but checking the fan motor would be a good first start!

 

That's outstanding info, I really appreciate your help. I'll pull the fan out again next weekend and check for the indent. I really hope that's is all it is.

 

No prob. Just remember to double check your fan blade to see if it has the indent before getting the delco motors...
I learned this the hard way when they would not be a direct replacement for my single fan on my f and A body... ... so i had to go with the crappy Napa motors....


I remember years ago there was a fan blade available... on Rock auto, if you bought the delco motor it said it required the fan blade part number..... ... I actualyl just checked it no longer says "requires" fan blade number.....

But I found this blade...ACDELCO158476 ..

I don't know if it has the indent though.

 

I put the delco motor P/N 158404 in and it seems to be cooler. Today wasn't a particularly hot day, 96. The temperature gauge stayed right at where it is in the picture for most of the time. Who knows what the actual temp is with these old gauges.I was running the AC full blast. It didn't boil over but as soon as I shut it down coolant bubbled into the reservoir.