Fan Clutch How-To and Tips - please contribute

[ANVIL]

So Ive seen more and more setups with fan clutches these days and am really thinking of going to one myself. It seems to solve a lot of over heating issues that almost all of us have had some kind at one point. what I was thinking is if you guys who do have fan clutches, can chime in with pictures, maybe a little description with what you had to do to get it to fit and maybe eventually have a write it up on for every one. I think it would be a big help to a lot of people.

[Carl H]

its not too hard but it goes something like this:
1) fish stock fan out of the garbage from when you tossed it
2) order a griffin/chasebays/new aftermarket radiator.
3) modify radiator and/or radiator support to fit/clear new radiator.
4) fit fan with a new ka fan clutch, install minimum 18psi pressure cap
5) bleed and enjoy cool runnings.

do expect to have to do some fabrication of new radiator mounts and plumbing, its helpful to know some one who has a tig welder and can weld aluminum well.
some people have backmounted the fan to the fan clutch for a bit more clearance between the radiator and the fan...this brings it away from the radiator but closer to the crank pulley.
for some setups this will work and others it will not offer enough clearance.

[Yellow4g63]

Or if your sick of overheating cut s*** lol. tho I made the mistake and did it in a not well lit garage lol.


I also have the stock splash guard too. Also installed a radiator breather to help bleed my coolant system so no more worries about air bubbles.

[Funktown240]

I am using a stock S14 radiator with the clutch fan, but I had to invert it. You also have to figure a way to space the fan from the clutch mechanism 3/4" to clear the crank pulley, I just used washers and longer bolts. This will make the fan assembly 3.5" long and there is about a half inch clearance from the fan to radiator. I haven't had any overheating problems at all, I cant say the same when I had 2 12" electric fans running nonstop.

[Shocker]

I am using a stock S14 radiator with the clutch fan, but I had to invert it. You also have to figure a way to space the fan from the clutch mechanism 3/4" to clear the crank pulley, I just used washers and longer bolts. This will make the fan assembly 3.5" long and there is about a half inch clearance from the fan to radiator. I haven't had any overheating problems at all, I cant say the same when I had 2 12" electric fans running nonstop.

You had to shim that much? I did the same method but only required like ~1/8" washer as the shim. I was able to reuse the stock bolts. I have a fluidyne rad with about 1/32" of clearance after I re-shaped/sanded down the blade tips.

[Yellow4g63]

Found another pic without the R32 shroud on.

[jetdriver]

Moved stock S14 radiator up and forward as far as possible with fabbed top and bottom mounts. R33 shroud, fan, and clutch with fan mounted on back of clutch. Machined fins flat for fan to mount to back side of clutch. Trimmed the leading edge corners from fan. Aux electric pusher for A/C like factory r33. You don't have to cut your core support, but it would be easier if you do.

[rhd240]

im gonna try this on my s13 and was wondering about the clutch....i just tried to change them around and the holes dont line up..what modifications are needed to use ka clutch or can u use ka fan aswell?

[Carl H]

gotta use the skyline fans...ka sits too far forward.

[andres14oj]

pretty straight forward, just mount fan blade on the back side of the fan clutch (on the engine side), and shave/cut the blade fins on the back just enough to clear the crankshaft damper. Thats it! I bealive it also depends a lot on your setup, what mounts/brackets you're using and all that, in my case i built my own brackets and the engine sits very close to the firewall. Havent really measure it but i wanna say i got about an inch of clearence between my rad and fan. I didnt have to move my radiator, a stock radiator btw, n im currently running without a shroud, havent got lucky enough to find one. No overheating at all, except for when i turn my a/c on and let it idle for about 20 min, but i dont have an electric fan yet, im mounting one on front of the condensor for a/c purposes only.

[Tenchuu]

Here is a thread i started with pics and measurements

rb25det-clutch-fan-thickness-reduction- ... 25333.html

[amorasin]

Very informative, im not happy with my dual electrics either. Since this is for advices which idea is better, yellow's or tenchu's? Cosmetically I really dont mind cutting my core support if the extra room created will be better for pulling air, but tenchu's method is clean and clears the koyo like I have.