How close is too close?

A

ahshoe

Senior Member
Finishing a new project.Wondering if 3/8" clearance from the fan to the radiator is too close.I doubt that the fan blades will flex as
it is a summit fan with almost 1/8"steel thickness through out.I am playing with diffetent fan spacers so I can pretty much come up with a bigger distance if necessary.
 
With misc flex in the body, frame and motor mounts of your undescribed project, 3/8 could be too close. If you had a fan shroud that fit between the radiator & engine the fan could be farther back. (unless it's a roadster / hotrod sort of project???)
Or, electric fans that are made to mount that close to / on the radiator.
 
I agree with Jim. 302 in my avatar with flex fan and no shroud. Blade to radiator is 1" and absolutely no heating issues. Good luck with your project......
 
On my Mercury, I assembled a full shroud from two partial aftermarket shrouds that I bought from Speedway. This was to accommodate a new aluminum radiator. Works fine when the engine is cold, but I'll have to readjust the shroud because when the engine is norm. op. temp., quick throttles out of gear cause a screeching of the fan on the shroud fasteners.


My situation is torque related, which is less of a an issue with yours, but when things warm up they change shape a little, and you don't want to tear up a good radiator with a fan blade. I'm not saying 3/8 isn't enough, just that it's getting a bit close.
 
JimNNN, when using a fan shroud, the fan should be positioned so that the blades of the fan are half way into the shroud for optimum performance and cooling at idle and at speed, if not positioned this way, your shroud is not able to do it's job.
 
The are positioned that way. The blades are just too close to the wall of the shroud...I need to shift the shroud a bit one way.
 
I ran mine that close for several years and all was good until I broke a motor mount
Then it had a run in with my Aluminum double pass $600 radiator.

Just saying........
 
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