I just thought I would post my electric fan upgrade project here. I have been wanting to upgrade my electric fan in my 85 GT for a while. My desire is to lower operating temps by a good 10 degrees if possible. I haven’t done a huge amount of research but I have learned that it pays to get a SPAL electric fan. So, at this point I have removed the factory fan:motor assembly, I have received the new SPAL fan and am now waiting for the 4 clips/brackets to mount the new fan to the factory shroud. See pics of the factory shroud/ fan assembly and also the “S” blade side of the new SPAL fan. Comments? Kit
My desire is to lower operating temps by a good 10 degrees if possible.
What temperature is your engine currently operating at, say, while cruising on the highway? Are you going by the temp gauge alone, or have you verified it another way? (ie WinALDL or similar.) What temp thermostat do you have installed? What temp fan switch do you have installed?
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 02-04-2022).]
My Firero used to run hot, too. Mine is an '88 GT. During the summer, I would see temps up around 220 before the fan came on. So, when I did the engine rebuild, I changed out the fan control switch to a 160 degree unit. I also changed out the thermostat to a 160 degree unit. The engine runs much cooler now. The only issue I was worried about was passing CA's smog testing, since one reason the temps were so high to begin with was to ensure that there was clean combustion. I had my car smogged in November, which is not a warm month, so I was worried about that, too. Turns out that all specs were met. One was a little close, I forget what it was, but from the research I did, I found out that this is directly affected by engine combustion temps. If I fail smog on this parameter, probably all I need to do is change my T-stat back to the old one and it will pass. If you have no smog to worry about, you will be fine. Your engine will thank you for the work you have done...
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Originally posted by olejoedad:
I mount the new fan to the inside of the factory shroud after the OEM fan mounting "cross" is trimmed off.
Some shaping of the new fan outer ring to remove any protrusions and the rivet the two pieces together in six places.
BTW, a new fan won't lower the operating temperature, that is controlled by the thermostat.
82T/A, the fan is Preform Universal Electric Fan 16" straight blade fan. 2100CFM, part# 67016. Mine came from proformparts.com. There was a thread on installing this fan, I tried to search for it but could not find anything. This fan fits inside the Fiero shroud, held with 6 screws or pop rivets.
The OEM temperature ranges are fine for the Fiero. GM designed the engine to work at those temperatures.
I doubt any performance or economy gains will be realized by lowering the coolant temperature.
Carbureted engines run better at the low temps, but the injected engines work best at OEM specs.
And the Ogre has demonstrated that underwood temperatures on the Fiero are not as high, or equal to front engined vehicles.
I changed my fan out to reduce electrical draw on the system from the old and inefficient OEM unit, that it looks better and has a safety guard. This is in a Formula with a 4.9 and stock radiator. When my stock radiator end tank finally started leaking, I installed an American Eagle two row aluminum unit rated at maybe 600 HP. Cooling performance remained the same - it stays cool.
If the cooling system on a Fiero is in good repair, balanced coolant mix and all airflow directing devices still intact, it will handle pretty much anything Mother Nature throws at it as long as the engine is in good tune.
Patrick, because I often commute to and from work in my 85 in heavy stop and go traffic, I wanted to give my Fiero a little extra cooling. If the new fan doesn’t lower operating temps as one person said, (but I think it will) I’m pretty certain the fan will not cycle as much as the factory fan as this fan definitely moves a heck of a lot more air. In regard to your questions, I have a lower temp thermostat (180 I believe) and a low temp fan switch from Rodney, a pretty new radiator as well. No cooling issues per say. Like I said, it’s just an upgrade to increase cooling for insurance purposes. 😀 One thing not mentioned is that the outer plastic ring in my factory fan is out of round and is presently rubbing against the shroud. By accident I had the front end up in the air on jacks abs when I lowered it down I left one of the jack stands under the bottom of the shroud. Kit
Neat install but it may only help at low speeds or when idling. Did it? When it motion or on the highway the air intake is great enough to handle the cooling needs of the engine and the fan does little. Engine temperatures also rely on the thermostat, and they do go bad.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
In regard to your questions, I have a lower temp thermostat (180 I believe) and a low temp fan switch from Rodney, a pretty new radiator as well. No cooling issues per say. Like I said, it’s just an upgrade to increase cooling for insurance purposes.
Kit, you didn't answer perhaps the most pertinent question(s).
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Originally posted by Patrick:
What temperature is your engine currently operating at, say, while cruising on the highway? Are you going by the temp gauge alone, or have you verified it another way? (ie WinALDL or similar.)
If your engine is already running quite cool, it seems to me that adding this extra "insurance" is completely unnecessary.
Originally posted by Patrick: If your engine is already running quite cool, it seems to me that adding this extra "insurance" is completely unnecessary.
Yup. Worse, have coolant system staying cold/cool for any reason can cause problems like temp gauge playing ping-pong because system will not equalize and engine get slugged w/ cold coolant as OE T-stat types tries to regulate engine temp.
Rad fan should be Off most times unless you idle a lot, stuck in slow traffic or drive w/ AC. Plus have E-fans On all the time makes it wear out and often fast. Aftermarket rad fans have same problem.
If engine gets hotter then 225-230 w/ OE fan running, "Better" fan isn't going to help much if does anything. Having engine at 225-235 is Not = overheat no matter what crap is stated nearly everywhere w/ Fiero engine temp myths.
New Radiator and/or heater core may help more IF old unit has tubes plugged w/ crap. Even after replacing them, Can still have other things like crush/bent pipes as covered in cave.
Many made a crap load of money selling "solutions" to problems either doesn't exist or band aid fix for real cause of whatever problems.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Oh my, we do have some anti-aftermarket electric fan proponents on here. Oh mighty SPAL fan from Italy, don’t fail me now. Be that as it may, let’s throw a little caution to the wind “Kitskaboodle” style and let us progress, shall we? Ok then, on with the show! Here are two pics of the fan cross assembly I somehow managed to tweak bad enough to where one of the cross struts broke off. As you can see, I had to fill the cross brace cavity with epoxy and even added a small, flat bracket with screws just to put it all back together. That and I also tweaked the outer fan ring. It’s certainly no longer round! This is, as I mentioned another reason why I need to replace the factory fan anyways. Kit
Abs here are two views of the L clips that you can order with these SPAL fans. Not sure if I’m going to use them for this application but I bought them just in case. Kit
I would have a bit of trouble with overheating in stop-n-go on hot days.....Finally changed out the rad-fan switch from the 237* to a 225* switch; Now the fan comes on in hot situations- before it would only come on as I pulled over due to overheating.
Do not remember having this problem 25-35 years ago, so possibly the original switch was just getting old and cranky.
And I still have the original radiator; Back in 1986 I was driving up to Trinity lake and hit a piece of firewood- shredded the air dam and tore the radiator support off the frame- I replaced the air dam and crossmember (Total cost from dealer $25) and have had no problems since (Including running over firewood)
Ok gentlemen. Project is now done. Here is what I did: I pirated the female fan harness plug from the factory fan motor. Yes, I soldered the connections and used heat shrink tubing and high quality black electrical tape to insulate/ seal it. Then, I needed to go to Home Depot for some various bolts, brackets and shrink tubing
[This message has been edited by Kitskaboodle (edited 02-06-2022).]
Next, the new fan fit almost perfectly onto the backside edge of the factory shroud. This is where I realized the SPAL “L” brackets I bought were not going to work. They do sell STRAIGHT brackets but I wanted to get the project done. (Sundays are my only real day to work on cars) So, I came up with the idea you see here. You’ll notice I took a package of corner brackets and turned three of them into 6 mini, straight, flat brackets and I also oversized the holes a bit. If you look closely, you can see that I gave the bolts three flat edges so that the heads would nest down into the square bracket holes in the new fans outer ring.
[This message has been edited by Kitskaboodle (edited 02-06-2022).]
Next, I ran some smaller, countersunk screws from the inside of the fans ring to the other hole in the bracket I made. The next pic shows that only a small portion of the screw head protrudes on the fan / inside area.
This pic (should have shown it earlier) shows how tightly and snugly the new fan sits on top of the factory shroud. Yes, I could have set it further downward into the shroud but this would have been much more work and would not have had such a snug fit/seal.
Here is the fan assembly back in place. I took it for a 30 mile afternoon freeway drive (mild shakedown test) and here are a few observations: 1) Fan comes on when temp gauge hits around 190-195 degrees. (we’re talking stock Fiero temp gauge here so I’m not 100% sure of the actual temps) 2) When fan kicks in, it does seem like the temp gauge needle goes back down just a little faster.(if you watch it closely) 3) Despite others saying “S” blade fans are quieter, this one is noticeably louder than the factory fan. Kind of sounds like a Hoover. 4) This fan moves some SERIOUS air!! I’m serious here people,
Since I took the last pic above, I have already begun painting the metal brackets semi/gloss black.
In all honesty, I did have to slightly relocate the coolant bottle upward to ensure it would clear the back of the fan.
There is one “item” which I believe partly hinders the flow of hot air coming out from the back of the new fan… Norms Fiberglass battery box. Have any of you thought through this? I did not….that is, until I got involved with this electric fan project. Unless I’m mistaken, the fan pulls air from the radiator and channels it downward and out the bottom of the car. Is this correct? If so, that fiberglass battery box interrupts this downeard flow. I love having the battery up front but I didn’t think through the air flow stoppage it creates.
I just thought I would post my electric fan upgrade project here. I have been wanting to upgrade my electric fan in my 85 GT for a while. My desire is to lower operating temps by a good 10 degrees if possible. I haven’t done a huge amount of research but I have learned that it pays to get a SPAL electric fan. So, at this point I have removed the factory fan:motor assembly, I have received the new SPAL fan and am now waiting for the 4 clips/brackets to mount the new fan to the factory shroud. See pics of the factory shroud/ fan assembly and also the “S” blade side of the new SPAL fan. Comments? Kit
SPAL 30102049 A word of advice is in order: In retrospect, I chose to mount the new fan directly on top of the factory shroud backside edge. The fit was good but this did add to the overall depth about an inch. Because of this I had to slightly relocate the coolant bottle. I would recommend you move it inside the factory shroud as OldJoeDad did and rivet it (or use small, flush screws and nuts) for more clearance, ok? Thanks Kit
I mount the new fan to the inside of the factory shroud after the OEM fan mounting "cross" is trimmed off.
Oh mighty SPAL fan from Italy, don’t fail me now. 
Have any of you thought through this? I did not….that is, until I got involved with this electric fan project. Unless I’m mistaken, the fan pulls air from the radiator and channels it downward and out the bottom of the car. Is this correct? If so, that fiberglass battery box interrupts this downeard flow. I love having the battery up front but I didn’t think through the air flow stoppage it creates. 
