Electric Cooling Fan Conversion

[Polar Bear]

So I have completed my Cooling system conversion! Here is the official build thread!

It all started since I found my water pump leaking and then I thought well I better replace my coolant and my fan clutch at the same time!

So I have ordered everything and the remaining parts arrive this week...but it doesn't stop me from starting the project tomorrow.


Things I am doing and parts I will be using;

1. Replacing the Water Pump with a Brand New AC Delco unit.

2. Replacing my current AMSOIL engine coolant for Evans Waterless Coolant

3. Replacing my Vicous Fan Clutch and Fan with a Dorman 620-654 Electric Cooling Fan Assembly. I am getting the triple relay wiring harness complete with switch from PMC in North Carolina.

4. Use my tuning software to activate and tune the electric fan operation via the ECM

5. Installing a High Output AC Delco 253Amps alternator to replace the OEM 145Amp unit just to make sure I will not have any issues when offroad.

So Yes, I will be posting pics and détails as I go!

I am hoping to get a nice boost to cooling efficency and fuel economy!

Stay Tuned,

Kev

 

[Polar Bear]

I started by taking inventory to make sure all the parts I ordered had arrived and that I was pleased with the quality as well.

Here are some pics;

The Dorman 620-654 Dual Electric Fan Assembly, I must say I am very pleased with it's heavy duty construction!

The Triple Relay Wiring Harness from PMC of NC, Very Impressed with the quality of workmanship! Like an OEM harness! Love It!

New AC Delco Water Pump

And my new 253Amp Alternator!

And yes then there are my new rad hoses and thermostat and Evans Waterless Coolant!


The tear down is next!

Stay Tuned,

Kev

 

[Polar Bear]

So here are the before I touched anything pics;

 

[Polar Bear]

First I release the large cooling fan nut and remove the shroud with the original fan. It came out really easy btw!

Once I had the fan and shroud out of the way...I noticed that I had lots of silt blocking the cooling fins of the radiator where the shroud would not allow flow through for the incomming air! Oh well, once I clean that all will be good!

Here is the stock fan and shroud versus the new Electric Cooling Fan. Definitely a major difference in airflow and effciency!

 

[Neo]

that is a lot more surface area being covered with the dual fan :thumbs:

 

[Polar Bear]

I just realized...maybe I should've put this in the Tech Library instead of in the Build Section...Oooops!

 

[Bigunit]

Done.

Great write-up.

 

[Renagade132]

Great write up and pictorial, brother!

 

[Polar Bear]

Done.

Great write-up.

Thanks!

 

[Polar Bear]

Next, off comes the water pump and obviously all the coolant;

You can see where the pump was leaking on the upper driver's side.

So I have also installed the new 253Amp Alternator but I need to upgrade the wire to a 4 gauge before I secure everything.

I have also blown out most of the lines for the cooling system and tomorrow night I will continue with the full cooling system flush before I install the new Evans Waterless coolant. I calibrated the refractometer this evening.

I also realized I need a new thermostat...for some reason I though it came with the pump...oh well!

I also noticed that my idler pulley is just starting to make some weird noises so I will be changing that as well since I have everything off!

The new E-Fan Shroud will require some minor mounting hole modifications but nothing to complicated!

Stay Tuned,

Kev

 

[Polar Bear]

So the new water pump is installed. I torqued the pump bolts in a criss-cross pattern in multiple passes. The first pass was at 15N-M and then the final pass was at 30N-M. I did probably 8 total passes until no bolt moved. I used thread sealer just to be sure there would be no leaks!

As well, before I installed the new water pump I retorqued all the front cover bolts...good thing to since I could do up to 1/2 a turn on most of them.

Before installin the new pump I completely flushed all the coolant line and passages with the Evans Prep Fluid to make sure that it would be water free! I even made my front tires completely flat and jacked the rear over 2 ft up to help drain the engine block completely!

So with all the new hoses and thermostat in place, I filled the system with new Evans WaterLess Coolant and did some tests before I installed the new Electric Fan.

So now that my H2 has been converted...I am Saying Why the Heck didn't I do this YEARS ago!!!

I even did an interesting test. Since I am converting from my mechanical fan over to electric fans, I ran the engine with no fan at all with only the Evans Coolant to keep it cool. Well, after running for about an hour and even a short drive, the coolant never once went over 100C!!! That is Amazing! I had no fan at all not mechincal or electric!!! Talk about efficient!

Next test I did was open the rad cap as fast as I could....Absolutely NO Pressure!!! Awesome! Not even a Pssst!

Last test I did was take a sample of coolant from the radiator drain and test the BRIX index with a refractometer. PURE Evans Waterless Coolant is 55.7 or 0% water content. I managed to get mine to 55.1 which is 1%. We are allowed up to 5% for gas engines and 3% for diesels!


So Overall, I am Super Impressed!

Evans Waterless Coolant is definitely the way to go!!!

 

[Polar Bear]

Now to the fan install. I am noticing that I will need to reshape both the Engine oïl cooler lines and the transmission oïl cooler lines. Just too close to allow the Electric Fan assembly to fall into place! Oh well, it is not like I didn't expect some challenges.

On a side note the wiring harness that i received for PMC of NC http://www.pcmofnc.com/ Is Stellar!!! I am super impressed with the quality of workmanship and the sealed connectors. The included instructions are excellent...gonna make the final steps of the install very easy!

Here is what I got!

Almost Done, So stay tuned for the final stages!!!

 

[Polar Bear]

I finished it all off and IT IS AWESOME!!! I am Super Pleased! I still have to reflash my ECM at this to activate the fan control and do some final checks but overall done!!

So here are the final steps;

So I had to start by getting to the ECM. Can you see where it is hiding?

Yep, right Under that black cover!


Once the cover is off you can finally see it!

Once you release the spring clip retainer, you need to rotate the ECM to get access to the main connectors.

 

[Polar Bear]

Once I pulled the connectors out I notice the start of some corrosion trying to get a start. The seal was slightly out of position, so I will clean the ECM and reseal it before reassembly.

Now to get to the ECM connections.

You need to put the Green wire in Terminal 42 of the BLUE Connector.

The connector is numbered so it is very easy to find and insert the terminal

 

[Polar Bear]

Next you need to insert the Blue Wire in Terminal 33 of the GREEN Connector.

 

[Polar Bear]

ow that the wires have been inserted in their respective locations it is time to reassemble!

I started by making sure the ECM was clean and corrosion free!

Next you put the covers back on the connectors. I also put a helping amount of dielectric grease on the terminals prior to reassembling the connectors into the ECM

Next you can see the ECM signal tap you just installed.

I like to shield wires so I added some loom to make sure no wire chaffing!

 

[Polar Bear]

Now we get to the Dual Fan Assembly.


I decided to install some Rive-Nuts into the fan housing to allow me a secure place to mount the triple relays and to secure the fan connections.

I choose to mount the relays at the top center to keep them easily accessible and out of the majority of the water they might have to deal with!

 

[Polar Bear]

Now that the fan has been assembled with the harness. I did some test fits and found that I needed to add some foam tape to the upper edge to get a good seal to make sure all the air goes thru the fans.

I also had to trim the lower fan assembly lip by about 1/4" to avoid contact of the shroud to the radaitor fins.

Once that was done, I had to remove the engine oïl cooler lines to allow me enough space to drop the fan assembly easily into place.

I had to customize the oïl cooler lines and I think they turned out better than OEM! Plus they now clear the Dual Electric Fans! I will be making a separate build thread for the oil cooler lines.

The last step was to connect the fan wiring to power and ground and I temporarily connected the manual fan control switch that will be mounted in the upper map light panel above the rear view Mirror...but that will be next week!

I tested the fans and Man do they ever SUCK...Air that IS!!! I highly doubt that the OEM unit could pull that much air thru the rad!

 

[Polar Bear]

So once I get my flash done and get some roadtesting done I will post an update and as well I will add the pics of the manual control switch.


So, YES it was tons of work...between 25 to 30hours to do everything...But Well Worth every minute!


Overall, I could not be happier!

Looking forward to having an even better H2!


Later,

Kev

 

[ADOR]

That is an excellent write up Polar Bear. I can only wich I have the mechanical skills that you have. That would save me a ton of money on labor. This is exaclty what I need to do, or at list planning to do with my H2. Only if I can find a shop that will not charge arm and leg for labor.

 

[Big2dabank]

Great info and definitely on my to do list. How much would you say your into the cost of all the parts required? I was gonna swap mine with a new rad also, but this looks much simpler to keep the stock rad, especially since my rad is still holding strong.

 

[tdinardo]

Definitely on my to-do list. Thanks for taking the time to write this up!

 

[Polar Bear]

Great info and definitely on my to do list. How much would you say your into the cost of all the parts required? I was gonna swap mine with a new rad also, but this looks much simpler to keep the stock rad, especially since my rad is still holding strong.

Fan assembly was a Dorman part cost under $175

Fan Harness was from PCM of NC under $175

New custom Oil cooler lines $200

New High Flow water pump $120

Evans waterless coolant about $300

High amp alternator under $200

New Hoses and Thermostat under $100

About 30hours to do the whole install taking my time to make sure everything looked OEM!

Hope this helps!

Kev

 

[Mutasim]

After replacing old alternator to newer 253A have you replaced alternator, positive and negative cable also?

 

[ledmircy]

30 hours isn’t too bad!

Doing the install yourself is such a mix of satisfying and frustrating at the same time!