Cooling Fan

[Number680]

I'm brand new to Mitsubishi's and VR4's so I apologize if I'm asking something stupid. I can work on an F-15 but I don't know much about what I'm doing with cars. I did try to look through the documents and different manuals and that kind of stuff. All the codes and terms don't make much sense to me yet so I'm not really sure what to look for. I did a search but mostly come up with for sale posts.

I just got a VR4 a few days ago and am starting to get things in order. The cooling fan went bad I guess, and the previous owner hooked up a new one. Problem is, he left the old bad fan still hooked up, and just added another fan and wired it up pretty weird. Old fan is mounted in front of the radiator on the drivers side. New fan is mounted behind the radiator on the passenger side. He wired it up to the old fan and to the battery and has a switch inside to turn it on and off.

First order of business is to get that old fan out. Problem is, I'm not sure how to do that. I removed the parts from the hood latch and around that area to try to get it out. It's currently unbolted and just sitting in there, but there's not enough space to slide it out. I'm assuming I need to take out the radiator to get the fan out from that spot. I wanted to make sure I'm not missing something stupid, or if that's the real way to remove that fan.

Thanks in advance and sorry if it's a dumb question.

 

[AllanL]

has it got a giant intercooler?
removing the bumper might be the only way to go...

 

[Number680]

I wouldn't say it's a giant intercooler, but it's fairly large. The bumper is currently already off though, and it doesn't really help with removing the fan.

 

[turbowop]

Stock, these cars have two fans. One puller that sits behind the radiator in the engine bay on the passenger side, and one pusher mounted on the front of the AC condenser right behind the bumper on the driver's side. Are you sure that old fan isn't just the stock pusher fan that comes on with the AC? You can't really mount the stock puller fan in that location, as it would never fit with the shroud, amongst other obstacles. Sounds like some confusion between you and the previous owner.

 

[Number680]

Ah I didn't know there were two fans. I should probably check and see if both work. From what he said it seemed like the pusher fan went bad and he added the puller fan in just to get it working.

Thanks!

 

[turbowop]

Also check the relays and fuses for the fans before you go buying new parts.

 

[slugsgomoo]

Most common thing I've seen is for the sensor at the bottom passenger side of the radiator to fail. That sensor hits temp and grounds out which turns on the passenger side puller fan. Easy test to see if it's just that is pull the plug, stick a paperclip or wire between the two contacts, and see if the fan kicks on.

The pusher in front of the a/c condenser on the drivers side should turn on whenever the a/c button is on Max, regardless of temp IIRC.

 

[Number680]

Both fans are actually working. Must have mis-understood what the previous owner told me. I'll be removing the radiator to put in a Civic aluminum race radiator and a single fan later on anyway.

 

[turbowop]

Why are you installing a Civic radiator? Especially in Vegas?

 

[Number680]

Just from what I've seen it seems like a Civic aluminum race radiator saves on a lot of space and actually runs cooler. I can get a 3 core for less than $90. And this isn't going to be a daily driver and most likely will not be driven much in the summer (removing AC).

 

[turbowop]

Unless you absolutely need that space for some oversized turbo setup, stick with a stock sized radiator, IMO. Does the AC work? I would keep it if it does.

I suppose I should ask...what are your goals for this car?

 

[slugsgomoo]

As someone who has no a/c, a scrirroco radiator, and a big turbo I agree with mark. Keep the factory radiator unless you actually need to replace it. If you're having cooling issues, get a better radiator (like a fluidyne/etc) that's factory sized. There's no way reduced thermal capacity and surface area are going to cool better.

 

[Number680]

I've seen a lot some posts on various forums saying that it actually keeps the engine cooler. I would assume having a radiator that is nearly 3 times as thick would be sufficient. I would assume being away from heat sources would help as well.

 

[slugsgomoo]

3x as thick, but

 

[Number680]

I don't think there actually is a heat shield or wrap on any of the turbo stuff. Just got this car so I haven't done much to it yet. Will probably look into getting a OEM size aluminum radiator instead of the Civic race radiator. I Did want to save some space and cut it down to one fan though. Guess that's not really the best option.