AMC Eagle Den Forum
The Mighty 258 => Cooling System => Topic started by: carguy87 on August 17, 2012, 11:34:13 PM
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I just got done putting a flex fan and a 2 core aluminum radiator with 1" tubes in my Eagle Wagon today. I will post some pictures and results after I'm done with military duty this weekend. I had to do a little more modifying to get it to fit than some have suggested. I had to space the radiator about 3/4" towards the engine because of the evaporator for the A/C. After that, it was the usual, measure, drill, install. It took about 2-3 hours to do, mostly from fitting the fan. I went for the flex fan because my clutch has been on it's last leg for a few months now, and last week, it dropped to it's knees and started letting the engine get a little too warm. When I took it off, the seal had fallen off on the water pump side and showed me that there were only 3 ball bearings left! I used a 2" flex fan spacer, but would have preferred a 1-3/4" or 1-1/2". The fan I used was a Hayden 6-blade 16-3/4" part number 3567, meant for 4.1L and below, but is only about 1/2" smaller than our stock fans and has a more aggressive pitch, plus the aluminum radiator should allow adequate cooling.
What I did notice was the noise from the fan in the front of the engine was reduced, new clutch probably would have cured this as well, and there was quite a bit of a difference in power. It seemed that a bit of drag on the engine was taken away, and it was quite noticeable. I'll try to get some mpg figures from this weekend to see if it was affected in any way.
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I ran into clearance issues with the condensor too, did you have issues fitting your lower hose, mine was a royal :censored: :censored: :censored: (still not happy with it).
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Yes, the angle for the lower hose is all wrong. I was going to hack off the pipe on the radiator and grind it down to make it come out straight instead of that like 45 degrees. Time constraints and need for my daily driver to be on the road again forced me to over come it. I was able to turn the lower radiator hose and squeeze it into place. Have to find my card reader so I can post some pictures, lost it while moving, lol. How far down did you mount your radiator? Really glad I didn't go with that triple core now, haha.
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I mounted it down as far as I could, the top of the tank sits just below the radiator support. I couldn't go any higher due to the hood not being able to close, lol.
(http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz55/shaggimo/Eagle%204dr/ENGINE015.jpg)
(http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz55/shaggimo/Eagle%204dr/ENGINE017.jpg)
I used a couple 90 degree elbows for the transmission lines, they are just barely above the lower valance, not ideal, but better than nothing.
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i am thinking of going with this radiator as well. my only worry is that the 45 degree lower hose fitting interfer with the serpentine belt. i see most of you dont have the serpentine belt set up. do you think there is enough length on the outlet to just cut off the 45 and connect the hose?
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shaggimo, why didnt you install the shroud? does it not fit anymore?
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shaggimo, why didnt you install the shroud? does it not fit anymore?
My car didn't come with a shroud, I have to find one, but on that note, the eaglw shroud will not work with this radiator without modifications (another member here has a thread on that) being the inlet and outlets are spacer farther apart. I'm going to try and find a cj one to possibly fit in there, if possible.
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I found the card, here are the pictures.
(http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j456/zdeyonker/0821120957b.jpg)
(http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j456/zdeyonker/0821120957a.jpg)
(http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j456/zdeyonker/0821120957.jpg)
(http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j456/zdeyonker/0821120956.jpg)
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:o You are close to the fan, I see you mounted yours about the same height I did too. If only this company would make one of these specifically for small body amcs, they could probably make a good buck being there's not many options out there.
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I like how you made spacers from nuts to put it where you wanted it. I didn't have an AC so mine fit fine without the spacers and I had an extra inch between the fan and the radiator. I should probably still add spacers to get the fan closer to the radiator for better cooling.
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capt, if you look at his second pic, looks to me like he stacked nuts between the radiator and support then just ran a longer bolt.
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Yup, I saw that immediately and wanted to point it out. I didn't have to do it for mine but it looks like that's important for installation in Eagles with auto trans coolers or AC.
I did the same thing using long sockets instead of bolts with my engine stand. It lets me mount the engine on the stand without having to remove the flywheel. Its amazing how well some simple solutions like these work.
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Lol, I know, it isn't proper, but I needed it back on the road, I'm going to make some proper spacers when I get some time. I have both the radiator and cooler to contend with. The pictures are a little off, the fan has about an 1" between the radiator. I tested it under full throttle and load with no interference. I wanted to go with the 1 5/8" spacer, but all they had was 2". I might leave it, as it keeps the car at the right temp for hauling right now. I plan to get a trailer behind it soon to test how well it works under a decent load.
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Where did you get that fan? What's the brand name? One of those came on an engine I bought and I like it. I dislike the clutch type fan blades and I'm running out of solid metal ones to install. Seems to me the metal piece in the middle comes off easily and it could be cut down to any size you desire as long as you trim and thread the long through bolts at the same time.
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Sorry, this website was down so long I forgot about it! I got the fan from Oreilly's, had to order it, but they come in various sizes according to your c.u. of your engine. I went with a slightly larger one than needed to keep my precious trans cool and my engine upgrades. Works perfect, heat is awesome, and the drag removed from the engine is even better! The spacer can be cut down, but since it was pretty much on the side of the road where I did it, I didn't have time to waste. They can be ordered in the different lengths. They have notches that fit into the pump pulley and a small round area that centers the fan on the spacer, so you have to to contend with if you hack it down, not to mention squareness of the cut. I wouldn't want to see one of these fans on a lopsided spacer!
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The thermal fan clutches actually work better and reduce the drag on the engine significantly more then a flex fan. Only draw back is when they fail. However, they are made fairly well and can go many years/miles before failure. When they do fail it isn't catastrophic. Flex fans are not well balanced and their balance will change over time as the miles pile up. I've seen the aftermath more than once from when a flex fan vibrates loose and get ejected. Never know which direction it will travel in either. One I saw went straight up and made it most of the way through the hood before stopping. For these reasons I avoid flex fans. Food for thought.
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My old thermal failed in the way it was in full swing. The bearings fell out of it basically, so it was never in slow motion. I've personally always used flex fans on my chevelle's and older trucks and never had one fail. I did have a thermal fan fail in my 66' chevelle station wagon and one of the blades managed to put a nice hole in the hood :-[ That was why it got the flex treatment as well.