mechanical fan delete worth it?

So I've been considering what to do with my new 96 RMW and thinking about the mechanical fan delete. I like the roominess in front of the engine and relative simplicity and efficiency of the electric fans, and none of the 3 Caprices I've owned had the heavy duty cooling and I never had any problems with overheating. On the other hand, I live in southeast Texas and one of the posts I read mentioned that the mechanical fan enhances AC cooling. So I'm wondering if there are any opinions out there of the value of the mechanical fan. How much difference does it make MPG and power wise?

MPG and power gains are minimal at best imo, I'd say deleting the fan is for aesthetics mostly. There is an optional heavy duty electric fan that would help with the Texas heat, I believe it's a 240 watt secondary (driver side) fan motor.

Mike

Considering how hot it gets in Texas,the dual electrics would help your AC output in heavy
stop and go traffic.The mechanical fan is there for when the towing gets slow and heavy!

I deleted mine when I replaced my water pump and am glad I did. It makes working under the hood so much easier and gets rid of the roar and leaves just engine noise
If your concerned with temps you can get you PCM tunes to lower the fan turn on temp.

I did that change, like has been said: you won't notice any HP change, or cooling change. This is what it does: cleans up the engine compartment, makes it a lot easier to work on the engine related stuff (probably the biggest plus IMHO) and eliminates the roar of the mechanical fan.

Tom C.

My '96 Roady had the tow package with the mechanical fan and the additional electric fan. I realize most ALL cars use electric fans now, but I still remember having to install manual switches on friends cars growing up, because the electric fan relays would fail or not let the fan kick on until the engine got almost to red on the gauge. I have memories of flipping on the toggle switch for the fans in traffic in my buddies '88 Iroc-Z... I've had distrust of electric fans since my teenage years...hahaha.

Bottom line is I liked my mechanical fan. Once less thing to worry about failing on my road trips, and with the mechanical fan and the electric fan both on, the a/c in my Roady blew ice-cubes on the hottest of Texas summer days, and the temp gauge never got above 1/4 up from cold.

Also, I never personally heard the engine fan inside my Roady wagon when driving. I DID have Flowmaters on that car however...heard them!

HOWEVER I DO hear the fan a LOT in my Custom Cruiser, but it's a larger mechanical fan, and I understand the Olds did not get some firewall sound deadener the LT1 Buicks did.

And I certainly agree that removing the fan on an LT1 car sure opens up the engine compartment a lot! It looks a lot better with the fan removed!

-Mike

I'd leave it unless you have a lot of time. As Mike said, there is less to go wrong with the mechanical fan setup and it moves a good amount of air all the time. I only had to remove the setup once in 6 years to do an opti and waterpump. The upper shroud is really the only thing you need to remove for most maintenance items and that comes off easily with 8 bolts and takes 30 seconds, and I had that off a few times for various things.

If you decide to go forward on this, just make sure you do the fan wiring and relays correctly and make it look nice. I see very few aftermarket automotive wiring jobs that are robust, safe and attractive.

Shortly after I got my Roady I blew a PS hose and while replacing it I realized how big a job it would be to replace the main serpentine belt with all the additional hardware included with the mechanical fan. That was when I decided to do the switch. I got the fan and top rad support from a forum member here and ordered [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] primary fan harness. Now if I would lose a belt on the road I can change it in a few minutes on the side of the road.

In the pic you can see the new fuse and relay between the PS reservoir and fuse box and the green wire that connects to the computer and the fuse box along the firewall. The hardest part of the job was getting the heavier gauge wires that connect to the relay in the fuse box to fit in the box.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I'm not trying to belabor the point but that's not really a valid reason to get rid of the mechanical fan package. Today's EPDM serpentine belts simply wear out and don't snap like the older Neoprene belts that were phased out in the 1990s. I've replaced two belts now that were worn down but still "looked" fine. The chances of you snapping a belt on the road are just about nil.

You can read more [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Do yourself a favor and get a free beltwear gauge from Gates or Dayco.

Ancient_1,how long did it take you to get your engine compartment so spotless?Looks great
by the way.It seems to me like its easier to keep my LT 1 engine compartment cleaner than
my OCCs.Access is sure much easier on the LT1!

sherlock9c1 wrote:

I'm not trying to belabor the point but that's not really a valid reason to get rid of the mechanical fan package. Today's EPDM serpentine belts simply wear out and don't snap like the older Neoprene belts that were phased out in the 1990s. I've replaced two belts now that were worn down but still "looked" fine. The chances of you snapping a belt on the road are just about nil.

You can read more [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Do yourself a favor and get a free beltwear gauge from Gates or Dayco.

You are right on the fact it isn't likely to happen on the road it can happen. I have lost three over the years and know it can happen. One was a new belt that I installed wrong which caused the failure (had one of the pulley off a cog or 2) one was just old and should of been replaced and the third was caused by a piece of debris that knocked it off.

I also used to drag race my 85 Regal which I put in a healthy 406 which I had taken the serpentine system off a boxy 9c1 (the v-belts didn't like much over 5k rpm) which required an adapter for my smaller alt which I broke at the track one day. I was able to do a little cobbling and route the belt differently and was on my way.

To me being able to replace the belt easily means a lot even if I never have to on the road. It is also the reason I went to an electric water pump was the fact it wont leak and ease of replacement.

Flasheroo wrote:

Ancient_1,how long did it take you to get your engine compartment so spotless?Looks great
by the way.It seems to me like its easier to keep my LT 1 engine compartment cleaner than
my OCCs.Access is sure much easier on the LT1!

It looks better than it is even tho I have spent more than a few hours on it. The biggest thing was using this [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] on all the rubber and plastic pieces, it just does a great job.

Kid brother swears by Bleche Wite and swears at me when I use his up!

Lots of good info...so hard to decide! To me the most compelling factors are: In favor of electric fans, I like the security of knowing I can replace a belt easily on the side of the road and not be stranded (however unlikely). In favor of the mechanical fan, I like anything that could make the AC colder in the summers.

The roar of that fan made me take mine off, and when I drove in my gravel driveway, the mechanical fan stirred up all kinds of dust. It was horrible, because the car was dirty the minute I left the driveway unless the gravel was damp.

Now, its quiet, and makes no dust.

jon7190 wrote:

Lots of good info...so hard to decide! To me the most compelling factors are: In favor of electric fans, I like the security of knowing I can replace a belt easily on the side of the road and not be stranded (however unlikely). In favor of the mechanical fan, I like anything that could make the AC colder in the summers.

Concerning your AC system,I think that boils down to keeping it charged and everything working properly.Both fan systems have their
positives and negatives,personally I think all electric is the way to go!

Just wait until you have to replace the water pump. Once its off the car and the new pump is in you'll look over at the fan parts on the ground and say "screw it"