As some of you may know my TB is down with a blown trans. So while I am tearing it down I confirmed that my fan and water pump are failing. After a lot of research and finding there are still problems with the updated 06+ fans I went a different direction. My friends over at PCM of NC gave me the final solution. I am currently installing the E-fan and taking the stress off of my new water pump. This is one of the most complete kits I have ever seen. (includes shroud, fan, relay and harness, sensor, drill bit and tap, and all hardware)
E-Fan Conversion
- Thread starter novajoe
- Start date
They look like relief vents, to allow air to pass through the shroud when the vehicle is at speed. In some of the other threads, people made a fuss over the PCM kits not having this.
And failing fans and a flat piece of aluminum against the radiator impeding air flow. And only one fan. Hope it's enough. At least they added the relief vents. Was originally designed for the 4 and 5 banger Colorados.
The fan is a spal s blade fan. They really move a lot of air. I powered it up on my test bench and can attest that it moves a lot more air than my factory fan ever did. The black rectangles are air reliefs to allow air to move more freely at speed when driving.
STLtrailbSS
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Spal is top notch stuff If it was in my budget they would go on my SS I have to go LS1. Nice set up!! PCMofNC is awesome.
I know everybody has a hard on for PCMofNC (formerly PCM4Less) but they are not perfect. I even have one of their tunes. Just keep in mind it did have issues in the past. The fan they used was not designed to run continuously and has been know to burn out. This thread has both the lack of flow issues and the failed fan:
http://gmtnation.com/f25/removing-my-pcm4less-electric-fan-3901/
The flow issue is hopefully resolved with those relief flaps. Just be sure to keep an eye on it for the first while. Would be good that they have resolved all of these issues so that people will have a drop-in option for an efan.
http://gmtnation.com/f25/removing-my-pcm4less-electric-fan-3901/
The flow issue is hopefully resolved with those relief flaps. Just be sure to keep an eye on it for the first while. Would be good that they have resolved all of these issues so that people will have a drop-in option for an efan.
Pittdawg
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Mooseman said:
Novajoe let us know how it works. I was interested in this long ago but as Mooseman correctly points out it seems as if the majority of people who installed this on their 4.2 had overheating and noise issues. The v8 versions gets dual fans which seems to work much better.
tbuckalew14
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Pittdawg said:
I haven't had any issues with overheating. The fan is incredibly loud though. I can't hear it too much inside the car with the radio on though...I might go back to hooking it up to a switch to turn it off when i'm in line at the bank drive through and stuff like that.
Mypetropig
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Plus one for pics of install etc. Please post info on how well it works when you get your tranny in.
Mooseman said:
I am taking pics and will be posting them soon.
tbuckalew14 said:
From the bench test I can attest to the loud factor, but my old fan was dying and was starting to sound like a fighter jet getting ready for takeoff, so this will be much quieter than what I had and will solve a few problems that the factory system had.
Mypetropig
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Any chance of actual before and after temperature numbers? Thats what really matters. The factory gauge is far too in-accurate to be of any help. My needle stays at same spot from 175-225, so do you have a real guage and could help us know what kind of temps this setup allows. Previously it was shown that electric fans would not keep up with high temp or harsh driving conditions with this platform.
Shdwdrgn
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HARDTRAILZ said:
Imagine if there was an open-source OS we could install on our PCM that would allow us to control such things? I'm guessing the temp and oil pressure gauges have both been idiot-proofed to generally read at a certain level rather than giving actual values. Somebody should get started on writing that code...
Sparky
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Shdwdrgn said:Imagine if there was an open-source OS we could install on our PCM that would allow us to control such things? I'm guessing the temp and oil pressure gauges have both been idiot-proofed to generally read at a certain level rather than giving actual values. Somebody should get started on writing that code...
Well the oil pressure gauge only reads a switch. Yup, an on-off switch, not even a sensor. If the oil PSI is above a certain threshold, it puts the needle about in the middle. Then the PCM makes the needle move with higher engine RPM by an arbitrary amount that very well may not the actual amount it changes. So, yeah, that oil PSI gauge is no more use than an idiot light.
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ScarabEpic22
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If you were seeing 205-220F with the stock clutch, something in your cooling system wasnt working properly. The I6 should run between 199-207F under 90% of conditions. Towing and extreme heat are the exceptions here. My 02 still has the factory fan clutch (holy cow right?!), never gets over 207F even with 5 people and packed to the gills. Gets to ~220F when towing the boat up long grades, but it hasnt been handling tow duty since I got the SS in 09.
HARDTRAILZ said:
I do live in the mountains. LOL
ScarabEpic22 said:
The high temps are due to both a bad fan and a failing water pump. The TB never throw a code for the fan but did for a bad thermostat. after replacing the thermostat I began checking other things and discovered the bad fan. So I decided to change to an electric setup so I can get rid of future problems inherent with the factory set up and clean up the engine bay.
Playsinsnow
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Well its been a few months since the install and I am happy with everything. The trans kicks hard (barks the tires between gears on hard acceleration) and the fan works perfect (a little loud with the windows down). But I would highly recommend both to anyone needing to replace a trans or fan.
Has there been any further updates on this? Longevity and ability to cool in slow traffic and highway?
Everything still good?
Everything still good?
gmcman
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I wonder how far-off they could be? May not be a direct fit but I'm only assuming they must be close......
littleblazer
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littleblazer
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I'm not sure if that's 100 percent though. I think so. As far as fitting. I don't see an issue. Just may not be great air flow wise depending on where the fan centers are.
I think the issue would be, if the shroud is made properly, it's not going to be flush against the radiator, it will have some stand-off space to allow airflow over the entire radiator into the fan. So the sides, top and bottom will have material bent, and hopefully the corner seams welded, to create a seal around the edges. This way all of the air is pulled THROUGH the radiator and not AROUND it.
If you did any trimming on a shroud that was too big, it would make for a lot more work fabbing up seals, compared to getting a properly made shroud in the first place.
If you did any trimming on a shroud that was too big, it would make for a lot more work fabbing up seals, compared to getting a properly made shroud in the first place.