FAQs
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ELECTRIC FANS
An electric fan is needed for those times when there isn’t enough airflow (cfm) through the radiator to maintain the proper coolant temperature.
A puller fan is a fan that is installed behind, or in back of the radiator, and wired so that when it is running, the air is “pulled” through the radiator core. All Perma-Cool electric fans are pre-assembled at the factory and shipped as pullers.
A pusher fan is a fan that is installed ahead, or in front of the radiator, and wired so that when it is running, the air is “pushed” through the radiator core. All Perma-Cool electric fans are pre-assembled at the factory and shipped as pullers, not pushers.
Yes, while all Perma-Cool electric fans are pre-assembled at the factory, and shipped as pullers, they are reversible. In most cases, to convert a fan’s directional flow from a puller to a pusher, the blade must be removed and flipped over (or reversed), and the wiring must also be reversed. In some instances a fan can be converted by simply reversing the wiring polarity.
A puller fan is more efficient. A pusher fan is generally only 80% as efficient as a puller fan.
The straight blades are reversible to be a pusher or puller and put out higher CFM. The Spiral blades are quieter but with less CFM and are not reversible.
A general rule of thumb is that you cover at least 70% of the radiator core area with the blades of the electric fan.
A four cylinder engine requires 1600 cfm; a six cylinder engine requires 2,000 cfm, a small V-8 engine requires 3,000 cfm and large V-8 engines require 4500+ cfm.
No, all Perma-Cool electric fans are designed to be installed directly to the radiator core, close enough to not need a shroud.
Yes. To reach the minimum cfm required, you may need to install two or possibly more electric fans.
Perma-Cool electric fans mount flush to the radiator core and are held in place by our patented nylon ties and foam spacer pads. An optional metal mounting strap kit is available for extreme use or off-road applications.
Electric fans can be activated in any number of ways. The most common are:
- Direct wired: the fan is wired to the ignition wiring on the switched side.
- Non-adjustable thermal switch: the fan turns on when the engine temperature reaches a pre-set temperature.
- Adjustable thermal switch: the fan turns on when the engine temperature reaches the pre-determined and set temperature.
- Toggle switch: the fan is activated by a standard switch.
It is possible to gain clearance by moving the electric fan up, down or to the side of the radiator, thereby avoiding contact with the water pump pulley. Sometimes you may have to run two smaller fans to clear the pulley by letting it sit in the middle of the two fans.
Perma-Cool maintains a large inventory of spare blades and motors for all electric fans, as well as a wide assortment of accessories such as thermal switches, toggle switches, and attachment hardware.
COOLERS
Figure the gross vehicle weight of the vehicle and refer to our catalog for the correct size oil cooler for your application.
The best location is in front of the radiator, but any place with good airflow will work.
A heavy-duty Perma-Cool transmission oil cooler is used in application such as performance vehicles with high-speed stall converters, taxis, police cars and full time tow vehicles.
Perma-Cool has a wide variety of transmission oil coolers, including some designed with electric fans attached that will allow you mount the cooler almost anywhere.
No. If there is any question about warranty, install the transmission cooler inline, after the OEM radiator oil cooler.
Transmission fluid life can be dramatically extended if kept cool and clean. An oil filter installed in the circuit, in the line from the transmission to the oil cooler, will achieve this. Filter elements need to be changed only every 50,000 miles. A gauge in the system will alert the driver of any excessive heat problem, or allow monitoring of the transmission temperature.
Perma-Cool Oil and Transmission coolers are pressure tested to 300 PSI.
Fluid thermostats allows faster warm up to operating temperatures and prevent over cooling in cold climates. For use with engine oil coolers (#1070) and Transmission coolers (#1060).
No! Generally the tubing used in transmission oil cooler coils is too small and may restrict the oil flow. You can, however, use an engine oil cooler coil for transmission oil.
The best-suited engine oil cooler to use is determined by the horsepower output and size of the engine. Estimate the engine’s horsepower and refer to our catalog.
Perma-Cool has a wide variety of oil coolers, including some designed with electric fans attached that will allow you mount the cooler almost anywhere.
Yes. Perma-Cool has Dual Circuit oil coolers with or without an electric fan that are specifically designed to cool two fluids at the same time. You can use them to cool any two fluids, engine, transmission, power steering or fuel.
TURBO-FLEX FANS
As a general rule engines with a ‘V’ belt driving the water pump are standard rotation and serpentine belts are reverse rotation.
Very much, air likes to follow the path of least resistance. With a shroud you force the air to be drawn through the radiator instead of around it.
The proper fan and shroud alignment should be as close to 50/50 or half in and half out as possible. The fan should fill the shroud with about ¾-inch projected blade tip-to-shroud clearance.
This depends on the distance from the water pump to the radiator and the positioning in the shroud. You will need to take measurements.
CFM ratings are based on constant variables, such as RPM and blade pitch angle. With belt driven fans neither of these variables are constant so a general CFM rating cannot be reached.
FILTRATION PRODUCTS
Installation of an oil filter relocation kit will allow the consumer to move the oil filter away from the engine to a more convenient location in the engine compartment. This allows easier servicing of the vehicle.
The kit is uses a standard Ford type oil filter with ¾-16 threads such as a Fram PH8A or equivalent.
A sandwich adapter installs in-between the engine and the oil filter, allowing the consumer to retain the oil filter in the stock location. A spin-on adapter installs in place of the oil filter, converting the oil filter landing to an oil passage.
A dual oil filter mount is used in applications that require twice the filtration, use high viscosity oils, or with high volume oil systems.
Certainly, many vehicles have the oil filter installed sideways or even upside-down.