Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
startech47
Jedi Knight
Offline
Has anyone replaced the hydraulic fan clutch and fan on a 1500 with a Flex Lite fan? If so what were the results?
-
Hi Guest!
You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Flex fan on 1500
- Thread starter startech47
- Start date
Share this page
tosoutherncars
Jedi Knight
Offline
Is your viscous clutch going bad, or is this just a performance upgrade? I ask because you *can* just lock the fan on, by tightening a large hose clamp around the joint just behind the fan. Some of the Spitfire 1500s (same engine) came with the fan permanently engaged (no clutch), so it's certainly able to be run like that.
OP
startech47
Jedi Knight
Offline
The water pump is leaking and there is a lot of play in the viscous clutch. We also have a water pump with a bolt on 4 bladed fan and the hub with 4 threaded holes to mount the fan blade set. I assume the 4 bladed fan would not provide adequate cooling, but the Flex Lite fan would have a better chance of providing the required cooling at a lower cost than a replacement viscous fan and water pump.
Keoke
Great Pumpkin
Offline
Hi Startech47, A failed or failing viscus clutch assembly will lead to early failures in the water pump. The fixed four bladed fan will consume significant HP at speed and may not move enough air at idle. OTOH, The Flexilite fan enjoys considerable success in Europe as a replacement for the viscus clutch assy and fan.---Fwiw--Keoke
aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
Offline
I don't know is this is relevant to the type of driving you do, but I drove my 1500 on the street for several years with no fan.
Since the fan requires a few horsepower to turn, deleting it adds a slight boost in power.
You only need the fan if you're standing still.
If I hit traffic (rarely, in my area), I'd just shut it off and restart when traffic started moving.
Even 10 mph was plenty of air movement to keep from overheating. I ran a 160F thermostat.
Since the fan requires a few horsepower to turn, deleting it adds a slight boost in power.
You only need the fan if you're standing still.
If I hit traffic (rarely, in my area), I'd just shut it off and restart when traffic started moving.
Even 10 mph was plenty of air movement to keep from overheating. I ran a 160F thermostat.
Thor
Senior Member
Offline
Why not switch over to a spitfire clutchless fan assembly. On the Spitfire 1500 they didn't use the clutch system and the pump is a lot cheaper from what I can see. I know the fan themselves aren't interchangeable so you would also have to use the Spitfire fan but it should fit into the midget engine bay
OP
startech47
Jedi Knight
Offline
How many blades does the fan have? I have a water pump and fan that came with the the pile of parts that was supposed to be a car. The fan is a 4 bladed steel job. The water pump has a 4 threaded hole flange. Thanks everyone for the comments.