Following the lead of Martin Hilvers, with tips from many others, including the initial idea from Chip Lamb, I decided to convert from the standard belt driven fan to an electric fan. Although several who have done this conversion simply chopped off the protruding snout from the stock cover and then welded a plate over the hole, I found an industrial V-4 cover (ostensibly the last one from the OEM source) and decided to be a little more 'correct' (and lazier).
The easier conversion is to buy a thin-line electric fan which would fit between the radiator and modified cover with very little problem. On the other hand, I liked the elegance of Martin's choice -- using an original 900 Turbo fan because the height of the 900T and the 95 radiators are the same, ergo, the fan fits perfectly on the original 95 radiator. And, it's still a SAAB fan.
Martin's set up can be seen at this site:
So, the project should proceed like this:
1. Remove original cover
2. Install new cover
3. Install thermoswitch in hose
4. Install fan onto radiator
5. Install relay and remaining electrical connection
6. See if it works
The pictures below show the differences between the two covers.
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| Comparison of covers | Top view | Rear view (what's the brass strap for?) | The cover is off! | Oil pan seal is intact (meaning less hassle sealing the new cover) |
Now the new fan is installed, along with a relay and thermoswitch.
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| These pictures show how close the 900 Turbo fan fits against the new industrial timing cover. One of the fan screws is only about 2mm from the cover. | An overall shot of the fan, with the thermoswitch installed in the top hose. | A view from above. | One less pulley for the new belt - from Kragen Auto, a "DriveRite 34513 15345DR" | ||
I wired the fan directly to the battery so it would (like many modern vehicles) run when the ignition is switched off. But two things bother me about this: First, I don't understand how running the fan with stationary coolant can be helpful. Second, the temperature drop is so gradual that the fan runs for 3-4 minutes after shutdown -- bad drain on the battery? I suspect I'll be changing the wiring soon and have it all power down with ignition cutoff.
Immediate advantage? On an uphill grade from about 30 meters, to the summit of 300 meters, at 65 mph, the temperature gauge never climbed higher than about 55-60% (slightly over the halfway mark). Waiting in line at a s-l-o-w fastfood drive-in on a hot day, it stayed at the same 'high' mark as the hill climb. Before I did this conversion, the gauge would quickly approach the red space within only a few minutes in the same slow line.
My biggest test will be in the next few weeks when I run the afternoon commute from work to home, when the temperature will be in the 100-105 F range, and the traffic will be stop-and-go for about 15 miles. I'll make a note here after that occurs.