Posted by Brian in Oregon, ex-Sears customer on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 at 6:56PM :
In Reply to: OK real question, engine flex fans posted by Ron in Indiana on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 at 6:33PM :
One is that flex fans with large blades tend to choke off air as they flatten out when installed in conjunction with radiator shrouds. This may or may not be a problem depending on a lot of factors, like how efficient your cooling system is, at what rpm the fan flattens out, etc. Some folks have found switching to a normal fan solved their problem when blade flattening was suspected, other never had a problem at all.
The other issue is that even more than normal fans, flex fans will pull themselves forward in water, like when fording, and may dig into the back of the radiator, especially if clearances are tight. This is one reason some fans, like those on the M37, are so dang heavy duty in the first place.
The third is that flex fans are punched out of sheetmetal, and often their blade edges are razor sharp. Anyone with a flex fan would be well advised to dull the edges, particularly if you like to wrench on your motor. Or not, if you hate your mechanic.
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