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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
I just got the A/C working again in my 89 but I think I would like a couple of thin fans to put in front of the condenser to keep air moving for slow driving or sitting at stop lights etc...
Oddly enough, my AC runs cooler sitting still than it does cruising down the highway. Was thinking maybe in warm temps the clutch locks up in traffic and pulls more air through the condenser than when it's not locked up cruising down the highway. Kind of strange.
This is how I have installed my auxiliary cooling fans in my 1991 D-350
Your 1989 should be the same in front of the radiator.
If you are using R134a this should be part of the conversion that you use an electric pusher fan in front of your radiator to help control your high side pressures, in traffic there is not enough airflow through your condenser to keep the head pressures in check.
I would also recommend a high pressure cutoff switch to save your system.
Not enough airflow through your condenser in traffic or at low speeds would cause:
A) Extremely high head pressures and no AC cooling,
B) A/C compressor clutch slipping, (it will squeal the belt will chatter and go up in smoke.)
C) High Head Pressure = extremely high discharge temperatures and overheat your engine through air to air coupling.
D) Burst discharge hoses,
E) In a prefect world the High Pressure Relief on the compressor discharge manifold (if you have a C-171 compressor) (Sanden SD-709 is on the back of the head.) will automatically vent your refrigerant between 500-550 PSI to a safe level (this makes a big mess in the right side of your engine.)
If this valve does vent just imagine how many PSI of hot liquid is flowing through the rubber hoses.
I had a Suburban and when I was going over the Cajon Pass my fan clutch failed my engine temps went from 180* to off the end of the gauge within about 30 seconds and by the time I was able to pull off the freeway I had already lost my air conditioning and when I opened my hood my AC compressor already had the black paint burned off from it and it was a smoking gray because it got so hot.
I have had to replace the pair of electric fans once since I have installed them due to one of the motors frag.
Next time around I am going to replace it with a better unit probably a Hayden like this one.
Your job looks good and I'll probably go with it once I get the truck back to SoCal. The original fan source links in the sticky are bad but the links you provided above are fine.
Now I got to figure out how to get some paint on the truck and back on the road.
Just not connected yet. That's to do in the morning when it is cool again.
I went with 2 Hayden 3690 fans which are 14 inches instead of the 16 inch Hayden 3700. I used my CAD drafting program and drew up 3 brackets to use the same bolts that hold the condenser in at each end with the middle bracket connecting to the center brace with a single bolt for stability. I had them made at a local sheet metal shop for about $62.00 which would have been cheap at twice that. They space the fans 1-3/4 inches from the surface of the radiator support where the condenser bolts to. I have .pdf files of the drawings if anyone is interested I can figure out how to post them.
Unlike Jim Lane, I just used a single 30 amp rated relay since both fans together draw a 23 amps according to Hayden. I ran a #12 wire from the battery to an inline 30 amp fuse then to the relay. The relay coil I just ran a pair of wires on over to the wiring for the A/C clutch and spliced it in. There is already a diode across the A/C clutch so there shouldn't be any issues with transients from the coil switch off.
It was really hot 98 degrees in Northeast OK today so I didn't do much after getting it going. I ran the A/C for several minutes but the temp of the air from the middle outlet only got down to 60 degrees. Is this a good temp given the ambient of 98 degrees? I still think it has too much R134a charge. What's a good way to let some out?
Looks good, I know mine has a door issue from vent to max ac and it won't shut the door some times. Mine also won't get below 50-60 but I also have ac box problems (leaks and so forth) Also I don't know if my coolant shutoff is working either.
just noticed you're from Coffeyville KS. I've been through your town 3 times this year already, making runs to Collinsville OK.
I have two fans on the front of my intercooled 92. I looked around through the Summit catalog at the dimensions for a long time before deciding. I had to do some minor trimming on the back side of the grille with the cutting blade on my soldering gun.
I finally got the grill pieces out of storage, long story, and tried the fit. No way is my setup fitting behind the metal piece below the plastic grill. I had planned to do some trimming of the plastic also but since I plan to upgrade to the 91 and newer grill-work I'm just going to let it go until I get it back to California in my own shop.
I've not had hands on with the newer grill yet so I don't know what the fit will be like. Jim Lane seems to have had good luck with his 91.
I finally got the grill pieces out of storage, long story, and tried the fit. No way is my setup fitting behind the metal piece below the plastic grill. I had planned to do some trimming of the plastic also but since I plan to upgrade to the 91 and newer grill-work I'm just going to let it go until I get it back to California in my own shop.
I've not had hands on with the newer grill yet so I don't know what the fit will be like. Jim Lane seems to have had good luck with his 91.
07-09-2016, 12:20 PM
