couple pics in here of my lectric fans
I used LT/LS1 fans for my truck. (thre is a difference between them, but its in the plastic shroud, and doesn't affect mounting/install)
Anyways, the Windstar fans sound like a good idea, fit the stock location pretty close, minor trimming, where mine required an entire metal frame.
Wiring on mine is fairly easy, I copied the stock GM dual fan pattern. Primary fan is ECM controlled, however, that could be done with a temp switch just as the secondary fan is.
Two relays from just about any GM application from the 90's, each fan on its own circuit. Direct power from the battery to each relay, one wire "out" of the relay to the fan motor for power, and seperate ground for each fan motor.
One wire to each relay from an ignition 12V source (makes fans operate ONLY when key is in run position) and one more wire that runs to the temp switch.
That's about the simplest/most reliable/safe way I can think of to wire up dual fans, and gives you the option of only using one fan until the second is actually needed, based on the coolant temp switches, of which there is a big variety (temp range) of "stock" GM ones. Of course you can go with an adjustable, but I don't see the point in that, you want the engine to run as consistently as possible, once set, I can't see a reason you would ever want to change the fan activation temp.
For wheeling, you can easily tweak the above mentioned wiring setup by putting a switch in the 12V ignition switched wire to the relay, if you want to make sure the fans don't come on when in water, etc.
You can fit many wires through the stock heater wiring grommet on the passenger side, so it's possible to keep the wiring fairly clean, but the large wires from the battery are kind of hard to conceal. On mine I have a single large gauge wire running from the battery to an "auxiallary" junction block from a Cadillac, (perhaps 4" from the battery) then the two relay 12V feed wires from that block.
Many GM FWD (and RWD too probably) run a battery cable that has a large gauge wire integral for just that reason, however, from my experience, none are long enough to work in a truck application, short by 6" or less to the starter.
In my experience a single fan is efficient enough to keep the engine cool, (SBC anyways) I watched mine move about 20* in 30 seconds with one fan on. One fan puts less load on the vehicles electrical system, and the load from just one fan is pretty decent, although the two 78 amp stock alternators I've run have held up fine. If I was cycling both fans all the time, I guarantee I'd notice it much more. Not to mention, if you cycle both fans, you will have more on/off cycling as the coolant temp will drop much faster. There is a 15 second "minimum on time" built into the stock GM ECM setup FWIW.
The LT/LS fans seem extremely quiet, I have to REALLY listen to hear them come on when the truck is running, but I have no other setups to compare with, so that is pretty much meaningless. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
