Added An Electric Fan And Power Steering Filter To My 98 Ls400

[SKperformance]

Electric fan

Ok well as mentioned in another thread my fan clutch has locked solid. From research it seems the fluid gets old and low so it spins too slow then it hardens and locks up completely. I notice after going for a 4 hour drive through the country side that i a new jet engine. When i got home i found the fan stayed locked up until 3000 rpm before letting go and slowing down but it would still catch right back up if i slightly lowered the rpms. It is basically a silicone that is supposed to be available at Toyota dealers . It ages and causes overheating and water pump bearings to go.

So i had options.

1. replace the fan clutch with a new oem $200

2. replace the fan clutch aftermarket $100

3. get used clutch from a wrecker as 1990-2000 LS400 use the same part unless it is a 98-00 which had an optional towing package as such had a modified fan temp. $100

4. get the fluid from Toyota and rebuild it myself it it was not destroyed inside $10

5 . switch out to an electric fan $70-300 depending on needs and set up .

I choose to go with the top of the line syclone from flex a lite it is a 16 inch fan with 2500 cfm and only 17 amps. The syclone is the quietest fan FAL makes and works the best from everything i read in the past few days and about 8 hours researching fans for the first time in my life.

You can get a universal fan for about $40 if you want but it will be nosy and not move a 1/4 of the air mine does . I choose to over do it and keep it high end like the rest of my car.

I also had a choice of a dual 2 inch pair with the same cfm but more amperage. It would have been more balanced with 2 but i wanted higher flow and efficiency to be quiet and lower amperage. Also the dual was a $150 more . I picked up the fan locally as i could not wait for it to ship and be delivered from the states for a savings of $40 . I paid 170 and it lists at jegs and summit for $130. I wanted to get the variable speed controller also but it costs $190 here and only $82 from jegs so i ordered it from summit who price matched it from jegs and i will get it by Tuesday. It will allow the fans to come on at a set temp @ 60% and a higher temp will ramp up the speed if the temps keep climbing until it gets to 100%.

I installed it last night and have a switch and fuse connected to the battery and the wires are run into the cabin so i control the fan completely. I was more than surprised that running the car in traffic that the temp needle does not move over the half mark without the fan on . It is weird that no fan being used keeps the car in the right range as i kept waiting for it to start creeping up to turn the fan on but since it is not an incremental gauge that reflects real temps it does not move as long as it is in a really wide range of temps until it gets outside of the set range.

I had a timing belt change a few months ago so the bolts were loose . I also believe that the fan got burned by the techs at Don Vally Lexus torching the bolts and cooking the fluid which caused it to fail because they were seized , also it had new nuts installed also.

Once the bolts holding the fan are removed pry it back slowly at each corner using the fan and the bolts. Then reinstall 3 spacers on each stud and reinstall the nuts.

You do not need to remove the shroud but i did remove the 2 upper brackets holding the rad as it was only 2 and allowed some space to move it around. To install the fan it comes with nylon studs which are pushed through the fins which is really scary to do at first but it will not leak . You use a Phillips screwdriver to make the openings then slide the studs in and then add the supplied washer and quick nuts. I mounted it on an angle as it fits right against the rad . I wanted to find a way to mount it as close to the stock fans position as possible and use the existing shroud and block the areas around it but it seemed like too much work so i said screw it for now.

I was also worried it would not be able to pull enough air in as it is a change in design . I was wrong , when it is on i can feel the air pass by my hand from the upper and lower grilles. Also it is soooo much quieter than the stock fan at any speed. The best part is , with the fan off the car is so damn quiet. Here's to not sounding like a freight liner 18 wheeler going down the road. No offense trkn1

Once i get the fan controller it will work perfectly and look clean . The car starts so quietly and the fuel economy has gone down from 9L/100km to 6-7L/100km. The car is much more responsive but the transmission is kicking down all the time since it was being drained by having the fan drag all the time . So in a week or so it should be good.

If you know what you are doing it takes 40 minutes maybe ,i took 2 hours as i was learning along the way.

Cost $170 fan FLX-398 , $80 variable speed controller FLX-31165

time 1-2 hours unless the fan bolts are seized.

Where the nylon studs push through the inner rad and the gap between the 2 rads.

This shows from above the fan , you can see the old studs on the water pump where the old fan was , One stud is missing a nut as it got damaged .

Best shot of the fan inside the original shroud

Power steering filter

Most have removed the PS solenoid and cleaned the mesh but i did not want to buy seals or a unit and decided to see if this would do anything first.

The power steering filter i added just like the ones i used on my ES 300 which have tranny issues. It is a small cylinder that has a magnet and bypass if it gets clogged. I changed my PS fluid 6 months ago and it felt better but i knew it was never perfect. So after saying i was doing this for a year now . I finally loosened the ps reservoir. Connected the hose 3 inches long to the small return hose . Then added the filter and made a maze of hose going around the back of the reservoir to go to the front again to prevent it from kinking. It sounds more complicated than it is. You need to put a bit of pressure on the metal lines to get the best angles. Afterwards everything reinstalled perfectly with the filter sitting behind the reservoir and the hose going over the bracket to loop down and back to the res port.

So it has been 4 days since i added it . Every single day it has gotten better to the point where i feel that i have power steering assist again. I can actually feel the speed changes with the assist level change where before it was on the least bit of assist possible.

So for a $10 filter which wix makes, ( mine are branded by ford for a recall they had ) but are the same thing as the wix versions and were dirt cheap as i bought a case. The power steering unit uses transmission fluid so the filter is made for just this type of app . I love power steering again. It is the best thing in the world to do for peanuts. Crazy gains to return the luxury feeling again , especially rolling on 20's .

Cost $10 fluid and filter

time 30 minutes

Really hard to see the filter but that blue ford logo is the filter.

The new hose is from the filter.

[blake918]

Nicely done, SK! Thanks for the write-ups!

[wwest]

Wow, you raise some serious questions.

First, my '92 LS400 has two electric cooling fans mounted out in front of the condensor/radiator "stack", and I'm fairly sure the later LS models have at least one.

The engine driven fan's "clutch" is of the VC, Viscous Clutch, type and as such responds, tightens, due to the level of HEAT coming through the "stack".

So the VC clutch being mostly locked may have very well been telling you something that you need to pay attention to.

The two fan system works by initially running them in series (low speed, 6 volts each) when the A/C is operated or coolant temperature rises above a certain point. Then in parallel if the coolant temperature continues to rise.

Some cars have a thermostat mounted, glued, to the radiator outflow hose to automatically turn the fan on if the radiator alone cannot do an adequate job of cooling. These thermostatically controlled fans are often direct wired to the battery, still fused, which is why you sometimes hear a fan running in a parked car.

[SKperformance]

I still have the a/c cooling fan on the outside of the rad which is a "pusher" , the one i installed is a puller on the "inside" of the rads. I will be installing a variable fan controller as soon as it gets here to kick in when needed as well as run the fan for 30 seconds after shutdown if needed.I need to get a temp gauge to monitor it properly though to see if it is working up to par or if i need another one added as a pusher , or set up the a/c fan to turn on also.

[blake918]

In the hopes that I too would get a big jump in fuel mileage, I installed one of these flx-398 fans on my old 95. I just completed a test loop, and I am still in shock. Complete and total shock. On a 70.1 mile test loop, my car consumed only 2.2 gallons of gas, which comes to an astonishing 31.9 mpg. I think that that number can increase slightly since I caught a couple redlights when getting off the interstate to make a u turn, and I had to vary my speed due to some construction. The weather here in rural North Louisiana is clear and cool, about 35* F. I ran with the ac compressor (and fan) off and the radio on with the cruise set just north of 75mph. I plan to go run some more consumption tests to see if I keep getting these numbers.

I checked my fuel mileage just before a Christmas road trip, and I got 27 mpg on the way in (which was 325 miles), so this new fan added about 5 mpg on the hwy. I have new iridium plugs (installed about a week before Christmas) in the car, tires at 32psi, a lot of useless junk in my trunk, and a k&n air filter. And the car has 304,500 miles

FLX-398 fan:

FLX 31147 fan controller:

SK you're the man!!!

[SKperformance]

Glad it worked, most people think i am just crazy .

I know i can get better mileage from mine if i could figure out this rich issue , that makes it burn instead of sip. When it runs right i use 6 Liters per 100km but when it is rich it throws out 11 almost double.

I am going to replace my iridium's from 2 years ago this weekend for $55

Where did you get your set up and how much ?

I also love the variable controller as it almost never turns on unless i am stopped. The drain is much less also unless it really heats up being parked. It never gets to the point it did when on 12vdc to the battery @ 100% .

How did you mount your probe tip as mine will not activate the fan unless i only have the tip pressed in the fins. Any further so i can put the rubber boot on and the probe will not activate the controller .

[blake918]

I am going to replace my iridium's from 2 years ago this weekend for $55

Where did you get your set up and how much ?

Everything came from Summitracing.com, I think the fan was $122 and the controller was $25 or $30. I bought my set of NGK iridiums on ebay for $48 shipped! Gotta love ebay!

How did you mount your probe tip as mine will not activate the fan unless i only have the tip pressed in the fins. Any further so i can put the rubber boot on and the probe will not activate the controller .

I was able to shove the tip of the probe through the radiator far enough to get the little rubber boot on. Standing at the front of the car, my probe tip is near the top right corner of the radiator. I can take a picture if you want, but my probe just slipped right through like the mounting hardware did.

[lenore]

Great job guys, by the way I suggest a little heat shrink on your terminals to keep moisture out of the crimps, I also suggest soldering the connections to the faston connectors and then heat shrink. You dont want any corrosion to develop. I am looking at this setup for my Ford F150 to try and improve mileage and increase air conditioning performance in the summer. On some other sites I am on the through the radiator mounts of fans has developed problems over time. If you are using the original shroud I would have made brackets to mount to that shroud. This would eliminate any contact through the fins. As for controllers there are many the SPAL controllers have proven to be very reliable. Another fan that is widely used on cars is the Lincoln Contental Mark VIII fan which you can get on ebay or junk yards, very high flow, very solid, probably too big for the Lexus. Great job and enjoy your fans. By the way some even put led lamps to tell you when the fan is on. The other benefit is that the lack of a fan on the waterpump increases the life span of the water pump.

[SKperformance]

I can hear the fan turn on as well as see a voltage drop on my display screen.

The shroud is too weak to hold the fan as i thought about that initially. The fan blades are contained so they can't touch anything by design.