Hi Guys,
I have a friend who's got an Ambassador mark 2 in Rajasthan, his question is the car is heating up from time to time. He's fitted a plastic fan in it and his mechanic has adviced him to fit the original metal fan. What is your take on the subject?
I disagree with the mechanic. A metal fan is heavier and will put more load on the water pump. The plastic fan will probably have more blades and be lighter. I would go for the plastic fan. I'm restricting my comments to the fan only as that was the question.
An additional electric fan would be a good modification IMO. But I would start with something basic like cleaning and flushing out debris from the radiator along with checking for leaks in the whole cooling system.
A common mod is putting a bigger plastic fan one from a sumo or Eicher truck. But for that radiator needs to be modified to be like of diesel cars, but if the car is overheating there might be some problem with the distributor and timing.
In my humble opinion, I think you are correct about having the associated parts of the cooling system in order but the sheer efficiency of the plastic fan should be better as the blades are thicker and wider and should be able to push more air through the radiator . I also had given him a suggestion of retro fitting an oil cooler to keep the oil temperatures lower and keep the viscosity of the oil healthier in order to prevent any damage to the engine.
My opinion on the matter is, a plastic fan can be as effective as a metal one, provided the blade pitch is optimum. Considering this specific scenario, one must be sure if the radiator, water pump and other associated parts are doing their bit! Its not just the fan but a whole lot of others that matter, here...