

Now reinstall the
intercooler protector, don't push back the clips for the rubber duct yet.
Now test fit your fan to see if it will fit inside the intercooler protector
and sit flush on the intercooler itself. If it does, the next step is to
gently lower the hood, to see if it will close, don't drop the hood
down,
because
if the fan is to tall you will have a nice dent in your hood scoop. If
the hood seems to push right down, the next thing is to get something that
is about 1/16 of an inch thick, and see if you can fit this between the
highest point on the fan, and the underneath of the hood scoop. If you
can, then you are ready to go to the next step of securing the fan to the
protector, if not you will have to file down some of the shroud to lower
the fan. The best way to file the bottom of the shroud correctly is to
keep checking if it fits flat on a piece of glass after filing. Of course
now that you have filed the shroud down a bit, there's a good chance the
fan blades will now be too far down, if this is the case you will have
to remove the blades section
and
find a way to raise it up, I carefully sanded the stem for the blade section,
of course this is all dependent on the design of the fan you get. When
filing the blade section it is important that you be very careful to sand
flat, otherwise the blades may wobble. Once everything is fitting correctly,
and the hood can close with the necessary clearance between the fan and
hood scoop, you will need to secure the fan to the protector.
To secure the fan
I made four
brackets
(click on the image to view a larger one), each with a hole to fit over
four of the pins that used to hold on the grill, and a hole to attach them
to the fan. I wasn't sure that the four clips could hold the fan, but they
did, and the whole setup is fairly sturdy, and once protector/fan setup
is in position on the intercooler it won't be able to move.
Note: After the mod is complete, you will need to check that the rubber piece on the bottom of the hood scoop is still seating flush on all the sides of the protector, if not some trimming of this rubber piece may be needed. It is important that this seats fairly good, otherwise the fan will also be sucking in hot engine bay air.
Wiring
I wired my fan so
that whenever I turn the ignition on the fan comes on. I placed the connector
for the fan in a location that was easy to get at, in case I ever want
to disconnect it. If the fan you buy does not come with a connector, I
suggest you buy one, and make sure the connector is of adequate size to
handle around 30 amps. You will also need to purchase a 30 amp relay, I
used a Bosch relay, and a connector for it. If you can't get a connector
for the relay, you can always buy four female spade connectors of the correct
size, and make your own connections. Remember to get the right gauge wire,
14 AWG gauge would be best for the high amp connections, and 18 AWG gauge
should be good for the lower amp connections.
First I connected
up the relay. Start by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery,
then remove the two 10mm nuts holding the fuse box on to the battery holder.
Then remove the two brackets from the fuse box, this will give you more
room. Remove the fuse box cover, and then lift the fuse box, the wires
will have it tight to move, so that the bottom is visible, now remove the
bottom of the fuse box, there are some clips holding it on, these might
give you a little trouble
,
I can't remember exactly how they work, but it's not hard to figure out.
One of my clips broke, it was brittle from all the heat, so don't get too
worried if this happens. I used the the big 100 amp fuse, which is held
in it's connector by two bolts, to source power for the fan. Crimp some
of the thicker 14 gauge wire to the correct size ring terminal (I like
to solder the connection as well), and bolt the ring terminal to the 100
amp fuse. Run this wire to one side of the 30 amp fuse holder, and from
the other end of the fuse holder, run a wire to Terminal #30 on the relay.
Now you will need to find a 12 volt ignition source to power the relay.
I will leave this up to you as the source I used, can only be used if you
have your radiator fan is running all the time. Run a wire from the 12
volt source you have found to Terminal #85 on the relay. Next you will
need to ground the relay. To do this run some of the thinner 18 gauge wire
from Terminal #86 to a ground.
Now
run some of the thicker 14 gauge wire from terminal #87 to the positive
side of the fan connector. Make sure you hook up the fan wires the correct
way, otherwise the blades will spin in the wrong direction causing the
fan to pull air form the bottom of the intercooler, instead of pushing
air through it, which wouldn't be very good. Now place a 30 amp fuse in
the fuse holder, put the fuse box back together, put the brackets back
on the fuse box, and attach it back to the battery holder, and put the
negative cable back on the negative terminal of the battery. Now you are
ready to test if the fan works when the ignition is switched on. Switch
on the ignition and watch your new intercooler fan at work. A simple test
to see if the fan is spinning the right direction is to place your hand
under the intercooler and feel if any air is coming through.