304 Fan

My 74 CJ5 has a factory 304 in it. I have been thinking about adding a radiator fan shroud and a fan clutch to it in order to keep tall brush and deep water from getting to the fan. My fan is a 4 blade fan. Most parts directories show that a 304 should have a 6 blade fan. Anyone else have a 4 blade fan on their 304? Any comments about adding fan clutch? TIA.

 

Have a six blade and clutch on my 74 far as I can tell it came that way. Made my own shroud out of fiberglass. Jp magazine had an excellent tutorial a few years back. They did theirs the same way I made mine ( the Jeep wasn’t my first).

 

4 bladed fan plus a spacer is original, without the heavy duty cooling (HDC) option. With HDC has a 7-blade fan, fan clutch and shroud. This is according to the factory Jeep '74-80 parts book.

You might be able to find those parts either used or aftermarket. IIRC the shroud and clutch are available new, and the correct fan can likely be sourced used. This won't help with deep water - you'll still need to disconnect the fan belt. An electric fan that you can shut off with a switch on the dash is the usual remedy.

 

Thanks!

 

I found out an electric fan works the best and makes it very roomy under the hood

 

Get a fan out of a ford contour or mercury mystique. It is a dual fan with lots of pulling power and fits a cj rad to a tee. Just make sure you pull the fuse holder for it as it is a higher amp fuse. I cannot quite remember what years. Google it and you will get all the info.

 

100% on this mod, have run one on my 360 for 6 years without ever an issue. Agree on the fuseholder as it will draw around 40amps on start up. Also ensure you run through a heavy duty relay and size your cable correctly

 

Never had alternator problem ?

I had to upgrade the alternator for a cs144 to make sure i dont draw the battery

 

I'm not running a standard alternator, it's a Jap aftermarket one i made fit so use to higher amp circuits

 

good to know

 

I also did the Ford Contour fan for awhile. It worked great until one of the fans flaked out on me during a road trip. I limped home since only one fan was working, at least I had that. Had to keep stopping to let the Jeep cool down. That's the only drawback of exclusively electrical and using older vehicle fans. I went back to mechanical for that reason.

I would think that your fan clutch would allow slippage if you hit deep water though. I've had my Jeep in water past the alternator (in a 360) and haven't had a problem.