Altima fan - direct fit?

[Def]

So I pulled an altima fan out of a '95 I think altima at the local yard. I heard it bolted right up to the stock shroud mounting points and just needed minor trimming.

Well, it doesn't. I have an S13 SR Koyo. The trimming didn't take long, but a sturdy mounting solution is eluding me. The bottom pegs don't match the radiator brackets, and the upper mounting holes are about 1/2-3/4" too wide.

Is this normal? I definitely have a fan out of an OBD-1 Altima, as I pulled it myself and it had original fasteners on it that looked untouched.

Pics of other people's mounting solutions. I think I've got the top figured out, but need yo hold the bottom to the core securely.

[SoSideways]

I have always wondered about this myself, which is why I still haven't switched over to them yet, as I do not have the time or money to waste on a set of Altima fans that I cannot use from the first go round.

[WorkInProgressK]

no its not direct, you need to trim it especially where the frame rail sits. Also you have to make the holes on top and the bottom only one of two fits. Basicly I start from the bottom up and trim everything with a hot knife or propane and exacto. For 50$ its worth the buy.

Since it fits so tightly it makes a good shroud in my opinion.

[orion]

Here's a *rough* idea of the trimming needed...



...and if I recall, one of the lower 'peg' mounts fit. Maybe that's for an S14 only...??? Sorry, been a long time since I installed them.

- Brian

[McCoy]

Sounds like it's time to call Captain Ziptie!

[WorkInProgressK]

I am not using any zipties, just some double side tape on the bottom side where the peg doesn't fit (S13, right side on that pic fits, if my memory serves me well).

[CodyAce]

Yea, there has always been a big misconception to 'what fits' that's for sure!

FWIW: 93 to 99 Altimas and A33 Maxima share the same fans

What I did was a bit involved, but nothing difficult. For the two lower holes, I made sure one of the fan 'pegs' went into it, and then slotted the other side for it to sit in it. Not perfect, but for now it worked. I trimmed the sides as pictured above as well.

NOW for the top (which click on the full rez of the pic below), I simply trimmed the upper tabs, elongated the one hole a bit, and redrilled the other. This way I had two bolts securing the top, in the radiator holes. I just used a dremel for most of the work, that plastic doesn't last much to the carbide cutting discs...I was afraid the air die grinder would have cut/broke it so I used the dremel.

FWIW: You will need to cut more plastic if you retain AC as well.

In regard to wiring, I have my passenger side wired to come on full time on LOW speed, and then have the second side wired to come on high speed when the temp probe sees 180 degrees. I use a Derale twin fan controller from Summitt (30ish bucks), works great and easy to install. Also be sure to have a good relay to work both sides of the fan too (as in, one relay for each fan, 2 total).


Full Scale, better to see: http://www.codyace.com/albums/altima_fans/fans_03.jpg

[Def]

I had to hack a pretty good amount off since I have my catch can mounted on the drivers side of the radiator. The trimming waseasy enough, it just seemed like nothing else would fit except 1 upper bolt. I'll mess some more with it and see what I can do.

I was going to do 2 relays, one low speed for both, one for both high speed sides. That way I'd always have at least two fans on low given a failure.

[orion]

What I did was a bit involved, but nothing difficult. For the two lower holes, I made sure one of the fan 'pegs' went into it, and then slotted the other side for it to sit in it. Not perfect, but for now it worked. I trimmed the sides as pictured above as well.

NOW for the top (which click on the full rez of the pic below), I simply trimmed the upper tabs, elongated the one hole a bit, and redrilled the other. This way I had two bolts securing the top, in the radiator holes.

That's exactly what I did...

In regard to wiring, I have my passenger side wired to come on full time on LOW speed, and then have the second side wired to come on high speed when the temp probe sees 180 degrees. I use a Derale twin fan controller from Summitt (30ish bucks), works great and easy to install. Also be sure to have a good relay to work both sides of the fan too (as in, one relay for each fan, 2 total).

I use 4 relays total, so that I have some redundancy.

One relay for HIGH, and one for LOW...on EACH fan.

The passenger side fan I have wired exactly as OEM...ECU controlled - Low on at ~207, high at ~220 (not exact numbers)...and on HIGH with the A/C button pressed. My A/C is removed, but the button still controls the fan (and the high idle switch...nice when I'm sitting on pit row in 98F weather...keeps the coolant moving a little better).

The drivers side fan I have wired to a switched ground....it controls both relays, but the (+) relay switched terminals are separate, as are the power feeds to the relays.

Overkill, but it gives me the warm and fuzzies.

- Brian

[CodyAce]

At the point in time when I installed them, I never even considered tapping into the actual ECU controlled side of things hehe. I just trapped into the compressor power wire and the Derale Controller I have actually had a input for AC setups too hehe.

But I do like that the AC button feature turning it on...maybe I'll switch that just in case, although I've never had much an issue ever overheating with the high side coming on at 180

[WorkInProgressK]

That's exactly what I did...



I use 4 relays total, so that I have some redundancy.

One relay for HIGH, and one for LOW...on EACH fan.

The passenger side fan I have wired exactly as OEM...ECU controlled - Low on at ~207, high at ~220 (not exact numbers)...and on HIGH with the A/C button pressed. My A/C is removed, but the button still controls the fan (and the high idle switch...nice when I'm sitting on pit row in 98F weather...keeps the coolant moving a little better).

The drivers side fan I have wired to a switched ground....it controls both relays, but the (+) relay switched terminals are separate, as are the power feeds to the relays.

Overkill, but it gives me the warm and fuzzies.

- Brian

what are the wires controling this...?

[Rittmeister]

On my S13, I trimmed both sides off completely (easier in/out with the rad hoses still in place). I also trimmed the top off flat, then attached two L-brackets with holes in them to bolt to the stock top mounting points. At the bottom I just put the one peg in the hole that lined up and forgot about it.

I admit I attached the L-brackets to the fan shroud with zipties, but I ran it that way for about three and a half years with zero issues. Never even replaced the ties.

I don't have any good pics handy unfortunately...

[orion]

what are the wires controling this...?

On an S14, the A/C condenser fan is computer controlled...so I used the OEM wiring on the car side...and wired a corresponding S14 plug onto the passenger side Altima fan.

The OEM relays are used...and they are in the underhood fusebox behind the battery.

S13 is different...IIRC, it's a auxillary A/C fan ONLY. I quickly scanned an S13-DOHC FSM and didn't see specifics on it, so...

- Brian

[Epstein]

S13KA will kick on at 220F as well as AC-on. S13SR doesn't have any fan control. S14SR has both high and low like the S14KA that Orion mentioned. The S13KA and S14SR temps can be changed if you have a ROM tune.

I hacked an S13SR ECU to control a single speed fan by modifying the firmware/ROM. It works, but I think the output that I picked (old IAV pin) doesn't have the balls to flip a big relay. I may revisit this one day, or find a high efficiency relay that has less coil draw.

[Rittmeister]

I used an aftermarket standalone fan controller. It read the temp from the stock sensor in the head, and was wired to complete a ground. I hooked it to two relays (one for each fan in the Altima setup), wired in power, and it worked like a charm. It was a Pivot which I don't think is made any more, but I believe HKS makes a similar unit; it mounts in the interior and provides a water temp readout as well as allowing you to decide what temp the fans come on at.