SpyderD

Why do 81's (and '82's I am guessing) come with another radiator fan attached to the radiator in addition to the mechanical clutch fan?

I have to say I never noticed it before and I initially thought it was an aftermarket electric fan that the previous owner put on until I looked at the '81 assembly guide and noticed it was stock. The wires to the fan head up to the dash electronics, ignition area.

Twin_Turbo

It's wired to the (high) coolant temp switch in the pass side head.

SpyderD

OK I've seen that sensor, always wondered what it was for.

Now why would GM think it was needed for '81 cars and not earlier cars I wonder?

Twin_Turbo

that's like asking:

Why did GM put the fusebox where it is
Why did GM put the ECM behind the battery on 82's where it's most likely to fail when the battery leaks
Why.....

Maybe there were people having overheating problems on 80s due to the new front and this is how they tried to solve it

SpyderD

ohhhkay, I guess I have to be more specific:

1.) Has anyone removed the auxillary fan without no impact to cooling? Is it a redundant part if, say, no a/c and condensor is in place?

2.) Has anyone removed the mechanical fan and used, with some modification, the auxillary fan as the primary radiator cooling source (I am sure you would have to wire the fan up to the thermostat or different power source).

Twin_Turbo

I had my A/C removed also and mine never turned on, I think the switch is supposed to engage it at 220degrees.

It's too small to act as primary fan though. If you remove it go to a puller fan. I used a C4 fan in my stock shroud and never had cooling problems

Ganey

It should not be needed w/ a/c removed. Not a primary fan.

john V. zemba

my 78 was having problems with the air conditioner and after reading up on air conditioning on the newer corvettes they recomended to put an auxillary like the 80 to bring more air through the cores