fan direction...I think I am over-thinking it...

[mater69]

So I am debating removing my electric fan and going back to a clutch-style belt driven fan because my electric fan is way too loud...

So I am looking under the hood and see that my water pump spins "clockwise" when I am looking at the front of the motor.

I bought a used water pump, pulley, fan and clutch assembly from an early 80s model 350, but it is set up to run counter-clockwise...so if I spin it clockwise, the fan will push instead of pull air through my radiator. So I just figured I would unbolt the fan from the clutch and just flip it over right? Wrong, it turns out that it is the same air flow direction on both sides. So,

I looked up some fans and they all said "standard rotation"-does this mean clockwise?

And I looked up the fan clutches too and they said they were all clockwise, so my question is....is it clockwise when looking at the front of the motor, or clockwise when sitting in the driver seat looking forward?? I think I just busted a blood vessel in my head...

[leftybass209]

The clockwise stuff only has any bearing in relation to a serpentine pulley system in which you could get a reverse rotation (counterclockwise) water pump. Is the 80's water pump you have clockwise or counterclockwise? that's what you need to figure out. Also I got "about 1,120,000 results (0.38 seconds)" when I looked up videos for small block chevy start up, just in case you wanted to visually see which way a fan spins

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by mater69

So I am debating removing my electric fan and going back to a clutch-style belt driven fan because my electric fan is way too loud...

So I am looking under the hood and see that my water pump spins "clockwise" when I am looking at the front of the motor.

I bought a used water pump, pulley, fan and clutch assembly from an early 80s model 350, but it is set up to run counter-clockwise...so if I spin it clockwise, the fan will push instead of pull air through my radiator. So I just figured I would unbolt the fan from the clutch and just flip it over right? Wrong, it turns out that it is the same air flow direction on both sides. So,

I looked up some fans and they all said "standard rotation"-does this mean clockwise?

And I looked up the fan clutches too and they said they were all clockwise, so my question is....is it clockwise when looking at the front of the motor, or clockwise when sitting in the driver seat looking forward?? I think I just busted a blood vessel in my head...

All Gen 1 350's were clockwise rotation engines at the crankshaft, except rare marine exceptions for twin engine boats that had one clockwise and one counter-clockwise to torque the boat evenly.

Chevy trucks with 350's were all clockwise water pumps until 1987, 1988 and up are serpentine, standing in front of the vehicle looking at the front of the motor.

The routing of the single serpentine belt causes the water pump and fan to turn counter-clockwise. Everything that runs on the ribbed side of the belt turns clockwise, everything that runs on the smooth side of the belt runs counter-clockwise. See pic. This is a nice set-up but if you want to keep it simple get the v belt setup. If you have the full serpentine set-up, search for the thread by kaptain kadian for a full run-down of what to expect using the serpentine set-up from 88-95 350.

[mater69]

thanks for the pic, that's the water pump setup I bought(ccw water pump)...oops! now to find a pump and fan the spins cw...

[Lee H]

My 72 has a serp system like pictured above, installed it about 10 years ago. I switched from electric fans to the stock serp clutch fan set up. It's easy, I bought heavy duty clutch for a 1992 k1500, and an 18 inch fan from Derale (to fit the stock shroud).

I had nothing but trouble with the dual LT1 fans, multiple bad relays, home built and name brand controllers, burnt up fan motors, noise, etc. I could never muster the confidance to have a worry free trip. Now all's good.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by mater69

thanks for the pic, that's the water pump setup I bought(ccw water pump)...oops! now to find a pump and fan the spins cw...

Or get the rest of the parts for the serpentine set-up.

But don't do it until after you read the thread by Kaptain Kadian and know what you are getting into.

I hope you didn't throw away your fan shroud, etc.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by mater69

thanks for the pic, that's the water pump setup I bought(ccw water pump)...oops! now to find a pump and fan the spins cw...

Here's a good link to see what you would be getting into on a serpentine conversion.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=643815

Also there are a slew of other articles that will get you where you want to go. The individual search function is down (at least for me) and I was unable to find Kaptain Kadian's article for you but here is a long list of others.

http://www.google.com/custom?domains...D%3A1%3B&hl=en

Hint: Most heads will need drilled/tapped for one hole on the passenger side head. If you have a 305 and drill it, the hole will go through to coolant passage. You can still do it, but you have to carefully tap the hole not too deeply so that the stud you will have to use will only screw in so far and then you need to seal the bolt with silicone or epoxy. I would not hesitate to do it but some people would not want to.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by mater69

thanks for the pic, that's the water pump setup I bought(ccw water pump)...oops! now to find a pump and fan the spins cw...

BTW, this conversion is best if you have a/c, otherwise you have to get a dummy pulley to eliminate a/c.

It's also good if you want to convert from external voltage regulator to internal regulator. There is a cheap kit on the market to go plug and play to the alternator that's on the serp bracket. (less than $30.00)

A/C-delete pulley, Dorman 34152 Rock Auto

Here's a really good magazine article on this.
http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/...ne-belt-drive/

[mater69]

thanks for all the input guys! I am probably gonna hold off until spring when it starts to warm up some. The electric fan still works good and the truck is running so well now I just can't bring myself to start a project on it yet...but....if I do switch it to a serpentine system, that's gonna leave me with a huge amount of space on my driver side fender....hmm, maybe a turbo? That would be neat...

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by mater69

thanks for all the input guys! I am probably gonna hold off until spring when it starts to warm up some. The electric fan still works good and the truck is running so well now I just can't bring myself to start a project on it yet...but....if I do switch it to a serpentine system, that's gonna leave me with a huge amount of space on my driver side fender....hmm, maybe a turbo? That would be neat...

I can imagine the fan/s probably don't kick on much in the cold, but summer is coming.

I'm missing something here. Why would you have more space on the driver side if you went to serpentine?