My SPAL Fan Install...LOTS of pics

[NacsMXer]

I've been wanting to do this SPAL fan mod on my quad after seeing other members' setups and how great they perform in enhancing the oil cooler's ability to do its job. Thought I would share some step by step pics with you guys of my own install.

The thing that makes this install different, is that i'm fitting the fan to work on a Desert Toyz Supercooler system, instead of the stock oil cooler. I bought this cooler through Desert Toyz ATV a few years ago and it has been a very worthy mod. They advertised it to be approx 3x larger than the stock 5 row cooler, and offer a 50 degree drop in temps. With 13 rows and a much larger overall size, I don't think that claim is very far off. I've received a lot of inquiries from members about this kit, but unfortunatlely Desert Toyz stopped offering the kits due to low demand

I did take some pics of the kit for you guys if you want to custom make your own kit. You could buy the cooler itself (I believe the cooler to be a Setrab part #613 unit), make your own mounting brackets, and have the oil lines made at a hydraulic shop.

DT Supercooler


Fits like a glove




A hair off of 4 inches overall height


2 inches thick



Mounting brackets


Top view...U-bolts and bracket


Bottom


AN fitting on cooler inlet, and oil line


Oil line


Oil pipe (modified stock one?) and compression fitting


AN fitting on cooler return/ 90 degree AN fitting


180 degree return hose


Fitting on tank return

[NacsMXer]

Now for the SPAL fan install!...
Being that the fan is a 4 inch fan, and the oil cooler is a 4 inch height....that presented a problem since the holes in the fan wouldn't be peeking out over/under the oil cooler. Therefore, I needed to devise some type of extension brackets to get the mounting holes in the fan to actually peek out over/under the cooler.

SPAL 4 inch puller


My "extension brackets", and stainless countersunk screws/nylock nuts with which to mount them


Mounting brackets for the front of the cooler (6" mending plates), and stainless screws/nylock nuts


I took the 2" mending plates and cut off the extra length I did not need with a cut off wheel. Then I took an air file and added some bevels for appearance. The line in red marks the material I still needed to take off to get the holes to line up with the fan.


I noticed that the mounting "boss" on the fan was flush with the surface of the fan that would be attaching to the cooler. To prevent metal on metal contact between the cooler and my extension brackets, I shaved the holes in the fan with a dremel so that they were no longer flush.


Extension brackets mounted to fan



I then test fitted the fan to the cooler, marked the upper/lower boundaries of the cooler, and drilled holes in the brackets accordingly. The upper left bracket in the pic needed to be rotated a little different to clear the gas tank shield.

[NacsMXer]

Then I cut some clear PVC hose and wrapped it on the fan's mounting surface to "soft" mount it and prevent chafing (credit to REPOMAN for the idea!)


Here I took the front mounting brackets and drilled random holes to allow for more airflow (didn't have to be pretty). Circled in red are the actual holes I used to mount it.


I then took some more of the clear hose and wrapped the edges of the brackets to prevent chafing.


Added some more hose to the top screws to prevent chafing should the fan drop on the cooler for some reason.

[NacsMXer]

Finally mounted!


Front brackets



Enough pics yet? lol



Extension brackets close, but not touching the cooler, as I had planned




Perfect fit...didn't even have to trim the gas tank heat shield. I lucked out with the upper right bracket, it's close but not touching.

[NacsMXer]

Now for the wiring. I tried to solder as many connections as possible. It was my first time soldering anything so some of the joints weren't that pretty, but they were solid. Here is a micromini toggle I got from Radioshack for $3. Having the fan on a switch is nice.


I wanted the fan to be fused, so I also picked up a fuse holder and installed a 3 amp fuse in it.


Here is my switch harness, almost finished. The switch had tiny solder tabs, so I needed to use tiny 22 gauge wire coming off the switch. The fuse holder unfortunately had rather thick 12 gauge wire leads, so I had to solder them to the 22 gauge coming off the switch...it's a ridiculous transition, but both are plenty capable of handling the 1.9 amps the fan draws. I made sure to add heat shrink to the solder joints at the switch to further reinforce them. I then added insulated bullet connectors (one is missing here), to each end of the harness so that I would be able to remove it with the front plastics.



I then clipped off the connector that comes on the fan harness, and soldered 16 gauge wire to it to extend the harness. I grounded the ground to the frame and installed insulated bullet connectors to my power wires. Red tape for positive power source, yellow tape for fan power wire. I then proceeded to run the power source wire back towards the battery.

[NacsMXer]

Ran the wires carefully down the frame rail. I grounded the ground to the coil bolt circled in red.


Into some wire loom for protection


Then into an existing hole in the airbox


To the positive battery terminal


Figured out a good spot to mount my switch and harness on the front plastics


Done!

[NacsMXer]

First impressions are this thing moves a ton of air! It was kind of a pain doing all these extra steps but it was worth it in the end. I haven't gotten a chance to get an actual ride with it in yet but I was able to let the quad idle for over 10 minutes in one spot without the motor breaking a sweat. I'm eager to see how it performs while i'm tearing it up on a hot summer day. I may get one of those XR's only temp dipsticks to see the actual difference with the fan running and not.

Thanks for reading!

[bigredisb]

Great information! Thanks!

[Newrider08]

VERY GOOD WRITE UP

You should stick this guys

[sc400ex_rider]

looks sweet, what kind of scoops are those?