E-fans and CAI 5.4 2v

[kep5niner]

Looking to free up dead weight, and increase the airflow, I’m installing a Volant cold air intake and Flex-o-Lite electric fans on my 5.4 2v. I’ve installed e-fans on several of my trucks over the past 20 years, and the improvement is apparent. I’m also looking forward to getting rid of the OEM intake and opening up the engine bay.

I’ll report back with pics and butt-dyno results.

 

[whtbronco]

Please do, looking forward to info, pics and ye 'ole butt-dyno results. Maybe your experience will help me decide as well.

I have often pondered an electric fan setup. My conundrum, is it worth the potential reduction in drag to eliminate the robust and reliable mechanical setup. I dunno.

I also wonder about our stock intake setup, it really doesn't seem that restrictive to me. It seems like most of the air flow improvement is from the air filter and I abandoned oiled cotton gauze filters such as K&N many years ago.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

I know efans are kind of worth it but won’t have any gains but mpg could improve. CAI is not worth it though. Look up Gotts mod it is all that is worthwhile.

 

[kep5niner]

Worth it.

 

[kep5niner]

The e-fans didn’t work out on the first go. I got the Felx-a-Lite 270, which is for my make, model and year; however, there was a different radiator during the 2003 model year. Through 12/04/03, the downflow radiator is what’s used in the EB. After that date, it’s the crossflow radiator. The Flex-a-Lite 270 only works with the crossflow radiator.

So I’m looking at the model 272 for my application. I’ll have to confirm with Flex-a-Lite if than will work. More to follow.

 

[BigRed2004]

@kep5niner , FF Dynamics has an electrical fan kit for the down flow radiators on the 03-04 Expedition. It’s something that I have been thinking about for the same reasons that you mentioned. But as @whtbronco stated, the mechanical fan is robust and reliable. So that’s been my hold up. I’ve considered just getting an electric fan for the A/C so it can be cold at idle. But having more space to access this engine would be very nice. Best of luck on your journey, look forward to seeing the results and photos. You have made some very good posts about the changes you have made.

That is a nice amount of space you got back with the new intake plenum. It looks weird to me with how smooth that bend is. But we don’t stare at our engine bays all day when driving so I shouldn’t care about that. Did you notice a significant increase in sound from the cabin?

 

[58Daoud]

I have a 2002 ford raptor efan with wire relay comes with 4 core radiator please if interested text me [email protected]

 

[kep5niner]

Thanks for the comments BigRed. I haven’t had the truck on the road yet to see / hear / feel any performance differences. I’m not expecting much, but just getting rid of the stock monstrosity was worth it to me, making the engine bay more user / maintenance friendly.

I did confirm with Flex-a-Lite that they do not have a kit that works for the ‘03 EB with the downflow radiator. I did some quick research on FF Dynamics, sent them a message (no phone number to call), and I’m going to wait for a proof of life from them before I’ll do business. Some mixed reviews on the interwebs.

 

[BigRed2004]

I only came across FF Dynamics when doing research nearly two years ago because I found out about the difficult radiator design for most kits. But I did not do any major research as I was and still am not ready to pull any triggers.

Any information you get will be helpful for future decisions. We look forward to your future posts. I hope it goes well for you as they are not cheap modifications you are making. And it would be unfortunate for you to have to revert back to mechanical if you do make the switch.

 

[kep5niner]

I have a 2002 ford raptor efan with wire relay comes with 4 core radiator please if interested text me [email protected]

2002 Raptor? They don’t exist.

 

[Hamfisted]

Nice choice ....

 

[kep5niner]

Great minds think alike! Add to that Volant’s 15% military discount, and you can’t afford not to do it!

 

[whtbronco]

2002 Raptor? They don’t exist.

That's what I was thinking. Maybe he meant Lightning, that did exist and had a 5.4 so it might fit.

I certainly agree the engine bay looks much cleaner and not having the huge intake would be nice, thankfully it's really quick and easy to remove. I like that aftermarket intake as it appears to have the air cleaner in a housing. I went and found the Volant intake is still for sale and I like it even better after seeing the pics on their website. I found a minor issue, well an issue for me, at $324 I'm not sure the ROI is where it needs to be for me.

One reason I am often opposed to replacing the intake is I don't think the far more common exposed air cleaners are a good idea. Go splashing through deep water puddles and it gets proven real quick. Pulling warm air from the engine bay in the summer is also not such a good idea, in the winter it might actually help a bit around town.

Good luck on the fan search.

 

[Hamfisted]

Yeah, the CAI probably doesn't really do crap for performance. But it's nice to hear that V-8 throttle body when it opens up. I've had it on there for close to twenty years. It never gets old... I'm thinking of supercharging it with my cordless leaf blower !














.

 

[whtbronco]

Ahh what a laugh I got from that. Thanks Hamfisted.

 

[kep5niner]

So they do make a blower for the 2v….been looking for a kit…that’s another thread

 

[kep5niner]

I've done some research for FF Dynamics, and while there are some less than flattering reviews, they seem to be a legit operation. A sticking point I read time and again was their lack of communication, particularly no phone number to call. Reaching out to them via the "contact us" form on their website, I did hear back from FF Dynamics. In the interest of after the sale support, I did request a phone number. This was their response:

"We do everything via the web, this way we can get to questions on our own time, to the appropriate department and handle customers as quickly as possible. The reason we are able to offer hand built systems of this quality, with a warranty that is first class, and have been in business for 20 years and counting, is because we run a small crew and we don't over extend on anything. We are not some large corporation that sells generic low dollar Chinese built systems that has 400 employees, with people answering phones. What we lack in employee numbers, we make up for in top quality product. Almost all questions asked will be replied to within 24 hours, if not the same day (weekends the exception)."

There are forum conversations all over the web dating back almost 20 years involving FF Dynamics. With that, I'll give them my business. They do make a custom kit for the 2003 Expedition with the downflow radiator, and it's actually significantly less expensive than the Flex-a-Lite kit, that turns out is for the crossflow radiator.

Component ID: The crux of the issue between the crossflow and downflow radiators is that the Expedition in model year 2003 was offered with two different radiators for the 5.4, based upon build date. From 12/04/2003 is the crossflow radiator:



Preceding 12/04/2003 is the downflow radiator:


My EB was hatched 02/19/2003, so the downflow radiator applies; thus, the Flex-a-Lite model 270 kit will not work. FF Dynamics is the only game in town for a kit applicable to the 2003 Expedition 5.4 with the downflow radiator. I'll get it ordered up and installed, and see how it goes. I'll be out of town for a couple weeks, so it will be some time next month.

 

[58Daoud]

I now that it was fabricated to fit my expectations

 

[BigRed2004]

I’m glad mentioning FF Dynamics has provided an option you feel is worth your time and money. I’m definitely curious to see how it turns out when you are done. Would you mind calculating the MPG gains to compare before and after?

 

[kep5niner]

I can do this thing you ask of me. Fuel burn has been anywhere between 14.2 MPG and 15.5 MPG. After installing the CAI, I logged 17.0 MPG. That’s all highway miles, but the prevailing winds have a vote when you’re driving a broad side of a barn down the road. Opening up the intake, headers, high-flow cats, and Magnaflow exhaust is about all I can do for airflow (still haven’t found a blower ).

I did order the FF Dynamics fans, and we’ll see how it does when I get them next week. Maybe a tune after this but really, it’s a full size SUV, not a hot rod, but I am having fun.