Well, that certainly sounds like an interesting WINTERTIME experiment. Here in South Texas during the summer, that would be a sure-fire way to end up with no A/C and overheat your engine and ****** inside of about 10 minutes on the interstate.
If the intent is to gather data toward the ultimate aim of replacing the mechanical fan with an electric version, that reduces drag on the engine when not needed, but can still do an adequate job of cooling in high heat situations, then more power to them.
I'd caution that that mechanical fan cools a multitude of items - the engine coolant, which also cools the engine oil and EGR cooler (if still active), the intercooler, and also the air-cooled combination ****** oil cooler and A/C condenser.
Many people, not just in the Jeep community but in the diesel pickup truck community as well, have looked at replacing the mechanical fan with an electric setup over the past few years. From what I've seen, with the aftermarket choices available, they've been hard pressed to find an option that would fit in the space available under the hood, not overtax their electrical system, AND come anywhere close to moving the same amount of air and providing the same level of cooling when it was really needed.
IMO, the best option would be what they use on Class 8 OTR rigs - I worked at a Freightliner assembly plant for 12 years - to control the mechanical fan. They use an air-operated on/off fan clutch. When the coolant temp is below a certain setpoint, the clutch and fan are completely disengaged. When the coolant temp exceeds the setpoint, the clutch engages, and the fan springs to life with essentially a direct mechanical coupling to it's drive pulley.
And FWIW, the 11 bladed nylon V6 mechanical fan is just a smaller version of the same fans they put on the Class 8 rigs.
I have a friend with a 2011 Wrangler Unlimited, with the 3.8 L V6 gasser engine. Minus an intercooler, they have the same setup regards the radiator and air-cooled combination ****** oil cooler and A/C condenser as we do. But, the only fan they have installed is an approx 16" electric fan mounted behind the radiator - no aux electric fan in front at all. He says a common complaint on the forums is people regularly getting the ****** overtemp light - apparently from the lack of airflow thru and capacity of the factory ****** oil cooler/A/C condenser. And that a popular remedy has been to install an aux ****** oil cooler. I've noticed on a few occasions riding with him he keeps the A/C set to the bare minimum necessary to keep it comfortable inside the vehicle to minmize the heat load being pumped to that combination cooler, hopefully to help maximize ****** oil cooling.
For the time being, I'd rather take the 1 to 1.5 mpg hit on fuel economy, and live with a grille blanket or grille blockers on the occasions I do encounter cold weather, to be sure I've got adequate cooling both for the vehicle and myself when it's one of those 102 F August days here in San Antonio.
How long did it take you to fit them?
