Your motors are being dragged down and you don't even know it! FREE THEM with the SPP fan kit!

[Pat-SoCal]

So, after weeks of trying to find time around the holidays and the restart of school to put in my shiny new SPP electric fan kit (efk), I figured I'd take advantage of the three-day holiday and do my worst. FINALLY, I got rid of that archaic, clutch-driven thing that was stealing my motor's power right in front of my nose (punny, no?). Hell, now I can run 12's with two coils disconnected!

Okay, so for anyone who gives a flying crap about turning your motor into a lean, mean, revin' machine.... below is a little tidbit on how my installation went. Hint: the hardest part was taking off the bumper.

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DISCLAIER:
I'm not responsible for your broken-a$$ car. I will not provide you with a list of materials or tools which you will need to complete the installation of the SPP electric fan kit because if you have a 10mm socket, screw drivers, a pair of dikes (preferably not the LPGA kind), a 1-1/4inch open-end wrench, some metric allen sockets and a #25 and #30 torx sockets... you'll be just fine.


I started by pulling my car into the shop and immediately putting the floor fan on my motor. We've all been there and a hot S4 engine is no fun to work around, not to mention you should not attempt to mess with a hot, pressurized radiator.

After taking out the 6 screw fasteners and 2 torx fasteners, I slid the belly-pan (or tool-catcher, if you will) out from under the car and proceeded to pull the front fascia grills. After removing your fog lights (or clipping the zip ties to the weatherpack in my case) only two, long, allen-head bolts need to be removed before the front bumper can be PULLED off the car.



After YANKING the holy crap out of the front bumper, disconnect the headlight washer hose - the black rubber line on the passenger side which is connected by a T to the two clear, headlight washer lines. Once free from the plastic T, the hose will be puking washer fluid all over the place... I suggest that you plug it before the rubbing alcohol fumes cause asphyxiation(sp?).

Then you'll need to disconnect the power steering cooler (that loop of black, plastic line near the bottom of the AC condenser). The bolt holding the power steering cooler lines and the bottom of the front fan assembly is, like many other nuts and bolts on this car, a 10mm.



Next, remove the black plastic shrouds on both sides of the AC condenser using a small philips-head screwdriver.

The additional removal of the passenger-side intercooler shroud makes ample room to move the AC condenser off to the side. Plus only one philips-head screw holds the shroud in place.







Then you're ready to remove the AC condenser mounts by unscrewing the, yep you guessed it, 10mm bolts. There are two mounts on the upper right and left of the condenser.



The front-mounted fan will be free with the removal of the AC condenser mounts so, peel it off to the side/bottom next to the power steering cooler line.

Now, simpply by lifting the condenser out of the bottom mounts, it is free to get peeled out of the way to make the radiator accessible.



Disconnect the lower radiator hose (on the bottom, passenger side of the radiator) by removing the "funky" C-clip with a small, flat-bladed screwdriver and pulling the hose back. *Tip: have a small bucket ready to catch the radiator fluid which will come cascading down all over you. (sorry, no picture of that one)

Disconnect the upper radiator hose using the above method minus the bucket and coolant waterfall.

Only two, round tabs on the upper right and left of the radiator need to be removed with a small, flat-bladed screwdriver before the radiator is ready to be removed. Simpply work the top of the radiator free by pulling towards you, then lift up and out.

What's left is a good view of that worthless, POS that is about to be extinct!



Here's how we get that old piece out:

Four allen screws hold the plastic fan to the clutch.



While sticking any thin, stout instrument into the clutch to keep it from rotating, remove the allen screws and the plastic fan assembly using an allen socket.



Then, get a 1-1/4 inch open-end wrench. While holding the idler pulley with a screwdriver or other such device, loosen the nut which holds the clutch to the pulley with the wrench. *Tip: the nut is reverse-threaded, so righty-loosey, lefty-tighty... or some such nonsense.



Now you're ready to begin the reassembly... congrats, you've passed the academy of "Pulling Sh*t Apart". Unfortunately, we are fresh out of diplomas.

The Supreme Power Parts Electric Fan Kit fits nicely into the existing fan shroud. By drilling pilot holes in the injection-molded plastic, the self-tapping screws which are provided in the kit easily mount the fan to the shroud. Mounting is pretty self-explanatory so just fiddle with the placement before turning your shroud into Swiss cheese with your shiny new drill and bit set. I implemented the use of zip ties to hold the fan forward in the shroud. The idler pulley is about half an inch from the rear of the efk in my car and I didn't want the air pressure from a 150mph romp pressing my efk into my pulley. If that were the case, I think the old mechanical fan would have the last word since its pulley would have effectively "gotten over" on my bitchin' new electric fan.



On a side note: I did all the wiring before replacing the radiator. My thought process being that if for any reason things didn't work the way they were supposed to, everything would be easily accessible. With that being said, I opted to hook my efk up to a manual switch. The idea being that the suggested way of wiring the efk to the auxiliary fan would not be sufficient; whether the fan come on at too high a temperature or while at speed resulting in an ineffective flow of air; since more air would be in front of the radiator than able to move out the back... or that was my thinking, however misleading it may be. So I put a relay behind the firewall and ran a 30amp switch from my dash. If you have any questions about how to go about making your efk manually controlled, I'll be more than happy to write up the directions. Otherwise, splice the power into the auxiliary fan with the included hardware.

When wiring the efk, I made sure to wrap the connector with electrical tape so that it will be protected from the elements and a short.



Once the wiring is complete, test the fan to make sure the mounting hardware is sufficient and that everything is in working order... unless you spliced into the power source from the auxiliary fan. Then replace the radiator and reconnect the hoses. The c-clip for the upper hose is difficult to replace, but Audi put a hole in the plastic frame just big enough for your thumb to fit through and press the c-clip onto the hose.

From this point everything goes back together just like it was taken apart. Then you get your diploma from the university of "Put Sh*t Back Together".

Fill the coolant reservoir with Audi coolant and distilled water (arrowhead or any bottled water is easy to find and the system doesn't take very much). Do the usual regiment of running the car with the heater on for 10 or 15 minutes just as you would if you had done a regular coolant change.

Then you'll be ready to enjoy the freedom of a fan-less motor. No more street-sweeper remarks from your friends, no more hideous sounding noises from under your hood on a hot day. And most importantly, you'll have the coolest car at the street races since your competition will be heat soaking while you're blowing fresh air through the radiator and over your motor.



Have a good time kicking a$$ and taking names

[Nick Gustas]

[Singletrack]

[Mark P]

a 3 position switch that you wire so that it can operate
1.) OEM
2.) Manual override OFF
3.) Manual override ON

[Pat-SoCal]

That's basically what the OEM opperation is, a thermostatically controlled switch... might as well be able to adjust it too. And yes, I'll keep my manual on/off.

Since I didn't know what conditions turn on the Auxiliary fan, I opted to be able to have total control. I like it better that way, because now even when I pull into a gas station (all two times since I've had the fan in), I let the fan run.

I plan on following up with some simple comparisons over the factory manual unit. Such as fuel economy and basic info about the fan (as soon as I can get them).

[Pat-SoCal]

tried to make it easy to understand and not completely dry

[audimods]

1. is OEM, connected to aux fan (since you are drawing another 4-6 amps, i would suggest a separate relay)
2. manual on, taps into existing fan relay circuitry with the trigger to gnd.

[MoBrazen]

[Pat-SoCal]

Power to relay from the battery and switchable power comes from the distribution block under the dash.

[No More B5 S4]