Installing electric fans on your Supra can free up horsepower, increase gas mileage and extend the life of your water pump by reducing the parasitic drag and vibrations that the stock mechanical fan causes. It will also allow you easier access to the front of the engine to change things like belts and accessories. Controlling the electric fan with a thermostat allows for more efficient temperature control. The engine will reach operating temperature faster by not having the fans run until they are needed, also the fans will completely shut off when they are not needed, for instance when you are cruising on the highway where there is a sufficient amount of air flowing through the radiator. The thermostat will also allow the fan to run for a few minutes after you park to avoid a heat soak situation that can damage the expensive electronic components underhood.

The Supra's demanding cooling needs make it necessary to select a properly sized fan that will allow for sufficient airflow to properly cool the engine. A fan with an airflow rating of 2500 cfm or greater will properly cool a stock or modified N/A Supra even on the hottest of days as long as the rest of the cooling system is in good shape. If the radiator is also upgraded this should allow for cooling of a Turbo motor as well.

I installed the Flex-A-Lite model 210 dual 12" fan setup in my Supra. I chose this setup because of its compact design, Flex-A-Lite's quality reputation, and the dimensions are a near perfect match for the MK2's radiator and cooling needs.

Install How-To

To make the fans fit properly it is necessary to bend the sides of the radiator outwards on each side slightly. by grabbing the metal tabs near where the frames mount to the tanks of the radiator I was able to twist the pliers and make the frames move outwards very easily. It is necessary to create a 1/2" to 3/4" gap on each side, keep bending the rails slightly and test fit the fans several times until the fans can slide down flush with the surface of the radiator. Here is a picture of one of the frame rails bent out, I have circled the area that I pried out.

The next picture shows how the fans should sit flush with the surface of the radiator.

Now that the frame rails have moved out they will no longer fit all the way back down in the car because of some clearance issues. I test fitted the radiator in the car and marked the radiator frame rails where they needed to be cut. I used a die grinder with a cutoff wheel but this could also be accomplished with a Dremel or other metal cutting tools. Here is a picture of the cuts made on the passenger side.

Here is the radiator and new fans mounted in the car using the stock hardware. You can see how much room there is up there now to work. It was always a nightmare to work on anything up front for me before, but now there's plenty of room and if I have to remove the radiator it all comes out as one piece. It was always such a pain to deal with the stock fan the fan shroud and the radiator, it seemed like there never was enough room to get any one of them out. Now its just 2 hose clamps, 2 bolts and 3 wires and it all comes out as one unit.

The last part of the installation is the thermostat and electrical wiring. I mounted the thermostat control on the drivers side radiator rail. This location is close to the battery to make the wiring easy and also is close enough to the upper radiator hose to allow easy installation of the thermostat temperature probe. Run the 2 power wires included in the kit directly to the battery. Run a ground wire (provided) to the inner fender ground point next to the battery. I installed butt connectors inline of each wire to allow for easy disconnection when there is a need to remove the radiator to work on the engine. Run the copper temperature probe into the upper radiator tank using the gasket installed into the kit to make sure the radiator hose seals properly on the radiator. Then just plug the fans power harness into the thermostat box and everything should be good to go. Here is a picture of the mounting of the thermostat control box.

I also installed an Autometer temperature gauge in my car so I cold keep a close eye on things and make sure that I wasn't over or under cooling the engine. The factory gauge in the dash is not incredibly accurate and will not be of much help to tune the fan turn on temperature the best. For instance I have found that the center of the factory gauge can be anywhere from around 175 degrees to around 225 degrees. I have also circled the temperature probe for the Autometer gauge in the picture above. It is mounted into the engine thermostat housing by removing one of the block off plugs which can easily be removed with an allen key, thread the probe in with some teflon tape and that's it.

IMPORTANT! A note about your charging system

The Flex-A-Lite fans I used in this project draw almost 20 amps when they are running and it is a safe bet that any fan that moves enough air to cool a Supra will draw a decent amount of power so a thorough check of your electrical and charging system is in order. Make sure your battery cables and ends are in good condition and not corroded. Remember electricity needs a good circuit to flow efficiently and safely so the ground wires are just as important as the positive leads. Make sure you have a good strong battery and alternator that are up to the task as well. I use an Optima Red battery and a stock 60 amp alternator and everything works fine. If you want to have a little more headroom or have a-lot of other electrical additions to your Supra such as stereo equipment an alternator from any 7M motor Cressida or Supra with an automatic transmission will provide 80 amps, the manual transmission models of the 7M provide 70 amps. You will also need a new 5 rib alternator belt to match the 7M alternator pulley, or have your stock 5M pulley machined to fit on the 7M alternator.

Any questions or comments should be adressed to wjh@ufl.edu