Fan shroud 81 F100 300 six

[Gary Lewis]

Brother came in late last night.

I only 1 of the shrouds showed so far, tracking said the 2nd should be here to day so we will see.

I have not tried the one I have to see how it fits yet. Heck I have not even pulled the radiator out of the box yet.

I have all kind of notes of sizes of radiators & shrouds for the years and wouldn't you know the dog ate it!

So I am going to try the new shroud on the old radiator (brass / copper) just to see how it fits, then see what is needed to fit the new radiator (alum / plastic) so stay tuned.

I did ask my brother on plastic welding and he said he has a welder, same type I am looking at, but he has not used it yet.

He did say you should make sure you use the right plastic rod to weld with or could lead to issues just like any welding.

Dave ----

The dog ate your homework!?!?!

As you get an understanding of what shrouds fit what radiators, perhaps we could capture the info?

[FuzzFace2]

The dog ate your homework!?!?!

As you get an understanding of what shrouds fit what radiators, perhaps we could capture the info?

We have success!

1981 F100 w/4.9 300 six and factory AC.

Parts used:

Rock Auto

Radiator SPECTRA PREMIUM CU558 27-1/2" Core Length w/ Air Conditioning or Heavy Duty Cooling

AC condenser APDI/PRO 7013605 With Factory AC

NPD

Radiator Shroud Fan Shroud Repro F5TZ-8146-C #F-8146-18 FOR 1995-1996 Ford Truck

So I first tried the new shroud on the truck with the old radiator and for the most part it looked like it would work as the fan opening and mounting tabs were in the right places but.....

I then pulled the old radiator and tried the shroud on it to see how it would mount and found the shroud did not fit close to the core.

Then tried it on the new radiator with the same results.

My brother that was helping said to trim the lip on either side of the shroud so it would fit past the tanks on the sides.

Well that was the ticket as it now sit close to the core and was then able to use all the stock factory mounting points. Sorry I did not get a picture of this not in the truck.

Here it is installed, I had to tweak the upper radiator mounts a little as the tanks were a little wider but the bottom mounts fit fine.

Now before doing the radiator & shroud I installed the AC condenser.

After reading many posts on the new ones not fitting and trying to get a Ford factory one was even harder I sucked it up and got what I could.

The 2 posts I seen on making it fit was to re-bend the mounting brackets or space it out at the bottom to clear the radiator support.

I went the easy way, space the bottom out. I also had to space the center grille support out a little to clear it but all looks good.

I still need to get longer bolts yet but it should work just fine.

I did the paper pull test on the condenser at idle and it held tight and you can feel the air flow.

If I find air is not being pulled thru the condenser I will use foam pipe insulation to fill the gap as needed.

Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

We have success!

1981 F100 w/4.9 300 six and factory AC.

Parts used:

Rock Auto

Radiator SPECTRA PREMIUM CU558 27-1/2" Core Length w/ Air Conditioning or Heavy Duty Cooling

AC condenser APDI/PRO 7013605 With Factory AC

NPD

Radiator Shroud Fan Shroud Repro F5TZ-8146-C #F-8146-18 FOR 1995-1996 Ford Truck

So I first tried the new shroud on the truck with the old radiator and for the most part it looked like it would work as the fan opening and mounting tabs were in the right places but.....

I then pulled the old radiator and tried the shroud on it to see how it would mount and found the shroud did not fit close to the core.

Then tried it on the new radiator with the same results.

My brother that was helping said to trim the lip on either side of the shroud so it would fit past the tanks on the sides.

Well that was the ticket as it now sit close to the core and was then able to use all the stock factory mounting points. Sorry I did not get a picture of this not in the truck.

Here it is installed, I had to tweak the upper radiator mounts a little as the tanks were a little wider but the bottom mounts fit fine.

Now before doing the radiator & shroud I installed the AC condenser.

After reading many posts on the new ones not fitting and trying to get a Ford factory one was even harder I sucked it up and got what I could.

The 2 posts I seen on making it fit was to re-bend the mounting brackets or space it out at the bottom to clear the radiator support.

I went the easy way, space the bottom out. I also had to space the center grille support out a little to clear it but all looks good.

I still need to get longer bolts yet but it should work just fine.

I did the paper pull test on the condenser at idle and it held tight and you can feel the air flow.

If I find air is not being pulled thru the condenser I will use foam pipe insulation to fill the gap as needed.

Dave ----

Congrat's!!! Not only does it look good, but it should work quite well.

And thanks for the details on the part numbers. It should be easy for someone to follow in your steps.

[FuzzFace2]

Congrat's!!! Not only does it look good, but it should work quite well.

And thanks for the details on the part numbers. It should be easy for someone to follow in your steps.

It does work well on the test I did both a paper to the condenser, it held there and I placed my hand in the center of the condenser and I felt air flow so thinking all is good now.

I was pretty surprised it went together so well and easy.

I was sure I would have to cut both of the $15.50 shrouds up to make 1 to fit / work.

I had to look up who I got the parts from and the numbers as I knew down the road some one would ask and the gray matter just does not hold all that information in as it once did LOL

I hope it will help others.

Dave ----