My fan clutch has been bad since I bought this truck about a year ago. The fan roars occasionally. I recently had my water pump go bad and replaced it. I noticed in the instructions it stated that I had to replace the fan clutch at the same time or it voids the warranty. Would a bad fan clutch cause my water pump to go bad? Anyway I found this one at Auto Zone

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...3741_249742_0_

for 49.99 instead of the 150.00 at my dodge dealer that I can not afford. Sounds like a pretty easy job

 

Yes a bad fan clutch can mess up the water pump, the fan clutch rides on the pump pulley which is a basic lever. If the clutch has a wobble it can start wearing down the water pump bearings and give it the wobble. Then the pump needs to be replaced again.

Aftermarket clutches always act up they like to stay engaged for LONG periods of time wich will cost you HP and MPG. Get OEM Mopar, it will work properly.

Here is a great thread on the cheap aftermarket fan cluch to OEM (Mopar) fan clutches which is far superior.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...with-pics.html

Getting the large nut off is the only hard part. Here is good tips on the removal of it.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1814768-post2.html

 

Here is my opinion on it. I would say do not use any aftermarket fan clutch. It is best to bite the bullet and get an OEM fan clutch from a Dodge dealer or an online Mopar parts site. Or you can do like I did and get a used fan clutch from a junk yard.

When my own original fan clutch went bad I bought that same Auto Zone fan clutch you have pictured in your post. It was OK until the weather got warm again, then it howled like a banshee every single time I started my truck, and it would engage and howl real bad if I sat at a red light or drive thru window longer than half a minute. And it would take about a solid mile of me gunning the throttle and driving hard to get the thing to let go and get quiet again. I returned that fan clutch to Auto Zone and the manager was very good about it, gave me a ful refund in cash even though the part was over 30 days old. That was when I bought the junk yard fan clutch. It did OK for over a year. I replaced my water pump back in February and still kept using that junk yard fan clutch. Then it finally went bad this past July. I bought a Mopar clutch at the Dodge dealer for $120.00 and it works great. No abnormal noise, does not engage after I sit idling or make my truck lose power or run bad, and my truck has no temperature related problems, runs cool like it is supposed to. I have a long post about my fan clutch problem here:

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...with-pics.html

If you Google "aftermarket fan clutch problems" you will see that a lot of others have had problems with aftermarket fan clutches too. There are some parts you just have to use new OEM or junk yard OEM if you have to just to get by for a while. I learned that the hard way.

I say use the Mopar fan clutch. You will be happy that you did. If a Mopar fan clutch is not in your budget, maybe try to find one online for less or ask the dealer for a lower price. Just my 2 cents.

Jimmy

 

Just throwing this out there; when I replaced mine; I found the best deal at Advanced Auto parts...

But I just cant stand the Fan Clutch at all. I want an electric.

 

I got my replacement from Rock Auto earlier this year. It was extremely easy to replace, but I did have to remove the fan shroud since the new fan clutch was "HD", so it was a little bigger. It's been fine since.

 

If you have a transmission cooler, dont tow much, or dont get stuck in stand still traffic much then just get rid of it. I took mine off completely and has been like that for a year now and I haven't had a single problem. Given I still keep my fan/clutch in the back of my durango just in case I do need it, it really frees up the engine. Faster revs, and maybe 1mpg gain.

 

Just do yourself a favor and get a electric fan.

 

where can I find an electric fan at?

 

There is tons of threads about it. You can get a chevy hhr fan or a ford taurus fan.

 

here is my confusion. If my fan clutch was bad why would it only roar (sometimes not all the time) only when I am on the gas. Would the fan clutch engage and disengage at any time. Wouldnt it roar while sitting at a red light?