I have been trying to nail down a cooling problem and it looks like its the fan clutch. I have read some debate here about OEM vs. aftermarket on these and the dealer wont/can't help me with anything that doesn't belong on my truck.

I have an '03 1500 4.7 and I would like to go with a severe duty fan clutch which has a larger working area to dissipate more heat compared to the heavy duty, which basically means that it does the same job as the heavy but will last longer.

Unfortunately my truck came with a standard duty which means the pitch on the blades is less then 2.5, so my blades are not exactly compatible with the clutch due to the difference in resistance between the two clutches.

So couple of questions, how bad of an incompatibility do you think this would be? Should I just get myself a standard duty & forget it?

Do you know where I can find/pick up a set of HD blades? It seems likes its a hard part to find, none of the major auto stores even have SD replacement blades, same thing with some of the specialty shops.

If worse comes to worse and I need to hit the junk yard what could I pick it off of? Just about any dodge truck w/an HD placard?

I tow a old school 24' fiberglass boat ever so often & it would be a nice upgrade I think. Any other thoughts?

Just had a thought maybe someone has a VIN for a truck that has HD blades on it I could use

 

Either replace it with an OEM fan clutch or do like most of us and replace it with an electric fan

Welcome to the site BTW

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What Weed said. The longer I have my e-fan, the more impressed I am. I've watched it pull the temp gauge down from 1/2 to below that just sitting at a light in the broiling Florida sun.

 

I'd say if the std duty worked for 8 yrs, a new std duty should do the trick.

 

What weed said, besides the better cooling effect, you'll have a few more ponies for pulling the OLD SCHOOL fiberglass boat, and when you're not pulling the boat, a little better gas mileage