2004 fan clutch

[ppodpearson]

Been out of the loop for years. Rejoined, of course with a problem. Trying to find an OEM fan clutch for my 04 with 150,000 miles, p/n 52028879AF. Appears to be none available. The few dealers I contacted say backordered from manufacturer, maybe discontinued. Online sources say the same thing. Anybody got a good source? Dave

 

[Prairie Dog]

My buddy just replaced the one on his 06. He had a heck of a time finding one locally but finally got one a customer had ordered but had failed to show up for several appt's to put it in. Dealer sold it to my buddy and said flakey customer can wait for another!
Otherwise, the dealer was saying it would be 4~6 weeks before he could get another.

 

[Wayne M.]

FCA had better get their parts act together!!
Whatever you do, don’t buckle and settle for aftermarket. You’ll be sorry.
I got mine form an Amazon supplier. Does Geno’s have any?

 

[Yo Hoot]

Who makes the factory clutch? You can be sure it can be had in the aftermarket at 60% off. Someone recently said they were quoted 550 for a Mopar clutch.
I just installed a NAPA clutch was 200. So far works perfectly. The original clutch lasted 17 years and only had to replace it because the wire harness got ripped off by the fan. But 17 years a go is a long time. Lot's of things change in design and manufacturing.

 

[sag2]

If you do a search you will find many folks ended up disappointed with an aftermarket cutch and ordered the OEM clutch.

 

[Ozymandias]

If you do a search you will find many folks ended up disappointed with an aftermarket cutch and ordered the OEM clutch.

If it is available sure, but it seems from what I read above that for the 305 Engine it isn't available from Mopar anymore, that's a shame.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Again.. who makes the OEM clutch and what aftermarket clutch would be the same unit. Or does Mopar have theirs made to specific specifications by the same manufacturer that sells aftermarket units that are slightly different? Does Mopar have some patent for their specs that make it better? Not sure anyone here can answer that. When you say read what others have tried, that's a pretty broad analogy. Which ones did they use. I've always had good luck with NAPA and here I decided I wasn't going to buy the lowest price unit I could find so I went with the $200 NAPA unit.

 

[VFabricius]

This is a very important thread and I'm dead in the water until I find a solution. Currently, I've ordered the "work around" which is a 7.3 Ford diesel manual fan clutch with an adapter from a source my mechanic son ordered from that is also out of stock but promised by 9/9/21. Meanwhile, my truck sits with fan clutch disconnected because it randomly kills the engine when you least expect it. When I disconnect the electric fan clutch at the bottom of the fan shroud, the engine starts immediately. But I assume I can run any distance due to no cooling in traffic - only ambient flow on an interstate.

 

[Yo Hoot]

This is a very important thread and I'm dead in the water until I find a solution. Currently, I've ordered the "work around" which is a 7.3 Ford diesel manual fan clutch with an adapter from a source my mechanic son ordered from that is also out of stock but promised by 9/9/21. Meanwhile, my truck sits with fan clutch disconnected because it randomly kills the engine when you least expect it. When I disconnect the electric fan clutch at the bottom of the fan shroud, the engine starts immediately. But I assume I can run any distance due to no cooling in traffic - only ambient flow on an interstate.

Yes you can run on the highway no problem. If you get in a traffic jam that's when you will be in trouble. I ordered this one and got it no problem shipped right to my house for free in a couple of days. Works fine as far as I can tell. A/C gets cold even at idle in 90+ heat. Temp gauge reads as it should mostly in the middle with very little fluctuation.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/TEM281661

 

[bcbender]

This is the one I put on my 04 (305/555) engine when the original failed, Call Genos, they still show it online.

https://www.genosgarage.com/product/52028879af/fan-clutch

 

[Yo Hoot]

I love Genos. I don't like the FCA imposed pricing on resellers of Dodge Cummins exclusive parts. A couple of years ago when this went down, I was in the middle of having my motor totally rebuilt due to a dropped valve seat. I wanted a Mopar harmonic balancer. I found an OEM for $275 online after getting a price of over $600 from Mopar. Talking on the phone I was told FCA was forcing all resellers to follow their pricing guidelines or they would have to send all of their inventory back to corporate. There is a workaround for some Cummins parts. Many are interchangeable with non-FCA VIN Cummins engines that are used elsewhere. That's where you can get reasonable prices.

So with this fan clutch for example. If the clutch was $195 or $435... what would your choice be? I chose the NAPA one, free shipping and I had a 20% off coupon.

 

[Ozymandias]

I bought an OEM one last year - have seen to many bad reviews of the aftermarket ones to jump the band wagon.

 

[Yo Hoot]

I bought an OEM one last year - have seen to many bad reviews of the aftermarket ones to jump the band wagon.

I bought the aftermarket one that is the same one as the OEM one for half the price...
Just being a smart ass but, does OEM always come from the same supplier after 15-20 years? Need someone with time to burn to obtain a selection of these bad aftermarket units and take a bad OEM unit. Tear them apart and see what the differences are.

 

[Ozymandias]

One never knows.
I had the same experience with P/N switch at the transmission. Bought two aftermarket that failed consecutive and then finally a, compared to, horrible expensive OEM one.
From the outside they looked perfectly identical aside from the part number stamped.
But how they work is a whole different store. The aftermarket one both did bind in use and showing the correct gear was hit it miss - the OEM is smooth as silk and always correct.

 

[sag2]

FYI, FCA has never had a policy of fixed pricing. Dealers are free to price their parts at any profit margin they want.

 

[Tuesdak]

So with this fan clutch for example. If the clutch was $195 or $435... what would your choice be?

After fighting the Dodge A/C design defect screw up I have nauseatingly detailed for the 3rd gens: I would say

The fan clutch I removed did not have a MOPAR part number on it. Dumped the A/C charge 2-3 times a year out the relief valve and finally burned the clutch off the compressor. Some things you can be Frugal on. Some things you are being CHEAP and frankly this is one of them. You can direct your anger at the high FCA price at FCA.

Just remember the cooling system on our RAM trucks is LIGHT-YEARS ahead of the obsolete Spring Thermal system GM used on the Duramax Diesel as long as they could. The Low Bidder EV fan clutch GM used on Trailblazers (starting around same year Cummins RAM pickups got them) was a reliability nightmare. Maybe, just maybe, the higher price is justified for the MOPAR part.

Other than a custom designed aftermarket fan clutch with a calibrated lower set point for a GM 6.5TD ... All aftermarket fan clutches have given me worse performance. Some OEM stuff is bad enough as it is. Then parts stores keep handing me a light duty fan clutch for a rare heavy duty fan option on a V6 1/2 ton ... GM dealer gave me the correct fan clutch and I quit burning them up every month.

 

[Yo Hoot]

FYI, FCA has never had a policy of fixed pricing. Dealers are free to price their parts at any profit margin they want.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Get a load of this. Neighbor has a Ford 6.4 diesel. Uses the same Vistronic clutch.

 

[Yo Hoot]

FYI, FCA has never had a policy of fixed pricing. Dealers are free to price their parts at any profit margin they want.

I think it's about minimum price. Go price a harmonic balancer from a dealer. Like $600. I found one for under 300 before the whip came down. FCA was asking resellers to return inventory... thats a fact. Like 2 years ago. Go price online Cummins, non FCA parts and compare. FCA wants your Vin number to prove its an FCA sourced Cummins. I was told about this from multiple sources. My rebuilder and here