I'm curious as to how much/often the new clutch runs...they usually have some break-in time and run more often when new..(been my experience with other cars anyway)...Keep us informed.

 

I'll be happy to report back with what I find out. How much time do you consider to be a break in period?

This is my daily driver and it gets a good mix of highway and local miles in the Atlanta area. My old one piece fan is still working as far as I can tell but with the water pump change out tonight it would be the only part of the cooling system that hasn't been replaced so I thought I'd be proactive.

A two piece unit for under $50 seemed about $200 better than the one piece fan in my book!

 

The last couple non OEM fan clutches I replaced, one was on a class A motorhome, the other an Isuzu Rodeo. They both seemed to engage prematurely at odd times until I got some miles on them, then they worked like they were supposed to, the motorhome now only engages at cold start and when climbing a hill, and the rodeo was similar (sold the Rodeo last Fall). At first install they both came on when just driving down a city street sometimes and it bummed me out thinking I may have bought a too low temp sensitive units, but after a 100 miles or so they both worked out good...That why I asked, because the Auto Zoner's are obviously not OEM.

 

Well this one is the Hayden Automotive 2781 Premium Fan Clutch attached to the Dorman fan mentioned earlier. I got it as an open box special off of Amazon for $20.71 and free shipping. The fan was twenty something from a local Autozone. Hard to beat that kind of pricing.

I'm averaging about 80 miles a day in my travels so I'll report back after a week or so and let you know how it compares.

 

Just an update. It's been a week with the new fan/clutch combo and I must say it runs no different for me than the original one piece unit that came with my 04. No extra noise (which I worried about) and I can't tell if it runs any more or less than the original one did.

I am super pleased that I was able to source the two pieces for under $50 as compared to the one piece being over $200. Found the clutch on Amazon and scored a deal on an open package and got the fan locally.

Running the same 188.6 temp on the highways as before and as that was the only original piece of my cooling system I'm glad to have it updated with something a little newer than 2004!

 

the difference between the 2781 & 2991 is the 2781 is "heavy duty and 2991 is "severe duty?"

 

As far as I can tell, that's the difference that shows up on Amazon. I can't comment on the 2991 but the 2781 has the same noise level and runs the same amount as the factory one piece fan that came stock on my 2004.

I've heard that they can be more noisy than stock units, maybe it's the 2991 that generates more noise.

 

Has anyone drilled their fan clutch down south like they do in the desert? Just curious and not trying to take away from the op

 

What outside air temps are you in at 188.6? Best i have seen with the chevy fan clutch combo is about 203 no ac at 55 mph. New radiator also.

 

I'm in Atlanta and the temps have been anywhere from the 30's to the 70's over the last week and 188.6 is where my Ultragauge stays when I'm moving. The temps climb a bit when I'm sitting at a light or moving slowly in stop & go traffic but rarely get above the mid 190's unless it's hot and I have the a/c blowing.

I've got a new radiator, new hoses & expansion tank, new water pump and I'm running the LR 180 radiator. Also running Zerex G-05 as coolant.

I've been tempted by the inline mod but I think a clean radiator and a quality 180 t-stat will get you the same temps for what the kind of driving I do.