Going back to my ongoing saga of cooling, it all started when I realized my fan clutch and fan were toast. The one I bought was listed as the "heavy duty" or "severe duty" one. Being the rest of the cooling system is brand new, I'm thinking this is overkill now. I'm sure it sucks plenty more air, but it sounds like a jet even when cold, and really robs a ton of power from the engine. I feel it especially now I'm doing ski trips to the local place, and when leaving there is a long steep hill to climb.
I've also noticed that it takes a lot to get it to uncouple. When I was messing around with the issues with the thermostat, I was running down a couple gears to see how the higher pressure through the radiator would affect temps, and I noticed one time the fan finally got quiet (wow was that nice). I realized if I ran at a fairly high RPM for a little while I could get it to finally uncouple (shouldn't need it spinning like nuts at highway speeds anyway). Also, there was zero difference in temp on the ultraguage when coupled or uncoupled.
So, any tips for another "standard duty" or OEM fan clutch? I really don't want to spend $200 at AB on one to test a theory here, but if I found something for less than $100 I'd be happy. I really don't want used either, as it is too hard to tell how old they are and if they are toasted.
I'm actually thinking that running an airplane prop on the front of the truck like I'm doing when moving is taxing the engine even more, and resulting in higher internal temps.

 

Go to the tech section on the DI side and find the fan clutch tech tip.
$50 for a "normal" fan clutch, brand new with lifetime warranty.

 

The D1 and D2 show different fan clutch parts though on all the sites. Even on AB, the D2 is $200 and the D1 is $130. Any idea on the difference? On other sites, I see the D1 listed as "non thermal" and the D2 as "thermal"

 

They use the same water pump, the fan clutch will screw right on.
The depth of the fan clutch is different though between the 2 trucks but I dont know how that will effect anything.
All I can say is to buy one and see how/if it works.
If not you can always return it.

 

curious, did you see any drops in temps with the hd fan clutch? id happily put up with some noise if it ment a few degrees to play with.

 

You'll notice some temp drop in summer, a little more if you use an oversize fan. About 6 - 10 on my D1 when it is 100 F out. The $50 Chevy one in the tech write up is very close to the D1 stock performance. You want the non-AC version (6 inch) , the AC version is 7 inch diameter.