2006 2500HD 6.0L radiator fan, clutch, shroud fit problems

tray.brown1981 · July 9, 2018

Hey GM Fam, so I bought my truck with Flex a Lite electronic fans already installed. This weekend I pulled those and went back with stock fan, clutch, and shroud. The problem I have is the fan is hitting my K&N cold air intake duct. To "fix" this, I had to cut off a couple inches of the duct and tighten it and also had to cut a small area of the fan shroud so it would fit also to be able to use my truck to get to work this morning. However, this duct popped away from the throttle body and the fan was rubbing on it some by the time I got to work. Has anyone else had problems with this or something similar? Not sure if the fan I was sent is too big or what the problem could be. Thanks in advance for any help.

Formulabruce · July 9, 2018

These engines live under 3k RPM's , get the original curved type air intake, use stock box, and toss something different inside the box if you really think it makes a difference.

Supreme Pizza · July 10, 2018

I agree. Return the entire air intake system to OEM. K&N is not useful on these vehicles, and it can even cause problems.

tray.brown1981 · July 11, 2018

Thanks for the replies! I am planning on going back to OEM because just changing to the OEM fan seems to already have made a difference. I did finally figure out the problem why it wasn't fitting though. The previous owner had put in the electronic fans, the CAI, and a throttle body spacer! That spacer pushed the TB out just far enough the fan was hitting! I can find the air box easy enough but finding the duct that goes from the TB to the air box has been somewhat tricky. Going to call my local U Pull It place and see if they have one. Dealer's want $135 just for the duct! Ridiculous!

Again thanks for the replies guys!

txab · July 11, 2018

Throw the TB spacer in the trash. No gains on this application

tray.brown1981 · July 13, 2018

On 7/11/2018 at 1:25 PM, txab said:

Throw the TB spacer in the trash. No gains on this application

Yes sir, that's the plan! Thanks!

phatrabbitzz · July 16, 2018

I just replaced my clutch fan to OEM electric fans w/harness, and finally the AC works properly @ idle again. Haven't heard of someone going back to clutch fan after having electric fans. What difference are you noticing for the better?

Edited July 16, 2018 by phatrabbitzz

tray.brown1981 · July 17, 2018

14 hours ago, phatrabbitzz said:

I just replaced my clutch fan to OEM electric fans w/harness, and finally the AC works properly @ idle again. Haven't heard of someone going back to clutch fan after having electric fans. What difference are you noticing for the better?

I was also having a problem with my AC at idle but with the electric fans. Shop told me it was because the motor was going out on my electric fan, which was true. However, when I went back with the clutch fan, my compressor still wasn't working properly so I went through and looked at the electrical and found that my fuse under the hood has to be inserted a certain way for it to work correctly and now I haven't had a problem with it since. Now to answer your question of what has been better, the answer is nothing. Actually I lost gas mileage to the tune of about 1 mpg since I installed the clutch fan. I was already getting only 12.2 mpg and now I am down to 11.5 mpg. I love this truck but just don't love it for a daily driver personally. I drive 50 miles round trip to work and home and spend $200 - $240 in gas per month depending on gas prices.

If anyone has any gas saving tips, I am open to suggestions.

The only thing that I can think of that's not stock, other than the TB spacer and K&N CAI, is I have bigger tires 285's instead of the stock 245's.