'97 K1500 Suburban Fan Clutch Comparison

[df2x4]

So for a few years now my A/C in the Suburban has worked OK, but it warms up a little when the truck is sitting idle in traffic or at a stop light. I recently came to the realization that when my cooling fan clutch failed a few years back I replaced it with the wrong one. My Suburban came from the factory with the 11 blade composite fan and severe duty clutch, and I replaced the clutch with a standard duty one. I think going back to a severe duty clutch will help me out. Which brings me to my question...

ACDelco 15-4672 ($115)
https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-15-4672-Original-Equipment-Cooling/dp/B000C9C6RO

OR

Hayden 2786 ($40)
https://www.amazon.com/Hayden-Automotive-2786-Premium-Clutch/dp/B000C3DD5E

Normally I buy GM/ACDelco parts whenever possible, but in this case I'm curious if there's any point in paying literally almost three times the money. I know Hayden makes good quality clutches, I run one on my Monte Carlo. Just curious to see what everyone thinks before I order one.

 

[98 Nitro]

First check ebay to see if anyone is selling a NOS one that was US/Canadaian made and if not try the Hayden one.

 

[east302]

Those look like different parts. The Hayden 2786 looks to be the same as Delco 15-40111 (which are the 6.4” diameter versions) where the Delco 15-4672 is the larger 7.28” one used with RPO code Z82.

For what it’s worth, Hayden and Four Seasons appear to use the same photo for their parts on RockAuto, implying that it’s all just badge engineering.

I agree with Nitro above. Some of the smaller Delco ones appear to have been made in the U.S. based on google image searches.

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[df2x4]

First check ebay to see if anyone is selling a NOS one that was US/Canadaian made and if not try the Hayden one.

Good call, I did check but unfortunately no eBay deals currently for the ACDelco part.

Those look like different parts. The Hayden 2786 looks to be the same as Delco 15-40111 (which are the 6.4” diameter versions) where the Delco 15-4672 is the larger 7.28” one used with RPO code Z82.

I wondered about that... They did look like different case sizes/designs in the pictures. But the 2786 is the only severe duty clutch Hayden lists for my application. Maybe paying up for OEM is the way to go here, as usual.

For what it’s worth, Hayden and Four Seasons appear to use the same photo for their parts on RockAuto, implying that it’s all just badge engineering.

Hayden and Four Seasons are both owned by Standard Motor Products, so that doesn't surprise me at all. I wish there was an easy way to handle and compare parts in person so you could see what's obviously identical, but most parts stores (at least in my area) never carry a good enough selection of higher end parts.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

My Burb has the heavy duty fan clutch and the plastic 11 blade fan. Could have been part of the towing package, not sure. The clutch looked pretty freshly replaced when I had everything apart to replace the water pump last year. Maybe that and the LBJs are all the previous owner changed....
If you could actually look at the Hayden clutch and see that it's really the severe duty type, that's what I would go with. Back in the day, Hayden was a good brand; we sold a lot of them in our store. Always used the heavy duty clutch on our pickups, which were used as parts delivery vehicles in addition to personal use. They stood up well in gulf coast heat, humidity and traffic.
That's the downside of buying online; you have to trust the pictures and descriptions are of what you want and will get....

 

[Schurkey]

Hayden probably makes the clutch sold by ACDelco, it's just a matter of finding the correct part number in the Hayden catalog to compare to the Delco version. You'd have to have both in your hand to compare. It's not like Delco is going to admit that they're nothing but a reboxer.

 

[df2x4]

Hayden probably makes the clutch sold by ACDelco, it's just a matter of finding the correct part number in the Hayden catalog to compare to the Delco version. You'd have to have both in your hand to compare. It's not like Delco is going to admit that they're nothing but a reboxer.

I know Hayden does make some (not all) of the clutches for ACDelco. But like I mentioned earlier, the 2786 is the only severe duty clutch (or for that matter anything above a standard duty) that they list in their catalog for my Suburban. Maybe they managed to get the same performance of the ACDelco 15-4672 out of the smaller case design but I couldn't say for sure. Which brings me to the next concern, even if I did manage to find something with the same case size as the ACDelco in the Hayden catalog is there any guarantee that it would have the same performance characteristics/behavior as the ACDelco? And while I agree that ACDelco reboxes the vast majority of their parts, I do believe that they have better quality control than most other options in many cases.

I appreciate the input from everyone but I think I'm leaning towards paying up for the ACDelco. My A/C worked flawlessly when I had one of them on the 'burb years ago, it's hard to argue with known results.

 

[alpinecrick]

My 96 and 97 came with the 5 blade metal fan and I assume the heavy duty clutch. On my 96 last year I installed the later composite fan (ACDELCO 1580739) and Hayden severe duty clutch (HAYDEN 2786). It roars like a 747 on takeoff. Plus the composite fan was out of balance--felt like I had a miss at idle. Removed the composite fan, put the original fan back on and the "miss" went away and it slightly reduced the roar. I have a GPD 2911283 clutch sitting in the shop, and am going to install that to see if the roar goes away. The truck never roared like that before. I should have returned the fan to RA and tried another one but never got around to it........

 

[df2x4]

I'd actually read in a few other places that the Hayden severe dutys were really loud. Looks like the 2786 is no exception. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[98 Nitro]

I just took my fan blade off to replace my water pump, clutch should probably be replaced too. The 1a auto one says severe duty and is $75, in between the Hayden and Delco in price, and gets good reviews. I bought lights and door handles from them they were made in Taiwan and good quality, makes me think I might try their fan clutch too.