The Threaded fan clutch takes a special removal tool to remove it properly.

Ford Tool#: T84T-6312-C

Autozone rents or lets people borrow tools, and may have one of these for your truck.

 

I don't take my vehicles to other mechanics BECAUSE of the shoddy work I've witnessed being performed over the years. I can only recommend three mechanics in my city of 60K because of it. And I still do my own work, because I do a better job, period. I take my vehicles in only until I can learn to do the work myself. People dig at mechanics for a reason.
I'd wager that most of us here would go away shaking our heads (and some of us have) if we could spend a day in some of the shops in our cities.
But it's unfair to pick on just auto OR refrigeration mechanics, because every trade has its turds. The trick is to find one who isn't and cultivate a friendship with them.
I have no doubt, though, that you're the kind of refrigeration mechanic I'd want to have do my work.

 

I disagree. FoMoCo put the clutch fan on for a reason; they wouldn't have spent a nickel more to build the truck than they had to.
A clutch fan will help you get a bit better mileage and will be less noisy at speed, and to convert over to the flex fan you'll have to install a water pump from an older model pickup, since the one for your truck has a threaded on boss for the fan clutch.
But with all respect to sparky, I can certainly understand why he'd suggest the swap. I just wouldn't do it personally, because I don't agree that it will be better. That's MY opinion, with heavy emphasis on opinion.

 

I agree...

A Flex fan is a downgrade to the cooling system.

A flex fan by design flexes the blades flat at high RPMs, reducing drag, but pulling in less air the faster it turns. This is detrimental at slow speeds climbing hills at higher RPMs.

A Clutch fan cools the same at slower RPMs as it does at higher RPMs, and does not flex flat the faster it goes. Not only does this save fuel, it cools better than a flex fan. A thermostatic Fan Clutch cools even more because as the temperature rises, the clutch engages more untill the fan is full on. Pulling the most air at RPMs. Something a flex fan cannot do.

This is why a clutch fan is a cooling upgrade and is an optional extra on these older trucks and cost you more money, and why the flex fan is standard.

 

Agreed, thanks for the good advice sparky but I will be keeping my truck stock. If it was good enough for Ford, it's good enough for me. I'm not a modifier, I just want reliability out of my truck.

 

I really wish I knew a mechanic who was also a friend, it would be very valuable. My experiences with shop mechanics have not been good. For example, what do you think would happen if I dropped my truck off at the local Firestone and said "replace my water pump"? I shudder to think of it - the cheapest water pump and gasket would be installed, RTV goop oozing out everywhere, and do you think my belts would be properly tensioned afterwards? Proper torque on all fasteners, I think not. Do you think my radiator shroud retaining screws would all be put back in? Nope. Would my radiator fins be dented in? Yep. Maybe I'm just paranoid but that is my experience. And forget the local Ford dealership - they told me my truck was "too old" for them to work on.

I would pay someone like Wyowanderer TWICE what a shop mechanic would charge to work on my truck, plus buy him lunch and beer afterwards. Why? Because it would be done correctly and I could see how it is done.

 

Also, flex fans make an awful buzzing noise when they spin. I hate them. I'd stick with OEM and replace the fan clutch.

Glad you still have the shroud. I got lucky and found one for mine that cured its hot running problems!

 

Fair enough. I got tired of haveing the dang thing go out. Very little towing with my p/u, and lots of Nebraska highway miles...... The noise doesn't bother me, I grew up in the cab of an eighteen wheeler..... I have had zero problems with cooling since I did the swap, it worked for me, and was just a suggestion!

 

No argument that there is bad mechanics out there, I guess hearing it all of the time, and being compared to them gets under my skin sometimes. I am lucky enough to have a very good friend who is a Ford mechanic, and a Brother who (was dropped on his head as a baby) is the lead mechanic at a Chevy dealership. So, yes there are good and bad ones out there. I apologize if I offended anyone. THANKS FOR THE ATTA BOY!

 

Another vote for fan clutch over flex fan, and I'd prefer yet to have an electric fan over a clutch fan. (Zero drag on the motor when cooling is not required, and a much cleaner engine bay)

If you were out in my area, I'd tell you to bring your truck by my place so we could power through the WP install.

I'm not a 300-6 expert, so I can't vouch for their timing chain, but it may be a good time to replace that as well. Any thoughts from the guys who know more?

 

The 300 doesn't have a timing chain, it has gears that mesh.

 

This engine doesn't have a timing chain, there's a gear driving the cam:






It's still a good suggestion, though.

 

Not really. Most of these engines had the phenolic gear on the cam. Getting them off is a total PITA. IMHO, I would only change it out if I was going to rebuild it, or was having problems with it.

 

I'm curious as to why it kept going out on you. That seems excessive.

 

That is nasty...

Some 300-6s had a plastic gear to make the engine quieter. So if you had one of the plastic gears, it might be prudent to change them to all metal.
But I have to agree, very seldom do those gears cause problems.