Should I replace my fan clutch with an original Nissan part or a 3rd party part?
The fan clutch on my 98 4WD Frontier seems to always be engaged. Even with a cold engine there is a lot of drag on the fan. In fact so much drag that if I try to turn the fan by hand the pulley starts slipping on the belt. The end result is that the fan is always engaged, making more noise than normal, robbing some horsepower etc. not an emergency but should be fixed.
The repair manual says that the fan clutch is not serviceable and should be replaced as a unit.
My question is: has anybody else had this problem with the fan clutch? If it is a common problem then original Nissan fan clutch may be susceptible to problems and so I may be better off replacing it with a non Nissan part. If this is just my own bad luck and the fan clutches are otherwise reliable then I will replace it with the Nissan Part.