Ok, so I needed a little alone time with my truck so I was rolling around under her this afternoon and found a problem. The wire bundle that leads up to the fan clutch was cut in two and the metal support for the wires was actually on the other side of the fan. No idea how it got there without taking out the blades,,,but whatever.

As a temporary fix I decided to pull the wires and metal off and tape up the engine side connector so it didn't fill with dirt until I could do a good repair. I did and when I started the engine it threw a bunch of codes at me.
P0483 Cooling Fan Speed
P0243 Open or shorted condition detected in the turbocharger Wastegate solenoid Ctrl
P0480 Cooling Fan1 Ctrl Circ Open(Low speed fan)
P0643 Sens Ref Voltage 1 Circ Hi

Ok, so I am thinking all these codes will go away when I fix the fan clutch. I am able and comfortable with splicing these wires and using the old clutch OR I can get a new one on eBay for $100.

The question I have is... When I grab the fan blades I get a little play in the clutch bearing. Is a little play normal or is it time to replace?

2004 Dodge Ram 2500 Heavy duty 5.9 HO Edge Juice w/ attitude 150k miles

 

Fix it first.
If the lock up part of the fan clutch is shot it will set codes.
It will also defuel above 1/2 throttle.

The little slop in the bearing is most likely ok, but a lot means it is shot.

 

The Dodge stealership wants $779 to replace the fan clutch, $529 just for the part.
Autozone with lifetime warranty is $220 and eBay will get me a reman for $100

Im gonna just replace it so I dont have to worry about losing a bearing later