I bought an '01 CLK55 AMG with 65k on it a few months ago and it was a flawless machine, only needing an upper control arm replaced to get rid of a squeaking noise from the rear suspension.

A couple days ago whilst driving, I notice a clicking sound coming from the front hood so I stop the car and take a look. The sound was coming from the cooling fan as if the blade was hitting something while rotating but after checking around the fan with the engine running and with it off, I noticed no abnormalities or parts that could have caused the noise as the fan was hitting nothing while on.

I tried to look it up online on the spot but couldn't find any information on the noise or cooling fan which surprised me. I decided to drive home (I was about 10 miles away) to take a closer look. As I drove, I noticed the sound would go away in higher revs and was really only noticeable while the car was idle. But then, just shy of a mile away from my house, I heard a whirring noise and a slight kickback from my car and I immediately knew it didn't sound good. I stop at a gas station and see that my coolant is leaking and so I pop the hood.

What do I find? My cooling fan and it's clutch have completely fallen off it's bearings and the fan blades have torn into pieces. On top of that, I assume as the fan fell off, it ripped into my radiator and water pump causing the coolant leak. Now I admit I've been driving the car aggressively since I've got it but only when the situation permits (Who wouldn't push this car?) Along with that, I bought the vehicle from my father's friend who is an automotive enthusiast and took top notch care of his vehicles.

Anyways, the damage is adding up and it'll probably cost over $2000 for repairs but I've accepted that. I'm just curious as to how this could have happened as there seems to be no information at all about it online which could have potentially prevented me from continuing on and driving it to the point of damage. Anyone familiar with this situation? The costs really suck but even more than that, I miss driving the whip since it's staying in the shop for a bit.

 

There was a harmonic balancer recall that affected some cars through 2000 or 2001.

 

I recently had my water pump bearing fail. It didn't cause the symptoms you described, but it did chew up the pump, and I had to replace it along with a few other things. My fan didn't self destruct however looking under the hood there are a few things that sit pretty close to it. I imagine if the bearing failed it would have enough play to hit something. I ended up dumping the coolant all over the road, and thankfully it happened in the winter so the engine didn't overheat. Had it towed home, and ordered parts.

In the end I replaced the pump, thermostat + housing, fan clutch, belt, belt tensioner, coolant (obviously), related gaskets, and since then she has been running great even in hot weather. The grand total ended up near 500 or so, and I did the work myself. This was something that I had no idea was going on. No noise, the temps were acceptable, and wasn't throwing a code. It was a scary time as I had to dig around under the hood, and assess the damage.

Good luck in getting her fixed. With stuff like this it's gutwrenching to wait around while it's fixed. I've spent more time since fixing things with an 'aircraft maintenance' mindset. Each month I see what I can spend, and find something I haven't fixed yet. Last job was the fuel filter for 20 bucks or so. Spark plugs for about 40 bucks. Next month is diff oil. Little stuff that makes an impact can do great things for a car's reliability. And working on a car out of desire rather than necessity is always preferrable.