Merc1

Hi,

I did do a search, like a good boy.

I was at a mechanic today, for Crankshaft Damper replacement. He noticed the blade are not turning by hand. He said Fan clutch is bad.

He is not an exclusive MB mechanic, so.. I told him I will get back to him after I consult real MB knowledgable people here.

Here is the fact.

I drove the car to the shop, car was off for 20 minutes, he was taking out the fan shroud, and noticed fan was not spinning freely.

He said fan is on all the time.

1. Should I worry about it?
2. Can this be fixed, I read post about adding Toyota fluid.. or should I just change it.

3.Or is it normal for the fan to turn with the car running.
4. what is the procedure if change needed.

Thanks,
1998 E 320 75k



Me----><----Mechanic

jimmydagreek

My fan clutch went out as well. Noticed that the car was overheating in traffic and then cooling down when I was moving. So I took it to my friend an MB mechanic. He said my fan clutch was very loose and sort of wobbly and needed to be replaced. The fan clutch was around $200 bucks and he charged me about $90 bucks to replace it. As far as I know the fan should spin while the car is not running but it should not be loose, it should spin slightly and be a little tight. If your fan is on all the time as he claims, do you notice your car running a lot cooler than usual?

Merc1

Yes Jim, the car runs around 87 C while standing and AC running. I like the car running cooler. I think what happened is Bimetric clip is expanded and released the clutch pin out and it is always engaged.

I just dont like the excess noice fan makes.

I am in Arizona, so this malfunction is great. You should feel my AC now, it is 120 F here in AZ and it is nice in the car, beats Lexus AC system which is known to be nice.

I will keep the forum posted.

BTW Jimmy, you need to ask your mechanic why he charged you more. The fan clutch is $160 from the dealer and other places is $130. The labor is to remove the fan shroud, held by 2 clips and comes out in 1 min. Clips are removed easily by hand. The fan clutch also comes out in 2 min.

Just looking out, maybe he did something else.

jimmydagreek

You're right . Overlooked the gasket and work done to the rack & pinion. It was leaking and he repaired it. I called him to ask about your fan clutch BTW and he said it should be replaced eventually or else it will end up burning out over time and like you said, it's also very noisy. Not sure if what he is saying is 100% but he's usually right on...Good luck and thanks for lookin' out...

Merc1

Thanks Jim,
I will do some test today, and change it later on today.

jimmydagreek

Cool! Let me know how it goes and what happens to your temp. with the new fan clutch...

Merc1

Fixed it.
Parts $135 Fan clutch.
Changed in 10 minutes.

Ok..here it is, problem with the fan clutch was the bearing behind the nut were jammed and it was visible only after removal, apparaently the bearing got jammed inside the clutch. After taking the radiator cover off, I noticed a wobble in the fan. This was not visible with the fan shroud on.

Now my car doent rum like a JET taking off :p

Now my temp is back to where mercedes intended around 96 C.
before when the fan clutch was engaged all the time it was 86 C.

I like to run the cooler engine personally I like below 90 C. I ordered a part from radio shack a small resister it is very easy to install anto the 1 of the temp switch it will drop my temp by 10 C.
It will allow the 2 fans to come on early, thus cooling before 95 kicks in.

Hope this helps with fan clutch problems.

jimmydagreek

Have you already installed this resister? If so, please include the details here or PM me as I am interested (if you don't mind)...Thanks.