190E 2.6 Fan Clutch

[chrisd87]

Hi everyone.

I think the fan clutch on my 190E 2.6 has stopped working. In normal driving the temperature is fine, showing roughly 85 degrees on the gauge when fully warm, but the car gets quite hot after sitting in traffic for a while. It's been up to about 115 degrees before now, with no sign of the fan engaging. I replaced the thermostat and coolant about six months ago (flushing through the radiator at the same time), so I'm fairly sure it's nothing to do with that. There is also a faint drone coming from something at the front of the engine. Am I right in thinking this all points to a dodgy fan clutch, or could it be something else?

Prices for a new fan clutch seem to vary quite widely. A new one from Mercedes is predictably very expensive at about £200. I have, however, spotted one for sale for only £25, made by OTSA. This is not a company I've heard of before, so I'm a bit sceptical, particularly in view of the low price. Has anyone else used fan clutches made by this manufacturer?

Also, does anyone who has done this job know if it's actually possible to do it with the radiator in place? The amount of space to work in seems impossibly small. I'll be looking to replace the drive belt at the same time as the fan clutch.

Many thanks.

 

[ray_hennig]

Hi everyone.

I think the fan clutch on my 190E 2.6 has stopped working. In normal driving the temperature is fine, showing roughly 85 degrees on the gauge when fully warm, but the car gets quite hot after sitting in traffic for a while. It's been up to about 115 degrees before now, with no sign of the fan engaging. I replaced the thermostat and coolant about six months ago (flushing through the radiator at the same time), so I'm fairly sure it's nothing to do with that. There is also a faint drone coming from something at the front of the engine. Am I right in thinking this all points to a dodgy fan clutch, or could it be something else?

Prices for a new fan clutch seem to vary quite widely. A new one from Mercedes is predictably very expensive at about £200. I have, however, spotted one for sale for only £25, made by OTSA. This is not a company I've heard of before, so I'm a bit sceptical, particularly in view of the low price. Has anyone else used fan clutches made by this manufacturer?

Also, does anyone who has done this job know if it's actually possible to do it with the radiator in place? The amount of space to work in seems impossibly small. I'll be looking to replace the drive belt at the same time as the fan clutch.

Many thanks.

I'm going through the same process and have not even tried MB for a price as my local dealership in France has confused the MB price list with those from Pagani Zonda and Hermès. They want €144 for a set of front pads for a W124 300CE-24!!!

So, I have bought a fan clutch from Sachs, this being the only make that doesn't seem to be suffering from a recent rash of quality problems. Well, according to the interweb, anyway.

I would recommend that you do likewise but I doubt you'll get a £25 offer.

Just my €10,000 worth.

RayH

 

[optimusprime]

Test

Have you tied the news paper test .Roll the paper up and push it in your fan if the fan stops its no good. Your viscous fan that is.

 

[chrisd87]

I hadn't heard of the newspaper test, but I'll give it a go tomorrow!

 

[V12]

Obviously needs testing when hot to make sure the viscous is engaged.

 

[ss201]

Even though you replaced the thermostat recently - double check it's working OK by heating it up in a pan of water on the stove and see if it opens at boiling point and closes properly when it cools. Do the simple, easy things first.

 

[grober]

You describe a faint drone from the front of the engine - when hot|?? which might imply that the fan is engaging as a fully engaged fan does make a lot of noise. I would renew the pressure cap on the coolant reservoir as a matter of course as all these systems rely on the system being pressurised. Checking the fan is engaging properly should also be done of course.
As an aside Mercedes prices for 190 and W124 models have taken a jump recently because the cars have been assigned "classic status" in the UK . This means that although spares are still available they may have to come from Germany with a resultant price hike. Under these circumstances good quality OEM parts from alternative sources [ e.g. SACHS] may make more financial sense for people on a budget. Just be careful as there is a lot of far east cheap junk out there also. Rule of thumb
Mercedes Part = £180 :bannana::bannana::bannana::bannana::bannana:
Good OEM manufacturer part =£100 :bannana::bannana::bannana::bannana:
Budget Far East part= £45 :bannana::bannana:

 

[chrisd87]

OK, so I carried out the 'newspaper test' yesterday - with the temperature on the gauge just shy of 100 degrees it was easy to stop the fan (and indeed push it backwards) with a roll of paper. I guess that confirms that the fan clutch is dead?

I will test the thermostat, but I doubt it's at fault as the car heats up normally and stays at a steady temperature of about 85 degrees on the gauge, until you hit traffic. You can also feel the coolant flowing under pressure through the top hose when it's up to temp.

As for the droning noise, I doubt it's the fan running, as it happens all the time, regardless of temperature, and although audible it's not loud at all. There was no difference in the noise when I stopped the fan with newspaper. I think it might actually be coming from the power steering pump.

I can't seem to find a Sachs fan clutch for this particular car. What would a good manufacturer be for this part, and where might I find it? I enquired of Euro Car Parts and the one they list is also an OTSA item.

 

[grober]

Think the Fan OEM supplier was Behr who also made the radiator. Don't know if they still make em. Sachs make one for the 2.6 W124 engine but don't know if the mounting is the same??
190E 2.6 fan clutch replacement writeup - PeachParts Mercedes ShopForum
OTSA are Turkish http://www.ot-sa.com/iletisim_en.asp

 

[ace571]

OK, so I carried out the 'newspaper test' yesterday - with the temperature on the gauge just shy of 100 degrees it was easy to stop the fan (and indeed push it backwards) with a roll of paper. I guess that confirms that the fan clutch is dead?

I will test the thermostat, but I doubt it's at fault as the car heats up normally and stays at a steady temperature of about 85 degrees on the gauge, until you hit traffic. You can also feel the coolant flowing under pressure through the top hose when it's up to temp.

As for the droning noise, I doubt it's the fan running, as it happens all the time, regardless of temperature, and although audible it's not loud at all. There was no difference in the noise when I stopped the fan with newspaper. I think it might actually be coming from the power steering pump.

I can't seem to find a Sachs fan clutch for this particular car. What would a good manufacturer be for this part, and where might I find it? I enquired of Euro Car Parts and the one they list is also an OTSA item.

Hi, did you manage to sort this problem? The symptoms you describe are affecting my 2.6 in an identical way.

 

[optimusprime]

Chris you might find the drone noise is from your water pump. Bearing is shot. Grab the pully to the pump and check for movement.

 

[chrisd87]

Funnily enough I ordered a fan clutch only a couple of days ago - in the end I managed to get a Behr one for a good price, so decided not to bother with the Otsa item. I'll report back on how the installation goes. It does look like a bit of a swine of a job, to be honest, as there's very little room to work at the front of the engine, even with the radiator tilted forwards as much as the hoses will allow.

Thanks for the tip about the water pump - will check that when the belt's off.

 

[stwat]

Removing the rad make it 1000 times easier.

 

[chrisd87]

Just a final update with some advice for anyone else contemplating this job. It's a bit of a pig, all told, although it's perseverance that's required more than any particular degree of skill.

I did the job without removing the radiator; instead I removed the radiator top panel and tilted the top of the rad forwards as far as the hoses would allow. Space was still very tight but it was just about do-able. The main reason I didnt remove the radiator is becuase (I think) I'd have had to disturb the transmission cooler lines, and I don't have any hose clamps to clamp them off. As Stwat says above, the job would be far easier with the rad completely removed, so that's definitely the way to go if you have the correct clamps.

A few pics:

Before:

New parts installed:

Unfortunately, along the way I discovered a few new problems. I had to top the coolant up a few weeks ago for the first time since I changed the coolant a year ago. This probably explains why:

The biggest shock, though was the distributor cap. Since I was working in that area, I thought I'd whip it off and take a look, as I haven't inspected it since I bought the car. Things didn't start well when it became clear the cap was slightly loose. They didn't get much better when I removed it:

Eeek! Don't think I've ever seen a dizzy cap quite this bad before. I suspect the looseness of the cap has caused it to arc, resulting in the burning. I'm very surprised the car even runs with the cap in this state, let alone as well as it does. The rotor arm isn't quite as bad, but still needs replacing:

Looks like I'll have to order those bits pronto. What manufacturers should I look out for? Do I need to for genuine Bosch, or is aftermarket OK?

 

[V12]

Get genuine parts for this, i'm very surprised it runs well looking like that. Usually if it's loose on the M103 it fills with moisture and will not fire at all.