My 59k mile W202 C200 classic (auto)

[Wigglesworth]

Thanks for the extremely useful information

I took the car out for a drive, when I got back I let it idle for a while so the engine was sat at almost 95 (where it always ends up). Popped the bonnet and took a paint brush (about a 3 inch one as all I could find) and wedged it into the fan..... I can stop it with my fingers never mind a carrot!
That answers the temperature issue then.
New fan clutch to be ordered asap and then just a case of fitting it. This is the first car that I have ever owned with a viscous coupled fan. I have looked at a few W202's, every single car that I have looked at with ac fitted doesn't have the non ac rad and viscous fan like mine does.... strange as mine had ac from new

 

[horatio]

If you need a water pump, I have an SKF part which was only on my C180 a few weeks before it met it's demise Have a few other almost new bits too.

Nice to see a W202 being cared for!

 

[Wigglesworth]

Viscous fan now functions correctly..... it was indeed totally dead!
Basically you could spin the fan while holding the nut on the back (after fan was removed of course) and it just kept on spinning without any form of resistance.

Ecp at Aston had 1 new fan clutch in stock so I went and grabbed it for pleasant price of £46.14 after a healthy discount.

This is the replacement unit.....

Which looked a damn site better than what came off!

The removal was really very easy indeed, you don't even have to remove the fan shroud to do the job.

This was how the old fan clutch looked when removed....


Not really very pretty, I don't think I would look very pretty sat there for 20 years though either.

Assembled, cleaned and ready to refit....



And as a happy result I have a much more healthy running temperature....


I also noticed that you can now hear the fan roar when it should be running. Sounds great and never been like it for the whole time that I have owned the car. I wonder if it will have an impact on overall mpg?

Thanks for the heads up with the fan failure I wasn't sure whether or not it was the stat or fan as the radiator was changed already and coolant system flushed at that point

 

[grober]

Viscous fan now functions correctly..... it was indeed totally dead!
Basically you could spin the fan while holding the nut on the back (after fan was removed of course) and it just kept on spinning without any form of resistance.

Ecp at Aston had 1 new fan clutch in stock so I went and grabbed it for pleasant price of £46.14 after a healthy discount.

This is the replacement unit.....

Which looked a damn site better than what came off!

The removal was really very easy indeed, you don't even have to remove the fan shroud to do the job.

This was how the old fan clutch looked when removed....


Not really very pretty, I don't think I would look very pretty sat there for 20 years though either.

Assembled, cleaned and ready to refit....



And as a happy result I have a much more healthy running temperature....


I also noticed that you can now hear the fan roar when it should be running. Sounds great and never been like it for the whole time that I have owned the car. I wonder if it will have an impact on overall mpg?

Thanks for the heads up with the fan failure I wasn't sure whether or not it was the stat or fan as the radiator was changed already and coolant system flushed at that point

Just as a point of interest these fan couplings should never be stored flat long term as this can allow the viscous fluid to leak out or into areas it shouldn't. Usually the boxes they come packaged in have large arrows printed on them to this effect.

 

[grober]

dup

 

[Wigglesworth]

Just as a point of interest these fan couplings should never be stored flat long term as this can allow the viscous fluid to leak out or into areas it shouldn't. Usually the boxes they come packaged in have large arrows printed on them to this effect.

Yep, arrows on the box indicate that it should be stored a certain way up. I think there is a reservoir inside them or something that the viscous fluid is supposed to sit in. I could see how tipping it upside down for too long could cause issues with leaks and such.
So far so good and engine temperature remains a very normal 80-85 degrees, regardless of driving style or traffic

 

[Wigglesworth]

Lovely..... Photobucket has stopped me from hosting pictures on this website!
As you will notice, all of my pictures are gone. They want $399.99 for a 12 month subscription which isn't happening so ideas are needed for a good image hosting site that doesn't charge

 

[190]

$400 is a joke. I can't imagine anyone has paid it as it's causing a problem on lots of forums.

Where a forum doesn't host images directly I've used this which is very simple

https://postimages.org/

 

[Darrell]

I just take a photo of something and then paste and copy it.

 

[Wigglesworth]

I wouldn't be so bothered but everything in the thread is gone unless I use another solution or get robbed by photobucket (which is way too expensive after exchange conversion is £31.01 per month).
I may just have to start fresh from this point with the pictures, but such is life I guess.... thanks for the suggestions guys, appreciated

 

[Darrell]

I just take a photo of something and then paste and copy it.

I don't mean to sound facetious but I don't really understand about photobucket but the way I do it works for me. Well, sometimes anyway

 

[Dec]

I wouldn't be so bothered but everything in the thread is gone unless I use another solution or get robbed by photobucket (which is way too expensive after exchange conversion is £31.01 per month).
I may just have to start fresh from this point with the pictures, but such is life I guess.... thanks for the suggestions guys, appreciated

All your pictures are on Photobucket, why don’t you upload them to this forum? There is an attachment allowance on the forum. You would need to request permission to have editing rights restored so you can edit all your posts that have pictures in them.

Dec

 

[Wigglesworth]

I will just leave these here .... TinyPic seems to be the answer even though it's run by photobucket (swines)!

Oh and I have been a little busy.... full tints and lowered a fair bit! On the way from my good friend in America Land are a pair of brand new North American spec front indicators.

I will possibly get linched for my activities, but I love how it looks right now and nothing is irreversible at all. One day it may be returned to standard, that depends if I decide to go ahead with the 4.3 V8 conversion that I'm considering.

 

[Wigglesworth]

After having a front tyre suffer full on tread separation it was a great opportunity to fit some wheels that my dad had refurbished for the W210 (he was never really sure on how they looked as they were less than perfect).

Because I have gone as low as I have, and because I wanted the clearance in the arches up front. It was decided that 215/45/16 was best all round with something like a 1% speedo error (which is fine).
Here's how it looks now .....

Looks a little nicer with the more wheel, less tyre in the arches I think!
Oh and as a result of the new wheels and tyres it sits 11.5mm closer to the floor..... the cornering ability is completely crazy now and much fun on the twisty roads.

 

[Wigglesworth]

Had a great day out today with the cars at the Ashover classic car show.
Here they both are side by side just before we left.....

Little bit of a worry entering and exiting the show ground as it's basically a load of fields. The car generated a bit of interest too which was nice (so many people thought it was on air suspension).

I have a couple of scabby sets of wheels to sell on now too so as to generate a little cash towards the engine swap :bannana:

 

[Wigglesworth]

More shenanigans!
American corner lamps arrived this afternoon.

The left hand lamp required very minimal fettle to get it to fit (they are copies after all), this is how they look on the car....

I think they look far less drab than the light units that are standard over here....

I still think the car needs something a bit different at the back to make it look right? Maybe the rear wheels need bringing out with spacers by an inch or something?? Not quite sure..... what I do know is that I am not going down the 'gash' body kit route with it. I like the red/black look it has going on at the moment. Maybe go up to 17's at some point but that's going to require even lower profile tyres and it's already on 45's.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Why would you go with the US lights??? (Each to their own)
Careful if it's not 100% perfect fit otherwise you will loose one while driving. I had to cable tie mine to stop them going .

 

[Wigglesworth]

Gone with the US lights because I prefer how they look.
We ensured that the clip was filed down to give a very snug fit. I am 90% confident that it won't fall out.

Just finished giving the car it's first detail.....

Apart from needing the rear wheels needing spacing out about an inch (going to be an expensive one I guess), I think it is looking somewhat alright.... certainly a million mile away from stock look anyway.

 

[Dec]

Hi Wigglesworth, I was wondering , did you ever read my PM of the 18-07-2017?

Dec

 

[219]

I will just leave these here .... TinyPic seems to be the answer even though it's run by photobucket (swines)!

Oh and I have been a little busy.... full tints and lowered a fair bit! On the way from my good friend in America Land are a pair of brand new North American spec front indicators.

I will possibly get linched for my activities, but I love how it looks right now and nothing is irreversible at all. One day it may be returned to standard, that depends if I decide to go ahead with the 4.3 V8 conversion that I'm considering.

Although the tints aren't my thing , it is your car and your choice .

I would , however , offer a word of caution ...

Those front door windows look awfully dark ( may just be the photos ) , it is unlawful to tint front door windows and windscreen to the point that less than 70% light is transmitted . If yours are darker than this you are likely to be pulled over and set upon by the 'Tintmaster' which measures transmitted light . If too dark , the cops will make you remove the tints before allowing you to continue driving . Depending on their mood , on the spot removal might be all , or you might get a fine too .

Car looks good though and nice to see it being looked after .