I tried this and discovered that the 8mm bolt and water pump pulley rotate while the fan clutch slips. Holding the fan does no good at all (unless I totally misunderstood what is being recommended here).

Not having the proper fan pulley holding tool, I put the serpentine belt back on, tightened it with the idler pulley and its spring, and leaned on the belt to add more holding power. Then I was able to loosen the 8 mm bolt with an Allen key and a short length of pipe for leverage and remove the fan and shroud.

Having the fan and shroud out of the way should make it easier to R&R the vacuum pump, which is my reason for being in there in the first place. The idler assembly and the belt were replaced last year and are in good shape. The fan appears to be the original metal one; didn't someone recommend a replacement plastic fan and idler from the OM606 engine?

The idler pulley is attached to the timing cover with an Allen bolt that is larger than 10 mm but smaller than 14 mm. Anyone know the size of this bolt so I can get the correct wrench in case I need to remove it?

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970