After reading a similar thread a year and change ago I bought some sealed bearings off of eBay and went to replace mine as a preventative measure. For the record the fan seems to work OK but draws quite a lot of current and blows the fuse on occasion so I thought a general tuneup may help.

After removing the fan from the car I proceeded to spin the nut on the front counterclockwise (lefty) with an impact wrench until the threads were stripped clean. The odd part is the nut is still holding the fan on but there is no non-destructive way to remove it now. After several moments of poetic reflection I put the fan back on the car and it is running to this day. I keep meaning to scope one out at a wrecking yard but never have gotten around to it.

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'82 300D - Light Ivory, 2nd Owner (Back in the wind April 2013!)

'95 E300D - White, grey interior. (Suffering from stuck/broken glow plugs)

Deuteronomy 22:4-
"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again."