fan fell off
 

I'll get a photo today. I looked and the assembly is all in one piece sitting in there between the radiator and water pump. The fan, clutch, and the pulley are all still in one unit. AND there is no water leaking from the car despite the fan coming off the water pump. Weird

Chris, any damage to the radiator??

Interesting enough I just took of the fan clutch and added viscous fluid yesterday. It sounds as if the bolt came loose and then fell out, it is amazing if there is no damage, definetly check the rad. it must have taken a hit.

I didn't put locktight on that bolt, all I had was the red stuff which I think may to strong for that, this story has definetly made me think about getting the blue stuff and locking that bolt in there.

Good Luck.

I got lucky
 

Ok, so you were all thinking like I was, radiator must have taken a hit, but I have checked several times now, thinking I just missed the spot, and nope, it is alright. WOW! What luck and a relief!
I finally got the think figured out also. The 190E 2.6 L engine does not mount the fan and clutch on the water pump as I assumed. It is mounted on what is called the fan clutch bearing bracket or fan cluch flange bracket. Not the water pump you say, well, I was all ready to order it when I checked the radiator again in teh daylight and say the light as it were. Not the water pump, just a bearing bracket and a shaft with a flange for the clutch. SO, I looked again for the bracket, gave up and ordered the rebuilt one from MB dealer for $135. Then about 6 hours later, after it was too late, I found one online for $110. Oh well, better than the MB new part at $240 I guess. AND, no water to leak out or refill when I do the job next week, the bracket replacement does not involve coolant or oil, or gaskets, etc. Just install and repalice fan belt. Which I might add was also not damaged in the bearing failure, very very weird. That fan had to be spinning like crazy when it let go.

ANY ONE know how to determine if the fan cluch is good or bad?

Fan photo
 

It is hard to take a picture of this area of the engine, but it should work for explaination purposes.

Yesterday, following this good article, I changed the fan clutch on my 1998 W210 E300. Also, I took a few pics of the inside. Here is how it's made:

bolt left inside the radiator
 

How large was the bolt :confused:

Is the center 8mm fan clutch bolt reverse threaded?
 

Can someone comment if the center 8mm fan clutch bolt is reverse threaded?
I used the method as described below, locked an allen key into the pulley hold of the water pump, then rotated the 8mm fan clutch bolt using an allen wrench with an extension on the end for torque and no luck. Actually a small piece of the water pump which the allen key was locking against broke off... Water pump is still intact, however I'll be replacing that as well since I'm in it this far with the fan clutch job.

Thanks!

In an earlier post a member answered the question if the fan clutch bolt is reverse threaded... It is not reverse threaded but regular threaded. I successfully removed the bolt by turning the bolt counter clockwise.

Thank You!!!!!!!!!
 

Excellent write up and great pictures! Thank you very much.

But will this work on an OM603?

I replaced the serpentine belt & tensioner on my '99 e300d today, thanks to this very helpful thread.

I thought I'd post the pics of the tools I made, just in case it helps someone else later on:

For the 8mm Allen bolt for the cooling fan, I cut a bit off the end of an 8mm Allen key, and welded it to the flattened end of a 2 foot length of steel tube:

http://www.jakesgarage.ca/uploaded_i...fan-700158.JPG

To keep the water pump pulley from turning, hacked up some square tube, a couple minutes with the welder:
http://www.jakesgarage.ca/uploaded_i...er1-742404.JPG

In use:
http://www.jakesgarage.ca/uploaded_i...ver-742362.JPG

Neither one are pretty, but they only took 15 minutes to whip up and made the job a BREEZE.

This is exactly the bit of information that I was looking for. I will be replacing my clutch as soon as it arrives. Thanks.

Just replaced my Serpentine belt and the tension shock. I gotta say Thanks a Bunch you guys. I think I could have done it cold , but I would not have done it so quick and with so little pain and cussing.
Thank you and Thank you.:thumbup: