Electrical failure and possible resulting overheating is a good point, but in my case the car rarely gets more than 100 mi from home, and in such an event (unlikely but possible) that's what AAA is for. I'd also be interested in whether setting the E fan to come on at a lower temp might offer better cooling than the stock fan around town in hot weather. Does anyone with an electric retrofit have positive or negative feedback on that?

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1983 CD
1958 Studebaker Packard (being resuscitated)

Hi Pselaphid - Obviously I can't give you any positive or negative feedback but I will say that all modern vehicles seem to be made this way so it must be OK. From the little I know you don't want to over cool an engine but I guess where you live that isn't going to be a problem! The systems I've been looking at allow a manual override and thermostatic control so you could choose whatever you want.

Take a look at oldsinner111's photographs he's got some pictures of his E fan setup - it looks good!

How many modern vehicles are broken in at 300k?

Just stick the with viscous. Its alot less likely to fail on you in the middle of the desert!

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

My 91 Jetta was well broken in then. The motor required replacement at 400k because the brushes wore out and it was not serviceable. I had to repair the wiring when I got the car at 370k because a PO let the battery explode and the acid ate the wiring. I actually drove the car for 2,000 miles with no fan at all. No problems because my drive then was all country and I was always moving.

Seems the visco clutch on my benz was dead by 200k. What a POS The dual electric fans, and their electronic controller, all work fine on my TDI at 240k. And in the summer I use the AC all the time, so they never shut off.

IMHO a well designed electric fan is a good substitute for a broken visco fan. Of course some cheep piece of crap won't last, but a quality piece should work fine. I'll be doing this conversion on my pickup soon. I kept (well replaced... damn that oem one is $$$!!!) the visco fan on my SDL because I want the car to be as original as possible.

-Jason

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

200,000 miles on a component isn't bad IMHO. moving mechanical parts are going to fail or need attention at some point. the post concerning a failed electrical system is something to consider. sure don't want to be on a trip 1000 miles from home and lose the electrical system and thus the electric fan.

Here are some pictures of the car as it stands now - no fan at all - EEEEK!!!

All of you drivers who live in a hot climate will think I'm mad but here the temperature has barely reached 5 degrees Celsius for the last 4 months... it has been a cold cold miserable winter (I wish I lived in the sun)

Please note the smartened up water pump pulley and crankshaft pulley which I have recently treated with KBS rust blast, rust seal, and finished off with their satin black top coat.

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wow, your oil cooler lines are very shiny! as are you transmission cooler lines.
are they new, or did you just finish cleaning everything in addition to painting your pulleys?