My impression was that the auxiliary fans should turn freely by hand when engine is off....they do on my 91 300D. However, on my 95 E300D, neither one does. Are they different kinds of fans, or is something wrong?

I've never overheated....but neither do I recall seeing/hearing them come on.

Thanks.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Auxiliary fans - electric motor fans in front of condenser. 2 in a W124 of your vintage.

They should turn freely by hand. If not the bearings (or motor) are seized. Replace bearings or replace fans.

If they turn freely but they never turn on/activate, then look elsewhere - could be the resistor, or relays.

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

Thanks. Yes, looks like they're both seized.

Odd that both of them would be....and on a car not THAT old.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Not sure if the 124 is the same as the 210 but one of the 2 fans (assuming they're both on the front of the car) is driven by a belt from the other one. It may just be one fan seized and the other is locked with the belt.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Both fans turn freely on my 95 E300D. With A/C on, they should both run at low speed. They will run at high speed at some elevated engine temp(can't remember what the number is). You can test high speed function by unplugging temp sensor at the front of the head(next to your fuel filter) and both should then run at high speed.

I was able to free up both fans....one turns pretty freely but the other "hangs up" every rotation. I unplugged the sensor and neither fan comes on.

I wonder how necessary it is to get these working. I'm in New England and the AC doesn't work. I've never seen temp climb higher than 95C or so. So, as a practical matter, I've never come close to the engine overheating.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

lack of a/c is likely why they siezed up. since it's the AC that brings them on. if the car never is used for hills, and never has ac running, I'd not worry too much about them.

if you need a set, I've got two sets sitting in my yard.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Not really, the fans freewheel as you are driving so they have "miles" on them.

If the aux fans didn't free wheel, a restriction to air flow would be caused.

So, if the OP was experiencing higher than normal coolant temps at speeds above 30 MPH, stuck fans can cause this.

I agree with this. The fans don't work, and if they're siezed up, they need a changing out. Non-functional seized fans increase the liability of engine overheating. To me, that's a problem that I would fix pronto.

That's interesting....now that I've freed up the fans, it will be interesting to see if gauge behaves any differently at high speeds.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife