'88 300E fan bolt

[dannytoone]

The bolt holding my cooling fan on the bearing has fallen out and I need to replace it. I have a few questions...

First of all what kind of bolt is it? How can I find it? Is it mercedes specific?

Second, is there a bushing or anything between the bolt and the clutch?

Third, is this replacement going to require me taking off the radiator?

[pmizell]

..that goes in here??



If so, your fan clutch should have fallen off by now.

[dannytoone]

hmmm...that does seem a little wierd eh?

Look...it might be a couple of things. I have been told that the bearing mount often breaks and that could be the problem.

I will tell you exactly what I see...the fan is still intact and attatched to the clutch. The fan and clutch/pully as one unit are wobbly on the bearing mount. I took a look inside the hole that you posted, and cant seem to see a bolt, which is why I say it is missing. The tension of the belt is forcing it downward and the fan blades were rubbing against the pully below it, which is what caused me to notice.

Any help?

[pmizell]

You have a bad fan bearing bracket (what the fan clutch attaches to). You can't see it from the outside but once you get the bracket off you'll see the ball bearings literally falling out from the inside. The bearing typically collapses around 150k - 170k miles and the symptoms you describe fit it to a tee.

It's not that tough of a job but the part itself is kind've pricey. (~$160) Look up fan clutch bearing bracket.

Good Luck

[dannytoone]

Thanks a lot, you just saved me a lot of time

[Ron in SC]

I'm doing that job right now. You can get remanufactered clutch bearing bracket from Mercedes dealer I do business with for $88.50

Read thread in link. Deals with your issues too.
Fan clutch failing?