Hi All - I think the aux fan in my 97 E420 is going. I hear a "rattling" like noise when it is operating. I removed the aux fan grill and spunit by hand and heard the noise as well and saw no foriegn object impacting the blades.
I see that I can either replace the dual set-up for about 250.00 or the fan/motor for about 200.00.

My question is has anyone replaced this OEM set-up with an aftermarket? It would seem to me to likely result in significant cost savings w/o sacrificing quality/longetivity? Assuming of course I could find a suitable aftermarket product that would fit. Any unique electrical requirements that you may think I should consider?

Would anyone have some thoughts on the matter? Or better yet, have the expereince of doing this mod? In any case, would anyone be able to confirm I can access the aux fan unit from the from of the car simply by unbolting the metal cross member?

Thanks for any input.

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Woody