Middle of 94 E420 water pump job, need some quick advice.
 

I'm replacing the water pump on my 94 E420 and from what I read, to get that last lower bolt out, I have to remove the harmonic damper. And to get that out, I have to remove the fan and clutch unit. Do I need to remove the fan schroud and radiator? How do I remove the fan? I dont see any bolts at the front, just this clip thingy:
http://www.fototime.com/2B42D2A1E470155/standard.jpg

Can I remove the bolts at the back to get the fan off? I dont think there is enough room for the head of a wrench to get to them:
http://www.fototime.com/9AAE9FD5364C3B6/standard.jpg

I want to avoid removing the radiator if possible.

Funny that you ask, tomorrow morning I will be doing the same thing on my 94 E420.

I tried to attach the instructions from the CD manual, but it is 175KB, the maximum we are allowed to upload is 73KB.

Common to find the fan attached from the rear. Looks like that hub assembly will come off with the fan. The radiator is easy to remove and makes life easier in most cases but not sure if it is essential.

I just want to avoid removing the transmission cooler lines and the mess that causes and possible cracking of the plastic radiator tank.

IIRC there is a 8mm bolt in the center of the fan clutch that holds it in place. The radiator has to some out to remove the fan clutch.

Sorry.

Yes, the radiator must come out...even if it didn't...you risk damaging it.

you will have to remove the radiator to do this properly....

I finally got the old one out and the new one in.
http://www.fototime.com/D63AC6779CE795F/standard.jpg

I got it all together and have been driving it all day. Temp gauge right at or just above 80 even with A/C on at a stop light. I spent about $160 for the pump, thermostat and 2 gallons Zerex G05. What would have this cost at a Mercedes dealer?

Figure the pump would have been 400, shop rate is gotta be 3 hours or so, another 270 and shop supplies.

A: Nice work!

B: I am such a car geek I looked at that pic and went oooooooh that is a nice looking piece of metal! :o

how long did it take? I did mine on a week day and had to work long into the night as I had to drive the car to work in the morning. Removing the harmonic balancer sucks.

I figured it took maybe 4 or 5 hours actual wrench time over 2 days. Checked the flat rate manual which shows 5.4 hours for the job.

Why did you change the pump? Was it leaking or making noise?

I had just bought the car at an auction and made it 5 miles out before the temperature gauge starting going towards the top. Pulled over and checked the reservoir which was empty. Let it cool 10 minutes and drove a few miles to a parts store and added a gallon of coolant and a half gallon of water. That got me the 30 miles home where it took another gallon of water. I put a pressure tester on it and it started leaking water under the car, I couldn't tell from where at the time but now see there is a hose from the pump just for that. When I turned the engine on it it also leaked from that vent hole on the side. Was not making any noise.

Congratulations on a job well done.
When the time came to replace the pump, I realized the pump they sent me was a little different (newer engine). AAAAArrrrghh..........

Now I have to wait for the replacement pump to finish the job next weekend.

The bolt that holds the fan was rusted, and it took me like an hour to break it free. The bolt for the harmonic balancer was another PITA.

I will post pictures.....

There are 2 different water pumps depending on the car's VIN. There are 6 bolts that attach the balancer to the crank snout(for lack of a better word) and they come off easy. If you mean the big bolt in the middle that holds the snout to the crank, I don't think you want to mess with that. If you do get it removed you have to find a way to brace the engine when you torque it back to some high amount of ft. lbs.