Unpacked new facn clutch- IT IS URO!
 

Please look at this picture:
I am very suspicious because I think that URO should be banned.
I bought this in the US.
The original Behr fan clutch I have tweaked and I am still not sure if it works properly.
So the new one has the spiral in the center instead of the flat bimetal strip. I guess a revised bi-metal design?
Have you ever seen this design? Would you install this thing?
I'll attach 2 pics of URO.
Martin

I hate to say it but I probably wouldn't install it in my car simply based on a perception that their quality suffers on other products as claimed by other posters. It's kinda like going to buy a used car, if they use cheap plugs or coolant, what else did they skimp out on? I have no idea about the design change.

Confused. What brand did you intend to buy? I mean, if you bought URO then of course its a URO.

The manufacturer isn't always revealed/known, and sometimes the part is made for a "manufacturer" by yet another once-removed manufacturer. The URO part may have been horse-traded and ended up just being labeled as the part without the makers info being shown.

This is sort of like buying a frozen lasagna in Europe right now. If you go for the deal of the day, you might get horse meat. If you go to a well known supplier and pay a little more, the chances of getting a steak with whip marks is far less.

I bought the part on the basis of the product picture that looked identical to the part (I think Behr) that I have in the car. When I unpacked I saw this design and URO on the box...no name on the product itself.
Maybe I'll try it out on the car (as I can't return it anyhow) and see what temperatures and sounds do for me.
Long term I'll change to the original design.
Martin

I've seen that design before, my W110 had a fan clutch with a circular spring like that on it, you should be able to test it with a hairdryer or something similar, to see if it tightens? I assume the white paint is b/c it passed its inspection? if you like I will mail you my M116 fan clutch, not sure how much play it has but I dont need it, I'll take a closer look at it if you're interested.

How old is the clutch? Check out postage for Oman! Could be send by cheap slow mail....no rush.

URO is junk. Their cosmetic parts are useful (such as the silly antenna tip and gasket kit for the 208/210), but for a functional part I would never recommend nor use them.

At best, you'll be replacing the part prematurely. On a car used for pleasure only and perhaps a thousand miles a year, maybe you chance it depending on the part and the potential for collateral damage.

When you consider the potential for catastrophic failure and the resulting collateral damage of a fan clutch failure, that's not a place I'd be willing to roll the dice.

Good luck.

Even for cosmetic, they fail. My grille insert is deteriorating after just a year of use. its painted now since it faded to an ultra light color too. The paint may help protect it.

Installed the URO clutch this morning. Now again I get a hauling noise at higher speeds (I had the same with my tweaked old Behr clutch and thought this is not right. I don't need to drive the car with a propeller...but maybe it is how it should be?
Martin

How warm is it in Oman? It's always possible it's TOO warm so your fan stays engaged on the highways due to the temps. It shouldn't - but I suppose it's a possibility. Does it disengage when cold on the highway (best way to check in Oman I guess would be to start up after sitting 6+ hours and go straight on the highway to hear if it sounds loud still).

You shouldn't be hearing anything like a "propeller" which I know is an exaggeration but these cars are relatively quiet. I think electric fans are louder in modern cars actually. Maybe this wasn't the cause of the sounds and the original culprit remains?

I dont know the engine layout, but is there any chance it gently scraping the shroud?

Hi Tomguy...it is quite cold these days ...around 90 during the day.
I need to further test this new clutch and see how it behaves.
I just don't like the propeller sound.

Fan is moving freely, no scraping.