I must have been half asleep when I listened to the noise Friday. It doesn't sound like arcing.

Today I started the car from cold with the hood open and a neighbor listening with me.

It's an intermittent scraping sound, he says it sounds like loose ball bearings. It is coming from the area of the clutch fan and water pump.

I checked the clutch fan and it stops turning immediately on shutdown, so I guess it's shot. I had noticed over the last few days that my temp gauge was a touch higher than usual.

Questions: will a seized up fan clutch make such noises when cold?

Or is it more likely the water pump, and the clutch fan is just a coincidental failure?

It is only occurring on morning startup. Rest of the day it isn't there as far as I can tell.

__________________


Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22