Quote:
Originally Posted by Diseasel300
Clutch fans rely on the air hitting their bimetal element to be hot enough to enable the clutching mechanism. If the radiator or A/C condenser are plugged with junk in the air path leading to the clutch bimetal, it will engage much later or not at all. Repeated failures suggest either cheap off-brand parts or a blocked airflow path. If the clutch isn't Sachs, ACM, or OE Mercedes, you bought the wrong one.
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Very true
a blocked radiator and condenser can cause the fan clutch to never work. The fan clutch needs to be recieving very hot air right from the front of it - meaning if some channels are blocked in the radiator and they are right infront of the clutch, it wont kick on.
My old W124 had a BEHR fan clutch originally, I refilled it with some 7000 wt silicone oil (trial and error) and it eventually started working good but more as an on/off fan like a heavy truck (quiet as a mouse or loud as a tornado) - I then changed it to a Horton/Sachs clutch from a 98 E300 with a higher blade count fanwheel and it worked beautiful after that - gentle and smooth engaging, low noise type.
In both cases the engine temperature never exceeded 100C on the dash which I also cross checked with an IR gun on the cyl head itself.