Did my water pump just go? ('83 240D)
 

Hey all, long time no post, but I haven't had an issue until now.

I was meeting my wife and one of my friends out for lunch the other day after a half day of work. Driving up to work and back (70 mph highway driving for an hour), didn't hear a thing.

But as soon as I started up, it sounded like like a squealing belt and scraping plastic at the same time. So I moved the car quickly to a back corner of the parking lot and popped the hood.

The radiator fan looked like was trying to dance it's way out of the engine compartment. And I noticed a coolant steadily streaming out from somewhere. So I killed the engine ASAP.

And that is where it sits. I can wiggle the radiator fan back and forth an inch or two pretty easily by hand. And the coolant seems to have stopped leaking.

My thought is that since the radiator fan shaft is doing something funky and coolant was leaking, it's an issue with the water pump.

Thoughts?

I think you nailed it, with a bad water pump.

Possible the fan clutch is bad as well, but that would not cause the coolant leak.

No fan clutch on a 240D.

Correct, on the 240 the fan is just an extension of the water pump shaft, no clutch involved.

Be VERY CAREFUL with the 5 bolts holding the pump into the pump housing, they are easy to snap off. Don't ask how I know this. Use a 1/4 inch drive ratchet and very little torque. Hit the bolts with AeroKroil or PB Blaster and let them soak first.

However, if this happens to you, the housing can be removed from a junk engine (and that housing is shared with a 617) and swapped in without too much difficulty. BTDT.