Temp creeps up to just below 100, then cools a little while moving along. The fan clutch seems weak. Otherwise, the engine seems to run well and the car feels tight.

Is the cheap clutch OK? Anyone have a known good used one for sale? I hate to experiment with close to a $200 one.

It is white with blue leather interior 300D 2.5T. She looks good, original paint is crazed a little but still shines. Body seems straight with a few dings.

Other needs: Seats or seat covers, Drivers seat is a mess, passenger is not much better. Thinking sheepskin on drivers for now. Anyone near NC have any decent blue seats?

Watch the fanblade while having someone else turn off the engine. If the fanblade continues to turn some, you probably need a new viscous fan clutch.

For my 1981 300SD the cost was a lot cheaper than what you report.

Email: tyl604@aol.com
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ADRIAN TAYLOR


Items Purchased

Description
URO Parts Fan Clutch
Qty Price Total
1 $35.99 $47.99
SUBTOTAL: $35.99
SHIPPING & HANDLING: $5.00
GOVERNMENT IMPOSED FEES: $0.00
TAX: $3.21
GRAND TOTAL:
Prior to any applicable Mail-in Rebate $44.20

If you buy cheap, you buy twice.

__________________
1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

I installed a Hayden clutch a year ago. Despite a lot of blather here, it works just fine.

Man, is father of giants right
I am 5,000 miles into a gates water pump from rock auto on my 602: it's leaking about a pint a day out of the lower weep hole.
It didn't have the hose barb or the rib to be able to tighten/loosen the fan but I didn't think much of it as it did have a cast impeller.
$22 not well spent as I'm now pulling and scrapping it

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97 e300d, 78 300Dt, 95 E300d, 94 E320 estate

I'd try a new quality thermostat and confirm that the coolant is at the correct water to coolant ratio. Also look closely at the AC condenser and radiator fins for external clogging.

Good luck!!!

__________________
"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

On my 1999 E300 I drilled a small hole and partially filled with silicone oil 10,000 CST and it worked fine. Sealed the hole with a small stainless steel screw.

__________________
1999 Mercedes E300TD daily driver sold at 238K miles 106K miles were mine, rust worm got it :-(
2006 Mercedes CDI new daily driver! 56,000 miles May 2016 now 85,625 Apr 2018 and Apr 2019 101,000 miles Apr 2020 109,875. March 2024 135,250

I replaced the fan clutch on my '91 300d with one from O'Reilly's... no problems since 7 months of daily driving.

I'd take a close look at the accessory belt tensioner, shock and spring. Mine were done for (the shock was rattling like an eastern diamondback).

I had a creeping temp gauge too. New thermostat didn't fix it. Eventually rewarded with a weeping water pump. Replaced and still had the creeping. 4 months later I found a pinhole leak in the lower driver's side of the radiator. Replaced with a new Nissens and the temp gauge is now rock steady.

Glad to see another w124 owner in NC... whereabouts are you from?

__________________
1991 300D 2.5 "Rocinante"
2002 Golf TDI "Teen Spirit"
--------------------
1984 300D
1966 Mustang I6 3sp
1985 Mazda RX-7 GSLSE
1982 Toyota Supra
1977 Datsun 280z
1971 Datsun 240z

I went with a electric,it and control was cheaper.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

+1
Efans are far more powerful and offer better temperature control especially when sitting in traffic.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

The electric fan concept is tempting.

Anyone have a model number that "worked"?

How did you incorporate thermostatic control? Is there a tap for a sensor element somewhere?

I think I have heard the front of radiator fans come on in the car, guess I could put a relay to parallel operation of a back fan with front fans.

There seems to be some good info on this thread:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/382331-electric-fan-install-2.html

Thanks all for the input so far.

I did an electric fan mod on an old Toyota 4Runner I used to own. Used a two speed fan from a Ford Taurus, IIRC. It was mounted in its own shroud and fit the radiator fairly well. I've thought about doing something similar to my 300d, but it was easier/cheaper/faster to put in a new clutch to address the immediate need. My fan clutch was really loose and made a nasty grinding noise at engine shutdown.

__________________
1991 300D 2.5 "Rocinante"
2002 Golf TDI "Teen Spirit"
--------------------
1984 300D
1966 Mustang I6 3sp
1985 Mazda RX-7 GSLSE
1982 Toyota Supra
1977 Datsun 280z
1971 Datsun 240z

Debris in the cooling system can cause early failure of the coolant pump, whenever you change the pump and witness scale or debris in the system clean it out before installing the new pump. I ran into this and had to replace coolant pumps 3 times on a single engine (not mercedes) to get it fixed for good.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I second the idea of replacing the thermostat.

On my '87 wagon, I bought the Four Seasons fan clutch from rock auto, because the picture clearly showed it was a re-boxed clutch from a well-known German maker with a good reputation (I have forgotten the name). Clutch delivered matched the clutch in the picture, it works great, only had it installed for a year or so.

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Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

They still have it listed. Behr is the brand clutch that I bought. OE. Price is now $150, I think I got it for a lot less back then.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC