In an effort to improve the A/C performance on my 124 I set out this evening to remove the front fan shroud and clean the condenser. After removal I noticed just how much of the condenser was being covered by the shroud, not to mention the amount of crud that was trapped behind it! I don't claim to know as much as the Mercedes engineers and I know that around town with the auxiliary fans in operation the shroud will allow the aux fans to force more air through the coils. But since 90% of my driving is on the highway and it seems like lots more air would be forced through in that situation, I'm of the opinion that I'm better off shroudless. Does anyone have experience or input on this?
A cursory driveabout this evening showed marginally colder vent temps and I let it idle in the driveway for a while with no overheating but I am reserving final judgement until I drive to and from work in 90-100 deg weather.
For the record, I have the dual fan setup.
Thanks for any and all commentary.
Chuck.

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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too.
1976 M-B 300D-Departed.

"Good" is the worst enemy of "Great".

Sounds weird! Usually a shroud improves cooling performance. I noticed about a "needle's width" improvement on my BMW when I retrofitted a shroud onto it from a 1980 model.

Is the shroud you're talking about in front of, or behind of the radiator?

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2005 Pathfinder LE
2001 E55
1998 M3
1982 320i

You are probably correct in your thinking that the highway driving will not benefit much from the shroud. You might go one further and remove the fans as well and not suffer any more.

If it were me I would stick with the stock setup. Second guessing the factory engineers will not likely produce all around results that are favorable.

Good luck.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

On the AM commute: Ambient temp of 77. I noticed 4-5 degrees improvement in the A/C output with slightly lower engine temp on the gauge. When I got to traffic near the office, the engine temp climbed slightly but the vent temp stayed the same. It's pretty much behaving like I suspected. Will report more after the drive home. Should hit low to mid 90's today.
Oh, and the shroud in question is in front of the radiator.

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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too.
1976 M-B 300D-Departed.

"Good" is the worst enemy of "Great".

Do you mean it is between the radiator and the engine? Because the A/C condenser is what's in front of the radiator.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

if you clean the paint off the condensor tubes with weak acid solution your numbers will improve much more.

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David S Poole
European Performance
Dallas, TX
4696880422

"Fortune favors the prepared mind"
1987 Mercedes Benz 420SEL
1988 Mercedes Benz 300TE (With new evaporator)
2000 Mercedes Benz C280
http://www.w108.org/gallery/albums/A...1159.thumb.jpg

Shroud is in front of the condenser. (OP states front shroud, don't know how else to say it since there are only two. Guess there could be internal and external shrouds?)
And, I'm with you TomW, it's probably not going to be better all around than before but hopefully it will be better when it's 100 outside and I'm driving 70. And I know the engineers designed it that way for a reason but it was designed for R-12 and it's over 17 years old. (Guess I forgot to state that it's on R134 now) I'm just looking for a little edge. And I'm not entertaining the idea of removing the fans since I'm sure that would be bad in town and at idle (not sure if you were being sarcastic or not there). I can always put the shroud back if it's not an improvement. And the condenser needed cleaned anyway.
And David Poole, thanks for the tip. When I washed the condenser quite a bit of paint came off already.
Chuck.

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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too.
1976 M-B 300D-Departed.

"Good" is the worst enemy of "Great".

Can that be done while the condensor is still in the car or will I risk eating my paint away?

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

Is that what those are? Didn't know that. But yes, the parallel set of lines that loop across the front of the fans and shroud.

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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too.
1976 M-B 300D-Departed.

"Good" is the worst enemy of "Great".

Thanks for the instructions.

Getting just the shoud off doesn't sound too bad but one of my two fans does not run and I'm planning to remove it too. If I can't fix it I will leave the broken fan and shroud off because it appears to be more of a hinderance to airflow than a help.

The usual method I use to clean the radiator and condensor fins is to spray some Castrol Purple degreaser on the fins and then use a garden hose with spray handle to blast the bugs off from inside the engine compartment. You have to maneuver between the fan blades and it's a bit messy but I'm always amazed at how much crud comes out.

One of my fans had failed and all I had to do was clean the crud out of the back of it and now it runs perfectly.

And I say again, if your car is air conditioned you are making a mistake by leaving the fans and shroud off. Unless you drive ONLY on the highway and never stop.

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2012 E350
2006 Callaway SC560

Well, my a/c problems are mitigated for the time being. I converted back to R-12. I had several cans lying around and nothing else that takes the stuff so what better use? Indy did the job, breaking the fittings and flushing with methanol and changing back to the proper oil. It seems one of my problems was the green dye that someone had added to the system. Indy stated that the dye is carried in oil and to properly add dye, a corresponding amount of oil needs to be removed. He estimated that there was way too much oil in the system. A simple evac and R-134 charge might have cured it but no matter.
What matters now is that I have to turn the system waaaay down (toward warmer) or I freeze out of the car. I had a 400 mi round trip on Saturday in 90+ heat with near 100 heat index and it was blowing 42 deg. air with no degradation in performance over the day. Engine temps are very slightly elevated around town but it stands to reason if more heat is removed from the cabin it's being introduced to the air stream ahead of the radiator and could result in higher temps there. Temps on highway were fine.
Thanks to all for the input. I'll keep tabs on the results long-term but for now I'm a happy boy.
Chuck.

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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too.
1976 M-B 300D-Departed.

"Good" is the worst enemy of "Great".