Thanks for your help. Indeed it is always great when things actually work again. Harvey

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hlg

One week later and still working, so its a wrap. Thanks again. Your right about retirement, every day is Saturday.

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hlg

Hi, I live in OKC and have same problem with the blower on 1996 E300D. Do you have any advise on where to find the blower and how to get the job done? Where to get the parts?
Your help is greatly appreciated, as its getting hot like hell here!
henryk

OOOPS, sorry, I was not specific enough. I ment where to find the "bad" blower on the car. How to get to it. Is it under the hood?
thx
henryk

Hello Henryk, It is on the passenger side, under the glove box area. First remove the little leg air vent on the side of the console buy turning the plastic screw 90 degrees. Careful not to damage the little louvre inside.

4 screws or so to remove the padded exterior cover, then there is a black plastic cover over the fan. 4 or 5 screws to remove the cover, then 4 screws holding the motor and it drops out. Disconnect the plug. Now here is the hard part: It is the relay that is burnt out, and typical of MB, they have redesigned the relay to dissipate the heat better. As a result the new relay will not fit the old motor. You guessed it, you have to buy both a new motor and new relay. As a result, you also need a new plastic cover to fit the new shape. You may need a new plug assembly also, not sure.

Total cost for the parts is $717.50 Retail but you can get a 20% discount at Caliber Motors, Inc. in Anaheim Hills, Ca. The parts numbers for the '97 are (but be sure and ask him if they are the same for the 96):
210-835-27-40 New Housing cover------$38.40
210-821-15-51----Switch--------------------169.00
210-820-09-17--Electric cable and plug----33.60
210-820-68-42 Blower Motor--------------334.40
Total---------------------------------------------------------$574.00
That is in October of '03. Prices may be higher now.

So you will save $146 in part and about $500 in labor to do this 1 hour at the most (actually about 30 min if you don't get a back ache) job. Caliber's sales number is1-800-252-6877. That is all I know. Good luck. Harvey

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hlg

Blower regulator from a S class of the same years will fit just fine. Just have to extend the wiring harness.

Regulator will run less than $300.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=85573&highlight=blower

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1997 E320