heater fan replacement 1970 280SE W111.026

[peterl]

Well, I'm tackling the heater fan this weekend (thanks Aaron!) in my '70 280SE. I seem to recall coming across a post with detailed instructions on how to do this job. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I just spent a while looking and can't find it.

I'd like to have some input from the experts here to augment the shop manual and Chiltons.

Thanks,
Peter

[zambo]

Good luck Peter - the blower and a lot about the 108 heater box set up was designed to torture would-be DIY mechanics.

See this link on mbz.org, it is the only thing I have found to date that deals with the subject. The manual/CD is next to useless on this topic

EDIT: "dead link removed".

Be interested to know how you go - if you have a digi camera to record your journey, that would be appreciated by many, I am sure.

Regards

Richard

[nathanyork]

please do record your blower motor adventure. I will be doing mine soon too and would love to see pictures of what I will be doing.

[JoeyTheB]

First, if you can finish the job in a weekend,
your're a better man than I for sure.

Remove/Take Apart/Dissassemble:

Discharge A/C (might want to go to local shop to recover
freon to be legal).

Drain radiator

Remove windshield wipers and cowl cover, and leaf filters.

Remove heater hoses at rear of block going into firewall.
Remove AC lines going to condenser unit - careful
new ones must be custom made.

Remove front seats.

Remove windshield sides, wood and dashtop.

Remove glove box, cig lighter, ash tray, radio.

Remove lower dash/AC unit

Remove drink tray/window switches and
shroud around heater vents (two sheet metal screws
on sides)

Remove heater levers - check your switch -
it's the upper left. Make sure the switch works
or wire a new toggle in somewhere.
Watch those wacky clips.

Remove the heater vent assy down below.
Lots of little clips - store in a good place.
Getting this part reminds me of a c-section birth.
At this point, celebrate your progress with a beverage.

Don't recall if you have to remove heater core all the way.

Now you can get to the fan/blower assy.
At least one bolt/screw you get to from cowl/up above.

It took me a couple months of weekends, but I
redid the dash wood and had the radiator repaired.

Best wishes,
you'll get your MB merit badge with this one....

PS - If after reading this you choose to sell your car
and buy one with a working heater blower motor,
none of us would blame you.....

[peterl]

I forgot all about draining the coolant!

Seeing as how I'll be working in an unheated garage, and it's only going to be in the 40s this weekend, and the car has to be on the road Monday...

I'll try cleaning and lubing the blower from the cowl side. Cross your fingers! If that dosen't work I'll probably go without and do it in the spring when the motorcycle is back on the road. I'm thinking about picking up a $1000 bomber to get me through the winter anyway. I do not relish the idea of watching the car rust before my eyes. Been there, done that.

I will try to document the frontal entry, though.

Thanks to everyone for this little bit of sanity.

Peter

[JoeyTheB]

I totally agree - exhaust (pardon the pun) all your options
before you take this on....

Here's the irony of the whole deal -
the fan is pretty wimpy and doesn't move a lot of air,
at least not compared to the air coming through the cowl.

If it's heat you are after, as long as the heater is functioning properly, and your'e heater controls work, the output from
the heater will is more than adequte - it rocks.
Heck, you'll be looking for the switch to turn it down after
a few minutes !

And come to think of it, the guy who told me the steps told
me that up front - guess I just wanted that merit badge.

Happy Motoring,
Joe

[nathanyork]

are you saying that if all the levers work, driving it at speed will move hot air into the cabin even if the blower is not working?

[peterl]

I get decent heat if the car is moving. Unfortunately my mornign commute is a lot of stop and go. I also would like a better defroster. I'm looking into a portable one, though.

[Tomguy]

My fan (luckily for me) was just blocked by a leaf. I took it out, gave it a little spin, and oiled the top shaft - it works fine now. I suggest trying that before getting overly involved in disecting your car! All you have to do is remove the wipers and the cowl (along with the chrome strip) and see if your fan is frozen by debris.

[300SDog]

Just wondering....... has anybody ever heard of cutting through the firewall to access the heat blower motor??

[Mark DiSilvestro]

The idea of hacking up the firewall gives me chills.
I've done a couple of fan replacements in W114/W115 cars. Both had AC. Typically it's a take it apart on the first day, put it back together the next, job. New fans are getting expensive now. the last one I got, for a '72 220, cost over $300! A friend gave me a NOS fan he had bought for one of his now-departed 220Ds. I'm saving it for my 250C. Many years ago, I did a heater R+R on a non-AC 220SE Fintail and don't remember it being that hard. I assumed the W108 would be similar, except for the AC in the way, but I could be mistaken - haven't done one of those yet. The original heater and fan in my '60 Fintail is still working. Good luck with yours.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Tomguy]

Originally posted by 240DieselDog
Just wondering....... has anybody ever heard of cutting through the firewall to access the heat blower motor??

I remember reading this myself. I KNEW I saw it on this forum - I just had to look for it. It was a post by Aaron,

"...If you take the short cut (which I personally would not do, but mentioned it because they actually told us about it in Mercedes school )
you need to score the heater box, which will then allow you to go in and remove the blower through the opening you have made. Then you'll need to re-affix the cut out piece to the heater box."

I would see this making life a TON easier - if you don't care about the slight chance of this being visible, I would pounce on this as a MAJOR shortcut and an easier way of doing an otherwise PITA job!

[Bingo]

I followed zambo's link and tried the ATF lube from the cowl side and it has cured my squeeling fan - will be interesting to see how long it lasts - sure beats a 20 hour replacement!

[zambo]

Glad it worked Bingo - fingers crossed it lasts a LONG time.

Cheers

Richard

[Bingo]

Winter is 5-6 months long here - it must be summer in your part of the world. If it lasts a couple of months I'll be happy - it'll be a 15 minute job next time it squeels - the forecast is -20 degrees C tonight.

Cheers, Bingo