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fernweh
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Calabasas, CA - Centenario, BCS - Luebeck, Germany
Vehicle(s): Few Mercedes-Benz, a Toyota Amphibious and a Vespa
| No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
Hi guys,
after having a constant 'running hot' problem here in the past 110+ F SoCal weather, we left Los Angeles on a cooler evening to sneak past the Death Valley oven during night time in order to make it all the way up to the G-Treffen in Moab, Utah. Keeping the speed around 60m/hr and constantly watching the temp gauge which most the time showed us 100 C, we made it over the Baker Grade without going nuclear! I was always hoping for much cooler ambient air temp in the higher elevations along the Interstate 15 and 70, but nothing really changed all the way up to Ouray. Still running past 100C and some times even just below the 120C mark!!! I had changed out both temp sending units before the trip - the 100C for the aux fan and the other for the temp gauge -just to be sure!.
I was really worried to follow our friend Dutch into the offroad/rock climbing adventure part of our 2006 G-Treffen, not to blow-up our heat stressed 103 engine.
I had tried already everything in the book to get the engine to run just a bit cooler, some Forum posts asking for advice, a new radiator, the right coolant (thanks Dai), the right coolant : water mixture, Redline Water-stuff and not let the G sense my growing frustration (she knows all the nasty German words for sure...)
Then, after further discussion with P3-host Brent at the Matterhorn, everything/one pointed at the not to long ago replaced fan clutch! But there were no little metal finger tabs I could bent in to lock the fan at my 103 engine, Brent remembered doing once with his G320.
Being also on a short budget string - my German engineering degree (my parents did spend a fortune on it) allowed me to find a fast and affective solution.
Results: The Operation Temp of this 300GE stayed at 87 - 90 C for the remainder of the trip, slow climbs in Summer temps, fast (!?!) driving on the highway and doing the Baker Grade on the way home WITH NO WORRIES! |
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fernweh
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Calabasas, CA - Centenario, BCS - Luebeck, Germany
Vehicle(s): Few Mercedes-Benz, a Toyota Amphibious and a Vespa
| RE: No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
Here is my engineering marvel:
Take a 3/16" strong rope, the one you get in an outdoor store, adjust the lenght to 36" to 48" (the 500 or G55 guys might use a bit more) 
You need also to ty two knots on one end, approximately 2.75" apart with a little leader remaining. Please see picture.
Insert this leader at the fan pully behind one of the 6mm bolt heads - please do this with the engine off! Now just hold the other end of the rope between two fingers and let a helper turn over the engine. This action will rap the rope around the fan shaft. Depending what kind of health insurance you have, please release the rope in time. Shut down the engine, pull the rope tight and trim the end as close as possible to the "rappings"
The fan is now tight-up and you are ready for a test drive - our lasted around 1200 miles.......
Karl
P.S. this is not an authorized repair, no assuming of any liability claims and so on.....
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 IMG_1998.jpg (625KB - 9 downloads)
IMG_1975.jpg (116KB - 8 downloads)
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AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| RE: No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
The kick-in temperature of fan clutch can be adusted with not very much effort. If you are game for adjusting it, I'll write up a how-to.
Still you ought to be able to drive without getting too hot without the fan. Has the pump itself been checked? If the wrong coolant was in there for an extended time cavitation damage may have reduced it's efficiency. This happened on a benz I had. The walls of the pump had been eaten away and the impeller was spinning rather ineffectually in the middle. |
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79percent
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Remscheid / Germany
Vehicle(s): 300 GE
Posts: 537
| RE: No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
Well. last weekend I had another failure mode. Everything was running fine, only the temp was a bit higher than normal. When parked I noticedwater coming from front right side, next to the Coolant reservoir. I checked it and the closure head mechanism of the coolant reservior stuck in "overpressure" position. This let the system run without pressure and bad cooling resuts. Interesting find and easy replacement.
RGDS |
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G4Garret
Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Oak Ridge - Knoxville - Windrock Tennessee
Vehicle(s): 2000 G500, U1100, SLK350, LR 101, WC-63 6x6
Posts: 243
| Re: No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
Brilliant!
Looks like the Wile E. Coyote school of G repair is alive and well. 
Garret
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hipine
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: US, CO, Bailey
Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A
| RE: No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
Just my opinion of course, but this "German Rope Trick" ought to be used in a manner similar to the one intended for the bent tabs on the the fan clutch. That is, as a diagnostic tool or emergency "get you home" kind of temporary fix. The rope will throw the fan and clutch assembly out of balance which is not a good thing for water pump bearings, or the integrity of the fan itself, and fan failures are NOT pretty. Using the rope short term and having no more heating problems points to a possible malfunctioning fan clutch, so maybe replace or adjust that part as the real solution. One thing to remember with the fan clutch. It should always be stored on edge. The original boxes are marked as such. If you go to pick it up from your pars guy and it's lying on it's back or front (the big side of the box and "natural" way to lay it on a shelf), point out the instructions on the box and kindly ask to receive another part that's been stored correctly. Improper storage results in fluid being improperly distributed within the clutch and is a condition from which the clutch does not recover. All the best, -Dave G. |
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Brent
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: SW Colorado USA
Vehicle(s): '13 Wolfsburg GTI
Posts: 1754
| RE: No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
AlanMcR - 9/25/2006 8:46 PM
Still you ought to be able to drive without getting too hot without the fan. .
I would agree with that to a point. I had a fan clutch failure on my G320. We were able to drive the truck out to Colorado from Minnesota without overheating. The temp did come up crossing the high passes but never to the point of concern.
I immediately ran into trouble when we headed for the trails around Ouray. On a steep grade at low speed the engine began to overheat within a mile or two. The highway speeds definately reduced the need for the fan but low speed, low airflow situations with a substantial load on the engine quickly caused problems. Fortunately my fan had the fingers meant to engage the fan permanently. Running at highway speeds on the way home was hard on those little fingers, I sheared off several on the way home.
I replaced the clutch once we returned home and never had any more temp troubles. |
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fernweh
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Calabasas, CA - Centenario, BCS - Luebeck, Germany
Vehicle(s): Few Mercedes-Benz, a Toyota Amphibious and a Vespa
| RE: No more running high temps in our 300 GE........
Thanks guys for your input,
Just got back home again from a road trip to OK.
Alan please post the adjusting of the fan clutch sequence.....
Yes, Dave, you are right, any un-balanced load will be not good for longer time periods. Mercedes limits the the 'bend finger' use to 1000km but my rope trick has a much smoother power transition.........
I have to go back to Germany for the whole month of November and planned to get the right fan clutch from the dealer there. Don't know how I can keep it in the upright position for the duration of the flight - any (smart) parts counter guy can bring in the new part and place it correctly in the upright position in front of you. How was it stored before, handled during forklift races or packed for the shipment from the Fatherland?
Maybe its needs to be stored properly for a certain time period before use? Any input?
Karl
P.S. sorry for the awful large pictures.......I'm working with a new camera.... |
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hipine
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: US, CO, Bailey
Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A
| Maybe fourbyfourclub can weigh in on this one
fernweh - 10/2/2006 5:02 PM ...... Don't know how I can keep it in the upright position for the duration of the flight - any (smart) parts counter guy can bring in the new part and place it correctly in the upright position in front of you. How was it stored before, handled during forklift races or packed for the shipment from the Fatherland?.... Well, you pays your money and you takes your chance, I guess. The boxes are marked for proper orientation in storage and either the people handling the boxes know how to follow directions, or they don't. I don't think this is any kind of special G part. Should be available easy enough here in the states. Why bother humping it across the pond in your luggage? Like I said, I've sent them back when I walked into an otherwise knowledgable shop to pick one up and the box was lying flat, contrary to it's labeling. The shop owner was very thankful to have learned something and gladly returned the part. Is it possible he just put it back on his shelf, sold it to someone else, or even gave it to me two days later when I came back to get the replacement? I guess it is and I'll never know. The one I eventually got worked fine in testing after install, and that was enough for me. I'm not sure if there's a "recovery procedure" after improper storage. It was once my understanding that if they lay on one face, they'd recover, while on the other they wouldn't, but that was for GM parts, not MB, so all I have to go on with the MB parts is the instructions on the box. Maybe someone else has better info about the ability of the clutch to recover from improper storage. -Dave G. |
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