Fan Clutch

[71Beige280SL]

My wife and I were cruising last Saturday afternoon. We took a spin through our downtown area looking for a place for lunch. For the first time in the 11 years, my Pagoda over heated. Didn't want to risk any damage so I had the car towed to the dealer I use. They diagnosed the problem as a bad fan clutch. They quoted me a total of $3800 for the repair including labor. They've usually been fair because they view my car as a rolling advertisement...but, that seemed high.

I would appreciate any perspectives from this group. 

[Cees Klumper]

That's insanely high, if it's just to replace the fan clutch?

There was another thread here recently about good quality and original fan clutches - as often, the good quality non-OEM are a fraction of the one MB sells but should be fine. I think under $100? Then figure maybe an hour max to put it in? Maybe they did not provide you all the information about what they think needs doing. Has to be something like that, or a mix-up with someone else's car.

[Jonny B]

I just replaced mine, and went with a Mehle unit at a tick over $250. The Behr clutch was about $1000!! There are much cheaper URO units at under $100, but I would be skeptical of those. Another decent brand is Hudson.

I replaced it myself, but my car does not have a shroud around the radiator, and that would complicate things. I also did not need to take off the hood (or drop the radiator out the bottom).

It is a bit of a squeeze to get the fan in and out, especially if you have the spacer on the front of the water pump puller. Patience won out

I also put thin cardboard between the fan and the radiator to protect the radiator.

[71Beige280SL]

Thanks Johnny B and Cees. I looked into the costs further. Both the thermostat and fan clutch need to be replaced. Total parts cost is $1019. The thermostat is a Mercedes part but the fan clutch is aftermarket from a company called Adsit (www.adsitco.com) out of Eaton, Indiana. The rest was an estimate of labor. I'll be looking into it further.

[Jonny B]

I will go back to Cees's comments, that is crazy expensive. A thermostat is in the $50 range, and the clutch from Mehle is $250. I would definitely double check the brand on the Adsit fan clutch.

I bought the fan clutch from KK Mfg out of Michigan.

[Kevkeller]

I think they’re taking advantage of you also. Parts made in India don’t cost that much either.

[Cees Klumper]

Adsitco fan clutch as per their website for a 280 SL costs $110.

[WRe]

Hi,
here you can check prices for fan clutches (in Germany): https://www.daparto.de/Kuehlerluefter-Kupplung/Mercedes-Benz-SL-Pagode-W113/3-9310a012-851. I would take a Meyle.
...WRe