'93 W124 Advice On Kenlow Fan To Cure Overheating

[humberonia]

1993 230E IN AMAZING CONDITION 150k MILES.Just Bought This Car. Great On Motorway On Way Home But As Soon As I Hit Heavy Traffic And Traffic Lights It Started To Overheat. I Stopped The Engine When It Reached Over 100 Degrees And Some Steam And Overflow Appeared. Left It 5 Minutes, Then I Was Able To Drive It Home (2 Miles) With No Further Overheating.
Have Just Done The Carrot Test At 90 Degrees And It Stopped The Fan Blades - Did Not Slice The Carrot. I Suspect Fan Clutch But I Cannot Tell If It Is A Viscous Fan Or Electromagnetic But I Did Notice There Was A Small Connection Block On The Engine With Red And Green Wires.
I Wondered If I Should Simply Fit A Kenlow Type Fan For £95 Since I Do Not Think I Could Tackle Removal And Refitting Of Fan Clutch And This Would Cost Me About £95 Plus Fitting Costs.
Hope Someone Can Help

Barry In Bearsden. Glasgow

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[Bolide]

Replace the radiator cap and the viscous coupling. That will probably do it

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[230K]

Hi

If you have an electromagnetic clutch it is most likely the sensor which from memory is located just behind the thermostat screwed into the head there are a couple of them together. Give me your chassis number and i will look on the EPC to see if yours is viscous or electromagnetic clutch.

230K

 

[television]

As 230k with the electric clutch there are 2 wires that run up from the clutch and one goes to the first sensor on top of the block.

By grounding the top of the sensor the fan will start

 

[humberonia]

Hi

If you have an electromagnetic clutch it is most likely the sensor which from memory is located just behind the thermostat screwed into the head there are a couple of them together. Give me your chassis number and i will look on the EPC to see if yours is viscous or electromagnetic clutch.

230K

THANKS. MY CHASSIS NUMBER IS WDB1240232B792273

 

[230K]

Hi

Best to edit out your chassis number, i had meant for you to Private Message it to me. Some people reckon that it is best not to post these details on a public forum.

You do have an electromagnetic clutch so best to check the sensor on the top of the head behind the thermostat trace the wire back to it so you know you have the correct one. If it is a single wire just earth it with the ignition on and you should hear a click from the fan. If its a twin connection link across.

Good Luck

230k

 

[type49]

Forget the 90 degree test. Early 124s had a 100 degree switch. If the switch is OK, it's only two wires to check. The magnet will not be faulty. Either switch or wiring. Save your money.

 

[humberonia]

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[humberonia]

overheating now settled down. no mayo in oil filler cap or dipstick. no smoke runs great but now has brown gunge in header tank, since i topped up anti freeze (4 pints - non mercedes). could this be a reaction from wrong anti freeze or have i now got a cylinder head gasket problem

 

[MotardMan]

FLush the whole system. I mean the engine block, as well as the rad, and refill with 50/50 anti freeze and melted ice. Gain brownie points from the missus for defrosting the freezer! You'll find a tap off on the lower RHS of the rad with a red valve. Engine is RHS also, towards the gearbox end. Keep an eye on the levels after it gets to temp and keep topping it up to the line in the expansion tank. Let it cool over night, and top up when cold. It may take a few top ups/cycles to get all the air out.

 

[star]

overheating now settled down. no mayo in oil filler cap or dipstick. no smoke runs great but now has brown gunge in header tank, since i topped up anti freeze (4 pints - non mercedes). could this be a reaction from wrong anti freeze or have i now got a cylinder head gasket problem

You have a headgasket problem, not as in water loss into oil or cylinder but the high pressure oil feed is seeping into the water jacket. eventually this will affect your cooling hoses and they will swell with the contamination.

 

[wireman]

Dont drink the water! especialy if it came of a cooling coil.

If the melted ice is supposed to be clean and pure water there is a problem to be addressed, The ice which builds up in a fridge or freezer cooling coil comes from your houses atmosphere and will contain all sorts of contaminants from the house and kitchen that might affect the performance of an antifreeze mixture.
i.e.
Cooking vapours and fats
Toast fumes
Peoples sweat
The water from your breath as you open the fridge door
The smell from the loo
Tobaco smoke (If you smoke)
The smell of the dog (if you have one)
Etc Etc
AND all the bacteria and stuff from the above.
If your water company tried to sell this stuff as pure they would bring back hanging for them.

Use water from the tap for the cooling system (de-ionised for a battery) any lime from hard water will be of so insignificant quantity that it does not matter one jot unless you are topping up the system daily.

Do not exceed the manufactures AF/water ratio since high AF quantities have significantly reduced heat capacity which could result in localised hot spots around the combustion chamber tops (despite a moderarate/correct engine temp) which will result in some damage risk to the engine, especialy the valves and their seats, 50% sounds high.

The choice of anti freeze is mostly up to you, they must for your engine be suited to mixed metal engines (iron/ali) and be formulated to protect against corrosion as well as frost.

The brown gunge you refer to, is it just red rust colour or oily as well?
If it is brown sludgy stuff that looks like rusty water (without oil) its probably what is left of the anticorrosion additive after it has been attacked by slight quantities of exhaust gasses being injected into the coolant (one every firing) whilst the engine has been run in overheated conditions, this is a good indicator that cylinder head gasket trouble may be on its way to an engine near you at some time sooner or later, if there is oil there as well its a sign that the gasket is probably damaged now.

Anti freeze solution degradation occurs to the anti corrosion properties long before it does to the antifreeze properties, a specific gravity or density test only checks the ratio of AF/water not the properties of the coolant, for this reason it is good sense to flush and change the coolant at no more than 3 year intervals.

With luck you might get away with the potential CHG problems that often affect engines which have been run for too long with cooling problems.