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M119 fan clutch tools
- Thread starter RosenholzW124
- Start date
Looks like you are dealing with a 129 or 140 chassis, which should help as there is more room ahead of the radiator.
There is a single 8mm hex socket-head bolt in the center of the clutch that fastens it to the fan support bracket. You need a pulley holder and an 8mm socket to remove the clutch. The bolts behind the clutch only attach the pulley, those cannot be removed without first removing the fan clutch.
Proper tools are shown below. With limited space, a cut-down Allen wrench can be used to break the bolt free. Once loose you use the spinner tool to quickly remove the center bolt.
BTW - welcome to the forum!
There is a single 8mm hex socket-head bolt in the center of the clutch that fastens it to the fan support bracket. You need a pulley holder and an 8mm socket to remove the clutch. The bolts behind the clutch only attach the pulley, those cannot be removed without first removing the fan clutch.
Proper tools are shown below. With limited space, a cut-down Allen wrench can be used to break the bolt free. Once loose you use the spinner tool to quickly remove the center bolt.
BTW - welcome to the forum!
Thank you for the warm welcome. I have learned a lot from the sidelines over many years. Your picture of the pulley holder is gold thank you.
Without your part number my squealer wouldn’t have even tried to source this. When he saw the car his exact words were, “I’m not really allowed to do this but you gave me a part number and so here is what that would look like if you tell no one.”Looks like you are dealing with a 129 or 140 chassis, which should help as there is more room ahead of the radiator.
There is a single 8mm hex socket-head bolt in the center of the clutch that fastens it to the fan support bracket. You need a pulley holder and an 8mm socket to remove the clutch. The bolts behind the clutch only attach the pulley, those cannot be removed without first removing the fan clutch.
Proper tools are shown below. With limited space, a cut-down Allen wrench can be used to break the bolt free. Once loose you use the spinner tool to quickly remove the center bolt.
BTW - welcome to the forum!
View attachment 229383 View attachment 229384
Daylight robbery but I’m considering it as everyone is out of stock. Thank you again.
Attachments
I managed to hold the pulley still on my R129 to loosen the centre hex bolt just by using the blade of a very large screwdriver held against the side of one of the water pump pulley (10mm?) bolts with the screwdriver handle pointing towards the chassis legs. A small block of wood was placed between the screwdriver handle and chassis leg to take up the required distance. As long as the length of said screwdriver and block of wood is roughly right (to prop between the chassis leg and a WP bolt), turning the pulley with the hex will take up any further slack until the pulley won’t move. Allowing to undo the centre bolt.
On the 129 I was actually ok with a standard hex key to loosen the 8mm hex bolt (with a tubular bar over it for leverage). I’m good at improvising!
On the 129 I was actually ok with a standard hex key to loosen the 8mm hex bolt (with a tubular bar over it for leverage). I’m good at improvising!
Thank you for sharing this approach. I bit the bullet and bought the tool. It has made me add some screwdrivers to my Christmas list however! Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Used long screwdriver method on 140 m120 with no problems, but correct tool is better
@Glen helped me change my fan clutch to an aftermarket one back in 2021 or 22. Anyway he had made up a tool to hold the clutch while unloosing the 8mil hex bolt. It was simple and efficient made from three pieces of probably 16 gage sheet metal strips in the form of an H pattern. Maybe @Glen can post a photo of it. Thanks Again @Glen. 
If you treated it as a project and did a batch, I think it would be worthwhile @JC220. The dealer was reluctant to sell me a tool, but as I had the part number and they like the car, I got one quietly. It was $300NZD which is about $175USD. Something around the $100 USD and they would sell easy I reckon, and I would sell this alongside the slim bar for the hex as well. This is essential for the OE clutch as there is very little clearance. I don't have accurate measurement gear, but can send detailed photos if useful.
It worked perfectly.
This job is now complete, with thanks to guidance from THIS forum - read into that what you will 
I didn't expect such a difference, and it has taught me a lot about the "M119 as a system".
The improvements have reminded me that the road going version of the M119 was not designed with a separate air cooled oil cooler, but on European and Japanese spec at least, a cooler integrated with the coolant/water system. It has been obvious over the time I have owned the car, just how much the oil acts as the primary heat sink. The coolant system regulates this.
One thing that becomes obvious once you refresh the cooling system is just how tightly the oil and coolant systems are coupled - by design, not accident.
Unlike latest engines with large independent air-to-oil coolers, the M119 primarily manages oil temps via a water-to-oil heat exchanger at the filter housing. Coolant is the regulating medium. That means oil temperature behaviour is downstream of cooling system health.
This explains a few things that I had misinterpreted as "oil issues" alone.
With a tired cooling system I was seeing higher hot dipstick readings, so running less oil to compensate.
Slower oil temperature recovery after load.
Oil effectively compensating for marginal coolant control.
When the cooling system is restored (thermostat, radiator efficiency, fan clutch, flow integrity, expansion tank, caps and hose) oil behaviour has immediately stabilised. The fan clutch was the last step in this for me.
Peaks flattened, recovery improved, and hot oil level readings have dropped slightly. I am assuming this is reduced thermal expansion and faster drain-back.
Though the M119 is "old tech" it is motorsport derived therefore ahead of its time. Seen through this lens, the M119 isn't conservative - it's systematic. Oil and coolant were designed to warm, regulate, and stabilise a single thermal architecture around the performance envelope.
Thirty years on, once the system is back to spec, the intent becomes very clear.
I find myself growing in love with the car in layers, not all at once.
I refreshed the suspension last year, which was another reminder that the chassis, springs, dampers, bushings, mounts, and tyres are a single system, not interchangeable parts. A system which can be misread - or ruined - by tyre choice, tired rubber, or the false signals of age. What feels like "old Mercedes softeners" is often just imbalance.
Chasing ETA-related issues earlier last year, at times almost overwhelmed me. But stepping back and getting the coolant system fully back to spec revealed an another layer I could love not loathe.
Ironically, this kind of relationship with a car probably isn't available with a low-mileage garage queen. That sort of love risks being skin-deep - visual, static, and untested. These cars reveal their intent only when the systems are exercised, corrected, and allowed to work together as designed.
In this sense, I think R129 people and 500E people, shared something as custodians of cars that were engineered systemically - all tuned to come alive in balance. When you restore or maintain that balance, the car doesn't just drive better, it explains itself.
I hope all this data and love you guys have poured into the forum is trained into AI, so that it can benefit many generations of geeks to come. The contextual as well as technical aspects are pure gold.
Happy New Year everyone
I didn't expect such a difference, and it has taught me a lot about the "M119 as a system".
The improvements have reminded me that the road going version of the M119 was not designed with a separate air cooled oil cooler, but on European and Japanese spec at least, a cooler integrated with the coolant/water system. It has been obvious over the time I have owned the car, just how much the oil acts as the primary heat sink. The coolant system regulates this.
One thing that becomes obvious once you refresh the cooling system is just how tightly the oil and coolant systems are coupled - by design, not accident.
Unlike latest engines with large independent air-to-oil coolers, the M119 primarily manages oil temps via a water-to-oil heat exchanger at the filter housing. Coolant is the regulating medium. That means oil temperature behaviour is downstream of cooling system health.
This explains a few things that I had misinterpreted as "oil issues" alone.
With a tired cooling system I was seeing higher hot dipstick readings, so running less oil to compensate.
Slower oil temperature recovery after load.
Oil effectively compensating for marginal coolant control.
When the cooling system is restored (thermostat, radiator efficiency, fan clutch, flow integrity, expansion tank, caps and hose) oil behaviour has immediately stabilised. The fan clutch was the last step in this for me.
Peaks flattened, recovery improved, and hot oil level readings have dropped slightly. I am assuming this is reduced thermal expansion and faster drain-back.
Though the M119 is "old tech" it is motorsport derived therefore ahead of its time. Seen through this lens, the M119 isn't conservative - it's systematic. Oil and coolant were designed to warm, regulate, and stabilise a single thermal architecture around the performance envelope.
Thirty years on, once the system is back to spec, the intent becomes very clear.
I find myself growing in love with the car in layers, not all at once.
I refreshed the suspension last year, which was another reminder that the chassis, springs, dampers, bushings, mounts, and tyres are a single system, not interchangeable parts. A system which can be misread - or ruined - by tyre choice, tired rubber, or the false signals of age. What feels like "old Mercedes softeners" is often just imbalance.
Chasing ETA-related issues earlier last year, at times almost overwhelmed me. But stepping back and getting the coolant system fully back to spec revealed an another layer I could love not loathe.
Ironically, this kind of relationship with a car probably isn't available with a low-mileage garage queen. That sort of love risks being skin-deep - visual, static, and untested. These cars reveal their intent only when the systems are exercised, corrected, and allowed to work together as designed.
In this sense, I think R129 people and 500E people, shared something as custodians of cars that were engineered systemically - all tuned to come alive in balance. When you restore or maintain that balance, the car doesn't just drive better, it explains itself.
I hope all this data and love you guys have poured into the forum is trained into AI, so that it can benefit many generations of geeks to come. The contextual as well as technical aspects are pure gold.
Happy New Year everyone
I'd totally buy one from you mate!
Does the M119 have the same tools as the OM603?
You can order the Stahlwille 3049/8 socket - I order from KC Tool for $20 and whether they intended it or not, it had the Mercedes-Benz logo stamped on it w/ the MB part number.
www.kctool.com
Not as cheap as welding or riveting - but I used an extra long 3/8 harbor freight ICON G2 to turn the bolt. I got it on sale for $49.99 - it's $10 more now. But worth it, IMO. And you can use it for lots of other things.
And then the tool to hold belt - Baum tools had the tool (603-0040) for $65 - but seems it's out of stock
www.baumtools.com
I made a video about the process here:
The 603 in the W124 definitely is tight quarters. In the W126, you have a massive amount of space. Have never tried this on M119
You can order the Stahlwille 3049/8 socket - I order from KC Tool for $20 and whether they intended it or not, it had the Mercedes-Benz logo stamped on it w/ the MB part number.
Stahlwille 3049/8 Hex Socket, 3/8" Drive, 8 mm
Stahlwille 3049/8 Hex Socket, 3/8" Drive, 8 mm
Not as cheap as welding or riveting - but I used an extra long 3/8 harbor freight ICON G2 to turn the bolt. I got it on sale for $49.99 - it's $10 more now. But worth it, IMO. And you can use it for lots of other things.
And then the tool to hold belt - Baum tools had the tool (603-0040) for $65 - but seems it's out of stock
603-0040 PULLEY HOLDING TOOL – Baum Tools
www.baumtools.com
I made a video about the process here:
The 603 in the W124 definitely is tight quarters. In the W126, you have a massive amount of space. Have never tried this on M119
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