[V8] fan clutch bearing (V8 Steam engine)

[gbmarc at cox.net]

I finally got the fan off yesterday and removed what is called, the Fan Shaft or the Fan Clutch bracket.  Basically it's the bearing that the fan attaches to.  It was in very bad shape.  Both covers of the bearing had disintegrated and the dry steel balls were grinding around against each other.  Now for the potentially helpful discovery:
This small part 711 121 211   is $400! After searching for quite a while I found Koperformance who had it for around $330, but still a ridiculous amount of money.  However, this bracket consists of the bearing+bearing housing which is bolted into a second similar plate. The two can easily be separated by unscrewing a large central bolt, then the bearing is just pulled off. Apparently this (half of 711 121 211) bearing part is the same as VW part  077 115 136A.  This part is only $90 from ECSTuning.   
I ordered the part and will report back how it all works out.

Mark.