My fan blade bearing is making a noise.

Any ideas on cheapest way to repair it?

I went to a mechanic who wanted to charge $1,000 to remove the radiator, replace the belt, replace the fan blade bearing, replace the water pump, etc.

Most of this is probably unnecessary.

How can I just replace the noisy bearing?

 

Go to another garage. I just got quoted about 350 bucks at the Thelen Audi dealership in Bay City. I have the same problem right now, and I tried to fix it myself and couldnt get the fan pulley off.

 

To take the fan off, use channelock pliers to hold the belt and pulley and keep them from spinning. Have a friend remove the large nut that secures the fan to the pulley - it's a counterclockwise thread, so it's righty-loosey, lefty-tighty. Remove the fan, and go from there. Use the DIY on doing a timing belt to help you put the car in service position with the front bumper off. It's not that hard to do with the proper procedure in front of you. Sure as hell it's not a $1000 job.