RE: 325 E30 electric fans

["Fadeev, Alex" <alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Phil Kogan [mailto:pkogan@domain.elided] wrote:
> 
> Anybody have the skinny on the electric radiator fans on E30s. 
> I have an 88 Is and an 89 i and both fans are locked solid. I
> cannot move them manually.  

Phil,
It is not an uncommon for the E30 electric fans to seize after 10+ years of
sucking in road grime. The bad news is that an OEM replacement costs around
$250.
The electric fans are wired to run at low speed whenever the AC is on and
high speed when the coolant temperature exceeds certain temperature (130C?).
In other words, they are not eye candy unless you live north of the arctic
circle.

> I have not removed them yet because I want to know what I am 
> up against. 

Bentley details the procedure pretty well. You would need to remove the
radiator (good time to flush the coolant) and wiggle the AC condenser out of
the way to get to the fan. Some shops will try to charge you for evacuating
the AC but that's not necessary.

> Is there any sense to try and rework it or is there an 
> inexpensive replacement. I would like to get these working 
> and put in a manual switch as we do some autocrossing and I
> would like to get some extra cooling when sitting in line.

There may be an alternative 3rd party replacement but you would need to
kludge the mounting and wiring. The latter may be up your alley as you want
to add the manual switch anyway, although a properly working cooling system
would NOT require extra cooling from the electric switch even during
autoXing.
 
alex f

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