I've got a bad fan clutch... now what?

[Pink_Floyd]

Well my fan clutch is shot. The fan is spinning even on a cold start at idle speed and it never goes off. I've been looking around and it looks like I can get an aftermarket piece for about $88 and a real sachs one for $125. Very tempting to get the AM one, but I'm still undecided.

My real question is - how hard is it to repace this? At pelican parts they sell 2 special tools to help remove the old clutch and install the new ones. Do I need to buy these tools or should I just go ahead and try and do it on my own. I have all full socket and ratchet and wrench sets, etc, but nothing special.

Thanks!

 

[Ghost]

It’ll be easier to change with the proper tools. The clutch obviously is not anchored thus hard to remove while trying to hold it in place. I had to change two on my 535 and realized this the hard way. Plus as I found, a wrench that is wide enough will also be too thick.

 

[eyedoll325is]

clutch

a month or so i changed my clutch, pressure plate and the release bearing, it was noisy. The only thing that was in good condition was the clutch, the other two were worn out. I know a mechanic that works for an import car service place. He knows bimmers pretty good so i did the job with him directly. I saw everything he did and trust me, it is not easy!!!!.

The car was lifted completly, so wo both had a good look at the car from the bottom. You have to remove some stuff first before you try to remove the trainny. Before removing it, we went to autozone to buy some special tool to be able to loose the huge screws. You need huge extensions to get to the screw and u have to hold the bolt from the other side in order to apply force. There are 2 screws that are on top, those are very difficult to find and reach. After you loose them all, u have to remove it which was also another thing that the mechanic struggled since it has never been removed before.

The rest is doing just the opposite with an extra difficulty level of aligning the trainy with all those features on the opposite end.(hard)

I dunno where the fan is, im asuiming it is not onw of the parts that i removed so it is probably still on the car after removing the trainy.

 

[Pink_Floyd]

eyedoll325is,

Thanks for your reply, but I think you misunderstood what I was talking about. The fan clutch is the device that engages and disengages the engine fan depending on the coolant temperature and it doesn't have anything to do with the tranny. Also, hopefully it will be a lot easier to replace the fan clutch than a regular clutch.

 

[mjbst111]

i have an e30 and had to replace mine. I used an adjustable wrench. It was the only thing i could find that was big enough. You do have to find one that is thin enough. Once you get one on you just pound the wrech in the right direction with a rubber mallet (or whatever else you find to hit it with) as hard as you can to jolt the nut to loosen. Otherwise it just spins with the fan. Only a good jolt will loosen it. It took a decent amount of persistance to get mine off but i got it off eventually without any problems and without a special tool.

But then again your car may be very different. Give it a try.

 

[Pink_Floyd]

i have an e30 and had to replace mine. I used an adjustable wrench. It was the only thing i could find that was big enough. You do have to find one that is thin enough. Once you get one on you just pound the wrech in the right direction with a rubber mallet (or whatever else you find to hit it with) as hard as you can to jolt the nut to loosen. Otherwise it just spins with the fan. Only a good jolt will loosen it. It took a decent amount of persistance to get mine off but i got it off eventually without any problems and without a special tool.

But then again your car may be very different. Give it a try.

Thanks for the reply! And for putting a new one back on are there any specific torque settings or do you just tighten it as hard as you can? And if there were torque settings, how would you be able to tighten it to spec if you can't get a torque wrench in there?

 

[jrt67ss350]

As with every damn bolt on these cars, there is a torque rating. Those Germans are obsessed with torquing bolts. Of course, BMW makes a special wrench that fits in there and allows you to attach a torque wrench to it. When I replaced my fan clutch, I just tightened the thing as tight as I could get it. The fan hasn't flown off on me yet!

By the way, when removing the clutch, keep in mind that the fan clutch is reverse threaded onto the water pump pulley. Since it's reverse threaded, during engine operation the normal rotation of the pulley will also help keep the fan clutch tight on the pulley.

The bolt/nut/thing is 32mm, at least on the E30s. So, a 32mm wrench is a big damn wrench. I borrowed one from a guy my dad works with to change out my fan clutch - they cost about $40 for a Craftsman 32mm wrench.

By the way, I'd spring for the Sachs clutch. The cooling system is not something you want to cheap out on, and the Sachs clutches last a good, long time. You said that your fan never goes off. It won't ever stop completely - it's not supposed to stop completely. My new fan clutch turns even during a cold start and always turns when the engine is running. The fan has to turn a certain amount to draw air from the radiator over the thermostat in the clutch. Without a certain amount of airflow, the clutch would never get hot enough to engage. When fan clutches go bad, the car will run hot since they don't lock up like they are supposed to. Are you sure your clutch is bad?

 

[eyedoll325is]

doh

i just read clutch and started writing about the most obvious clutch

i know what clutch you are talking about, i might replace it in the future because it makes a sound from time to time, cya