Help! Blower/not the Sword & Overheating

[ck1995]

Hate to post new thread on these items but its July in Hot FL. and I need help. Sword has been bad for awhile so I ordered new(used) one. Just before I got the new sword wife was driving and smoke came out the vent and blower stopped working. Don't think,(hope), blower is totally fried as it has come back on a couple of times since this happened and when it goes on it seems to work and sound fine. Anyway, put in new sword and nothing. Put old one back on and tried to activate it manually by moving the spring loaded piece,(sorry for lack of tech. names here), and nothing. Previously this would kick it right on and would see a tiny spark, now I'm getting nothing. Checked the fuse and its O.K. don't know where to check next. In addittion, a couple days after this happened she started overheating while at idle speeds, don't know if possibly connected to blower problem or if it is a tstat issue.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
P.S. sorry for long thread but, just spent $1000 at shop on the E36 and I'm determined to fix this myself

[Gene in NC]

Blower access easy. Pull cover on firewall at back of engine bay and check it out. Typical failure is bushings worn so bad that motor can't turn.

[Kai@e34.de]

overheating problem: M20 or M50 engine?

[ck1995]

overheating problem: M20 or M50 engine?

Mine has the M20.

[Kai@e34.de]

does it still overheat? consumes coolant water?

[ck1995]

does it still overheat? consumes coolant water?
Yes, so far I haven't rectified the overheating or blower problems. On the overheating issue, it doesn't appear to be consuming fluid and I have tried bleeding the system. I was wondering since the blower acts as a secondary cooling device and it isn't kicking on if that may be my problem, if not my current guess is the thermostat.

[Kai@e34.de]

no, your blower has nothing to do with that. it overheated only at idle speeds and not while driving? if so, check your fan coupling. additional to this, see if there's bright brown slime on the inside of your oil cover lid on the cylinder head cover.

[ck1995]

no, your blower has nothing to do with that. it overheated only at idle speeds and not while driving? if so, check your fan coupling. additional to this, see if there's bright brown slime on the inside of your oil cover lid on the cylinder head cover.

No brown slime and fan is working.

On a side note I'd love to come to your country and drive the Autobahn someday...... but first I've got to get my 5er back on the streets here.

[ck1995]

Blower access easy. Pull cover on firewall at back of engine bay and check it out. Typical failure is bushings worn so bad that motor can't turn.

Took cover off and can see blower but, I have to admit not really sure what I'm looking for/at. Tried to turn on again and nothing so I tapped the blower w/ my flashlight and it started to work. Bad part is, I don't think it will last, it sounds like its struggling.

[ryan roopnarine]

Took cover off and can see blower but, I have to admit not really sure what I'm looking for/at. Tried to turn on again and nothing so I tapped the blower w/ my flashlight and it started to work. Bad part is, I don't think it will last, it sounds like its struggling.

the blower is dead, the telltale is you getting it to restart it by hitting it. the brushes are likely too short, and by hitting it, you get them to make contact with the commutator again. if you don't know about electric motors, likely your only recorse is to buy another.

[ck1995]

Hate to post new thread on these items but its July in Hot FL. and I need help. Sword has been bad for awhile so I ordered new(used) one. Just before I got the new sword wife was driving and smoke came out the vent and blower stopped working. Don't think,(hope), blower is totally fried as it has come back on a couple of times since this happened and when it goes on it seems to work and sound fine. Anyway, put in new sword and nothing. Put old one back on and tried to activate it manually by moving the spring loaded piece,(sorry for lack of tech. names here), and nothing. Previously this would kick it right on and would see a tiny spark, now I'm getting nothing. Checked the fuse and its O.K. don't know where to check next. In addittion, a couple days after this happened she started overheating while at idle speeds, don't know if possibly connected to blower problem or if it is a tstat issue.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
P.S. sorry for long thread but, just spent $1000 at shop on the E36 and I'm determined to fix this myself

Well it seems pretty apparent that I need a new blower motor at this point.
Now I'm not sure about the overheating issue. Fan blows, top hose gets warm so tstat seems to be working, bled the system its o.K., water pump only a little over a year old,(should be O.K.). When I had the a/c blower working the car sat and idled for about 15min. w/no signs of overheating. Next time I started her up couldn't get blower to come back to life and what do you know we are heating up quick again. Could this be the only problem or am I missing something in the coolant system???????

[ryan roopnarine]

does it only overheat with the a/c on? the blower itself has nothing to do with your overheating, however, if the electric cooling fan in front of the radiator isn't up to snuff, or your clutch cooling fan isn't, and you put the ac on, the car may overheat.

[ck1995]

does it only overheat with the a/c on? the blower itself has nothing to do with your overheating, however, if the electric cooling fan in front of the radiator isn't up to snuff, or your clutch cooling fan isn't, and you put the ac on, the car may overheat.

Actually, w/ the a/c on and when the blower is working it seems to keep it from overheating. The problem "seems" to be that when the blower isn't working it overheats. I have seen somewhere, I believe on the e34 website, that the blower actually works as a secondary cooling device for the engine during either extreme heat or heavy load. What I can't determine as of yet is once I get the blower working correctly will my overheating woes be over or is there another issue suddenly rearing its ugly head?>

[ryan roopnarine]

Actually, w/ the a/c on and when the blower is working it seems to keep it from overheating. The problem "seems" to be that when the blower isn't working it overheats. I have seen somewhere, I believe on the e34 website, that the blower actually works as a secondary cooling device for the engine during either extreme heat or heavy load. What I can't determine as of yet is once I get the blower working correctly will my overheating woes be over or is there another issue suddenly rearing its ugly head?>

you are probably confusing the two blowers. there are two cooling system fans involved in your car. one is a clutch driven mechanical fan, the big one on the front of your car. there is another one, and auxiliary fan sometimes refered to as a blower, on the back of your radiator. this aux fan turns on whenever you put the a/c on, or if the car is in imminent danger of overheating. there is a climate control blower located in the firewall of your car. this doesn't have anything to do with your overheating, likely. if the car DOESN"T overheat with the ac on, it would lead me to believe that your auxiliary fan is working, as it is turning on when you put the a/c on, and is trying to hel things stay cool. my OPINION (that's what it is) is that there might be something wrong with your main fan, as even in the hot of florida (my aux fan doesn't work 100%), i can run the a/c and the clutch fan will keep things perfect temp wise.

[JonE]

I tend to agree with Ryan, that engine fan clutch, when the engine is quite warm/hot should be blowing air around under the hood like crazy. The clutch can be bad and the fan still turns, but doesn't blow air very well. If you turn off the hot engine does that fan continue to turn/spin for awhile? If the clutch is good and engine is hot, that fan should come to a rather abrupt stop when engine is switched off. If it is "freewheeling" then the clutch may be shot.

[ck1995]

I tend to agree with Ryan, that engine fan clutch, when the engine is quite warm/hot should be blowing air around under the hood like crazy. The clutch can be bad and the fan still turns, but doesn't blow air very well. If you turn off the hot engine does that fan continue to turn/spin for awhile? If the clutch is good and engine is hot, that fan should come to a rather abrupt stop when engine is switched off. If it is "freewheeling" then the clutch may be shot.

Well I tried that this evening, heated her up turned off the car and, I wouldn't say the fan was free wheeling but it sure wasn't a sudden stop. I also pushed fan while engine off and there is some resistance but not alot. Sounds like I'm looking for a fan clutch.

kai, ryan and jon, thanks for the input.....

[ck1995]

Hate to post new thread on these items but its July in Hot FL. and I need help. Sword has been bad for awhile so I ordered new(used) one. Just before I got the new sword wife was driving and smoke came out the vent and blower stopped working. Don't think,(hope), blower is totally fried as it has come back on a couple of times since this happened and when it goes on it seems to work and sound fine. Anyway, put in new sword and nothing. Put old one back on and tried to activate it manually by moving the spring loaded piece,(sorry for lack of tech. names here), and nothing. Previously this would kick it right on and would see a tiny spark, now I'm getting nothing. Checked the fuse and its O.K. don't know where to check next. In addittion, a couple days after this happened she started overheating while at idle speeds, don't know if possibly connected to blower problem or if it is a tstat issue.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
P.S. sorry for long thread but, just spent $1000 at shop on the E36 and I'm determined to fix this myself

Well I ended up replacing the blower motor and the tstat and all seems well as of now.

Blower repair was fairly simple, biggest pain was just working w/the clips that hold it in place. Getting it free and locking in the new one.

Overheating issue, no matter what you think it is/could be, my "non-expert" advise would be start w/the tstat. Its quick, easy and cheap to replace,(unless you brake the vent bleeder screw off as I did), and it seems if that was the extent of my problems.

Hope this helps anyone in the future w/these symptoms.........