Fan clutch is Hx

[zhandax]

I had a chunk of plastic missing from my fan and ordered a replacement. When I tried to remove the assembly, it was stuck fast. The five lb sledge on the 32mm wrench would not move it.

I got a piece of steel bar from Home Depot and built the tool Shogun described in his post on the subject. I got a good grip and promptly bent it in half. I will attribute that to the lack of cutout for the nut since I don't have a grinder here.

Bowing to the inevitable with only two days left of vacation, I took it to my independent tech downtown. He drove us to lunch so my car would cool off by the time his guys got back and they had me ready to go when we returned. I had errands all over town, and drove 40 or 50 miles by sundown; everything was fine.

Today I start the car dead cold and am greeted by a particularly disturbing noise. I popped the hood and lifted it in time to witness the fan spin to a halt. With a few stops to make, I notice every time I start the car there is a subdued version of the original noise. On pulling in the garage, I pop the hood and note the fan stopped. While switching off the ignition, I notice the temperature gauge climbing past its normal position.

Pretty clearly, the fan clutch was on its last legs (a month of periodically smacking it with a hammer probably did not help). The only E34 at the wrecker open on weekends is a 92, and only 525's and 535's were made that year. It appears the 540 has a unique part number and a donor from a 92 won't work.

The unknowns (to me) are how critical is a replacement? Is this something I should have overnighted in on Monday or will I be OK for 3 day UPS? I don't have to sit in rush hour traffic to get to or from work normally, so I should not need to rent a car or do I? Would a fan assembly from a 92 get me by for 3 days to avoid overnight shipping?

Secondly, AutohausAZ seems to have the best deal on a Fichtel-Sachs clutch. Is the same Sachs referred to in this (http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41664&highlight=%22fan+clutch%22)service bulletin?

[Tiger]

You need it. It is summer after all. Surely you don't want to ruin your engine. As for the fan clutch... you do know it is reverse thread right?

[zhandax]

Oh yes; in fact when I noticed it was that hard to get off I double-checked Bentley to make sure I hadn't imagined it was a left hand thread.

[Kibokojoe]

Have you tried rolling up a newspaper and jamming it in between the pulley and the belt. Its worked for me on both my bimmers. Personally I have always used a rubber mallet on the 32 mm wrench. Anyone ever tried a belt or strap wrench on the pulley. I would think that would work without damaging it.

[zhandax]

I didn't think of newspaper but I did try a rubber handle grip and it slipped.

Now that the local parts houses are open, the dilemma has changed. Advance can have an aftermarket version here in the morning. I have never put aftermarket parts on my cars, but have never been in quite such an immediate need. Advance wants $168 including tax while Autohaus sells the Sachs for $150 with overnight shipping which means I can't install it until Tuesday. Any suggestions?

[Tiger]

I made my own pulley holder. I actually copied off the real tool that I had and returned. It was super easy to take the fan off with the tool... without the tool... no such luck.

As for your case, if you could hitch a ride, then order the right stuff from AutohausAZ unless you live close to one of the local foreign auto parts place who has it.

Ask Advance, what brand that clutch is... What state do you live in?

[zhandax]

The clutch Advance has is Imperial. I am in Nashville, TN, and it looks like the only foreign parts place in town has closed (no longer any number listed). O'Reilly can have a Hayden clutch here Monday morning. Rusty in Atlanta sells Behr, but it also will not arrive until Tuesday with overnight shipping. It would be here Wednesday with regular UPS ground.

Here is the tool I made without benefit of a grinder:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/borg1/Clutchtool.jpg

[Tiger]

Wrong metal and too close to edge. You should have used the 1/8" brown steel metal or aluminum ( which I used.)

The hole is way too close to edge... I think mine is 3/16" away from edge... only inner hole is needed... outer hole is useless in our application.

And you do need that curve between the two holes... or the tool is resting on the fan nut.

As for the fan clutch... I'd probably wait for the AutohausAZ one... hitch a ride until then.

[Rus]

Don't cheap out on a fan clutch. Get a Sachs (I've had two Behr clutches that weren't reliable). As for making the fan clutch tool, like Tiger mentioned, get some regular steel bar from Home Depot or Lowes. Mine has been great for fan removals as well as spinning the engine over during valve adjustments (N/A for your V8). Good luck :)

[zhandax]

Sachs is on the way. Strange that of BMA, Rusty and Autohaus, only the latter carries Sachs and it is the cheapest alternative. I went out on a trial run late yesterday without the air conditioner on and the temperature remained normal. When I pulled in the garage and checked, the fan had stopped but the temp did not rise. Apparently the aux fan will cool it without the additional load from the AC. Good thing I like warm weather.

I had almost forgotten about valve adjustments. I put 200K on an E28 before I got the E34.

[Tiger]

Ahh... okay then... just keep an eye on it until you replace it.. It is likely that your fan clutch is working halfway... aux fan can't do all the work.

[zhandax]

Tiger, you must be right about it working halfway. Tuesday was 98 degrees and it stayed on normal, even at the traffic lights. I guess it only spins down to a stop in the garage.

I did notice something strange when I replaced it though...the picture in Bentley and on realoem show the fan blades installed between the clutch and the engine. I noticed that the blades were in front of the clutch when I removed it and thought the mechanic who changed the fan had installed it wrong. But when I put the new blades behind the clutch, I found that the fan hit both the brake vacuum lines and the intake duct. When I put the blades on the front of the clutch, it still did. I pulled the vacuum lines out of their channels and zip tied them to pull them back, and loosened the bolts on the air filter housing and moved it back as far as it would go. The fan still hit the duct but after seven hours of messing with it I said to hell with it and went to sleep for the three remaining hours before I had to get ready for work. It settled in by the time I got to work (11 miles down I40, usually at 80-90mph).

Tonight I had time to raise the hood and check to make sure it was completely clearing the duct and I see coolant all over the engine compartment. Although I had not noticed it, it was also hitting the top left radiator hose and had worn a pinhole through that. The fan blade came from Bell BMW and I checked and Autohaus sent the correct Sachs clutch (2100 010 032). What gives? Which side does it really go on and why is it hitting other components if installed as pictured? Since Bentley covers all 4 engines, I assumed it pictured something other than the M60, but when I saw the drawing on realoem for the 540, I have to wonder. It barely clears the air duct with the blades installed in front of the clutch.

[Tiger]

Engine and possibly tranny mounts collapsed that brings your fan into odd angle.

Radiator hose can always tilted to a different angle just by loosening the hose and turn it in the direction you needs it to be. On our car, the upper hose need to be zip tied away from the fan... factory had something there but most likely to be snapped off by now.

Are you sure your waterpump in good shape? No wobble as you try by the fan clutch?

[zhandax]

Water pump is a year or two old and no wobble here. I thought I had left the fan installed in front of the clutch but now see that I have it installed behind as in every drawing available for it. (changed it so many times and was so tired by end its hard to remember) The fan was hitting just behind the second bend from the rad where the hose is trapped by the oil filter...no where to go. I may try it in front of the clutch again. I found a repair kit (a 1.75" double-ended hose barb with two clamps) and that put the appropriate amount of space where it was needed. Maybe I should just leave well enough alone rather than order a replacement (of course no one in town had a replacement on Saturday).

[zhandax]

The fan unquestionably has to be mounted on the front of the clutch. In fact, I could just barely get a 1/4" thick 32mm bicycle wrench on it to remove it with it mounted behind, which now that I think about it, is why I gave up (along with lack 'o sleep). Think I will go ahead and replace the hose since the two new joints at the splice are two new potential leaks. There is probably a minor constriction in diameter to reduce flow as well. Seems like it will hold for a few days, though.