E36 1995 325i Auxiliary Fan Replacement w/VDO Part

Barry A. Waters · 06-01-2010, 05:30 PM

Folks,

My son's down here in FL from MD for the Memorial Day Holiday and he's lost the Auxiliary Cooling Fan for the A/C & Engine Cooling system. Fan's hard to turn and blows its proper fuse. We can 'free the fan up' by rotating it in both directions, replace the fuse and have it work properly for about 30 minutes. After that it 'hangs up' again and blows the fuse. Definitely the fan motor (no blade contact with its surrounding frame).

The question is: This appears to be the original OEM fan/frame mounted in the original OEM fan shroud. The VDO replacement we're getting comes complete w/a new shroud as well. Can we remove the fan/frame from the existing shroud (like the Bentley Manual shows) and just swap out the fan/frame from the VDO unit OR will we have to replace the existing shroud with the VDO shroud as well?

Here's the Pelican Parts part no. of what we're getting:

64-50-8-364-093-M82

Replacing just the fan/frame assembly looks OK (although you have to remove the entire front bumper to do so... ARGGG!). Replacing the shroud looks like it may require removing the entire A/C condenser and disconnecting A/C lines as well - something we cannot do!

Are we in trouble or 'good to go' with the VDO replacement unit?

Thanks!

Barry

JhwShark · JhwShark's Garage

I hope so. VDO is the BMW OEM so it seems reasonable undoing the new one from the new shroud should give you a swappable fan.
You might be able to find just the VDO fan with enough searching...
Jon

Barry A. Waters · 06-02-2010, 05:29 PM

Folks,

The VDO replacement unit w/integral shroud goes in fine. While you can't just remove/replace the fan/frame assembly per the Bentley manual, removing the existing shroud is straight forward (4 bolts on his car). You DO need to pull the front bumper but that's it. Whew!

We also replaced the micro-filter in the A/C system. A pain to get to but the Bentley worked well there also. It looked like it had never been replaced. Wow, what a difference in airflow from the vents! Like 'Turbo Mode' now...!

Barry