Almost certainly broken fan?

[Silvercat]

'93 e36 with 110,000km. Started her up and brief breaking noise. The fan, or what I can see of it is pushed up and back, slightly bending whatever is behind it. What else is likely to be broken - and how many hours for me to fix taking it slowly? The car still drives - I drove it for about 20 minutes after the problem emerged - not wise I know but I had the wife and a weeks shopping in it. I live in Finland and I need to decide whether to get winter tires for my 1977 Jag - reluctantly since they still put salt on the roads here.

[Manolito]

If you drove for 20 minutes, that indicates that the problem is in the fan clutch. The only other way that the fan can be dislocated would be catastrophic failure of the water pump, and you would not have driven 20 minutes with the water pump torn apart.

My suggestion: Make or buy a tool to grip the heads of the 10 mm bolts in the fan pulley and get a narrow wrench that fits the big nut on the back of the fan clutch. Take the fan and clutch off and drive it that way for the rest of the winter. Don't forget that the fan screws onto the water pump with left-handed thread. You will need to remove the air box to wiggle the fan and clutch out of the car.

The most difficult and time-consuming part of this task will be making or procuring the tools that fit to loosen the fan. Once you have the tools, it is a 10-minute job (tops) to get it off and another 10 minutes next spring after you have purchased a new fan and clutch to put the new parts on. I cannot speak to other damage done, but if it drove 20 minutes, it cannot be too severe.

[Silvercat]

nk you Manolito - much appreciated!