M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: Choking Hazard on June 12, 2008, 11:07:18 AM
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Its HOT in the South. I am glad this car has AC. But yesterday the auxillery radiator fan bearings started squeeling, followed by "Zring- zring" as the fan blades contacted the radiator. Its toast, just like the inside of the car without AC.
Guess what? Them things are freakin $400, if you can find one. It is a pretty generic looking fan with a shroud, and I KNOW that something else could be used. Has anyone else done something for this? I know the "fan delete" crowd is out there? Do you guys sub an electric for the main cooling fan? What is a good source for one I could use for aux cooling when the AC is on?
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If somebody has an uneeded aux cooling fan they can part with, PM me a (significantly lower than $400 I hope) price.
Suggestions? Comments? Insults? Bring it on!
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I don't know if it will fit or work, but most folks upgrading to an electric fan setup (either upgrading an existing electric fan or a standard mechanical fan) opt for the 94-99 Mustang fans, Ford Taurus fans, or Lincoln MKVIII fans. These eletric fans push out some really decent CFM's and are easy enough to install. You would need to modify or make your own type of hardware or hangers to get the fan installed, but for the most part it's pretty simple. These are also big enough to fit onto many BMW applications.
Like I said, i don't know if that is helpful to you or not - but most of the above mentioned fans can be found in many junk yards and the going prices on them are anywhere from $40-$75... which beats spending $150+ for an aftermarket eletric fan.
Also, with regards to the original electric M42 fan, I thought that just the motors can be bought separately? Did you try searching for just the motor? You might even want to ask around for those parting out cars for a used motor assembly, even that would be cheaper than buying a new unit.
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Search this forum for "volvo electric fan".
stay cool
Justin
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Excellent info guys. Thanks.
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HRP racing products (hrpworld.com) has some decent not so expensive performance fans . you should check them out.
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Mine was frozen I got a 16" universal fan from autozone and wired it in place of the OEM of course you have to use the through the radiator "zip ties" to secure it. Works great.