Does anyone have any experience with installing a SPAL Electric fan and having it mounted to the radiator? I can't seem to find any detailed DIY or diagrams which I can refer to.

Any help is appreciated!

I've got mined mounted, looks fairly stock. What do you need help with?

I've got mined mounted, looks fairly stock. What do you need help with?

I hear that you have to mount the fan offset on the radiator because the fan clutch bolt cover may hit it? Not sure if that's true or not.

I'm also clueless about wiring as I am not particularly experienced with electricals..:( I can't seem to find any diagram on bimmerworld.com either (that's where I bought my SPAL fan from).

I hear that you have to mount the fan offset on the radiator because the fan clutch bolt cover may hit it? Not sure if that's true or not.

I'm also clueless about wiring as I am not particularly experienced with electricals..:( I can't seem to find any diagram on bimmerworld.com either (that's where I bought my SPAL fan from).

A low profile SPAL should mount fine. It mounted fine on my thicker aftermarket radiator with plenty of room to spare between the fan and water pump.

For mounting. There is a lip on the top and bottom of the radiator. I drilled small holes through it (carefully). Got L-shaped aluminum lengths and cut them to the height of the radiator. Drilled them at the top and bottom for fitment to the aforementioned holes in the radiator lip. Then drilled holes more towards the center of both aluminum runners for bolting the fan to. I placed high grade rubber between the radiator and runners, and between the runners and fan in order to provide some distance and limited vibration/heat damping. I used relative large zip ties to attach the runners to the radiator and bolts to attach the radiator to the fan. Nuts towards the engine. This is strong, I can pick up the radiator by the fan easily. It also fits inside the stock shroud for optimal airflow. There was minor cutting of the shroud required to get everything to fit properly. In the end though it looks stock, works well, and is very durable.

Below is a diagram taken from the side of the setup.

http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss257/Evil_Spoonman/diagram.gif

- Black is the radiator, the lips are visible top and bottom.
- Purple is the aluminum runners.
- Grey is the fan itself.
- Green is the shroud.
- Brown/dark yellow is the rubber spacers.
- Blue is where to drill to get the zip ties to fit.
- Red is where to drill to get the fan to mount properly.

If you have seen a SPAL in person and understand the geometry involved this will make more sense. Additional points:

- Each spacer is 1/4", giving a total 1/2" space from the radiator to fan. This allows the blades to clear the radiator under all conditions.
- Some careful cutting of the aluminum runners is required to get them to fit the shroud and fan properly. Mostly one must simply cut off the L to make them flat at the top and bottom and where the fan overlaps.
- The shroud must be cut in a few places and carefully. Mostly on the bottom and sides. Retaining the shroud is ideal so one can keep the expansion tank in the stock location, and have optimal airflow.
- I did this with a Mishimoto All-Aluminum radiator. It is equally doable with a stock one.
- Do not use weak or crummy rubber spacers/zip ties. The temperature of the radiator can and will reach 200-250 degrees, account for that in your design. Good quality rubber and plastic will withstand these temps with no issue.
- Mounting a fan through the cooling vanes of the radiator is NEVER a good idea.

For wiring I have mine simply tied to a switch in the cabin via a relay. The power is drawn from below the B+Terminal under the hood. Many people integrate them into the A/C pusher fan for more automatic function. I use an aux coolant temp gauge so I can pop it on if things get toasty, or in traffic/idle.

did yours not come with installation instructions? Maybe that was part of the overpriced mounting kit I ordered

A low profile SPAL should mount fine. It mounted fine on my thicker aftermarket radiator with plenty of room to spare between the fan and water pump.

For mounting. There is a lip on the top and bottom of the radiator. I drilled small holes through it (carefully). Got L-shaped aluminum lengths and cut them to the height of the radiator. Drilled them at the top and bottom for fitment to the aforementioned holes in the radiator lip. Then drilled holes more towards the center of both aluminum runners for bolting the fan to. I placed high grade rubber between the radiator and runners, and between the runners and fan in order to provide some distance and limited vibration/heat damping. I used relative large zip ties to attach the runners to the radiator and bolts to attach the radiator to the fan. Nuts towards the engine. This is strong, I can pick up the radiator by the fan easily. It also fits inside the stock shroud for optimal airflow. There was minor cutting of the shroud required to get everything to fit properly. In the end though it looks stock, works well, and is very durable.

Below is a diagram taken from the side of the setup.

http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss257/Evil_Spoonman/diagram.gif

- Black is the radiator, the lips are visible top and bottom.
- Purple is the aluminum runners.
- Grey is the fan itself.
- Green is the shroud.
- Brown/dark yellow is the rubber spacers.
- Blue is where to drill to get the zip ties to fit.
- Red is where to drill to get the fan to mount properly.

If you have seen a SPAL in person and understand the geometry involved this will make more sense. Additional points:

- Each spacer is 1/4", giving a total 1/2" space from the radiator to fan. This allows the blades to clear the radiator under all conditions.
- Some careful cutting of the aluminum runners is required to get them to fit the shroud and fan properly. Mostly one must simply cut off the L to make them flat at the top and bottom and where the fan overlaps.
- The shroud must be cut in a few places and carefully. Mostly on the bottom and sides. Retaining the shroud is ideal so one can keep the expansion tank in the stock location, and have optimal airflow.
- I did this with a Mishimoto All-Aluminum radiator. It is equally doable with a stock one.
- Do not use weak or crummy rubber spacers/zip ties. The temperature of the radiator can and will reach 200-250 degrees, account for that in your design. Good quality rubber and plastic will withstand these temps with no issue.

For wiring I have mine simply tied to a switch in the cabin via a relay. The power is drawn from below the B+Terminal under the hood. Many people integrate them into the A/C pusher fan for more automatic function. I use an aux coolant temp gauge so I can pop it on if things get toasty, or in traffic/idle.


Wow thanks for the thorough explanation. The diagram really helps.

Right now I am still in the process of taking my destroyed fan blade, damaged fan shroud, and fan clutch off. Everything is already loosened up and ready to be removed except for that damned fan clutch nut. Imma give it a go again tomorrow as i bought myself an adjustable wrench and mallet.

In any case, there's no need for the fan shroud yes? The electric fan I bought from bimmerworld seem to have one integrated with a fan shroud. In any case my only worry is that because I change the thermo to a lower temperature one, wouldn't that cause my car to start running on a cold start cycle? I don't want my ecu to see a larger temperature difference and dump more fuel to bring the temperature up to normal operating temps.

Wow thanks for the thorough explanation. The diagram really helps.

Right now I am still in the process of taking my destroyed fan blade, damaged fan shroud, and fan clutch off. Everything is already loosened up and ready to be removed except for that damned fan clutch nut. Imma give it a go again tomorrow as i bought myself an adjustable wrench and mallet.

In any case, there's no need for the fan shroud yes? The electric fan I bought from bimmerworld seem to have one integrated with a fan shroud. In any case my only worry is that because I change the thermo to a lower temperature one, wouldn't that cause my car to start running on a cold start cycle? I don't want my ecu to see a larger temperature difference and dump more fuel to bring the temperature up to normal operating temps.

I just replaced my water pump with a composite one when I did mine and bought a new pulley (it was the original still). I have had no luck getting the fan clutch off to this day. Every now and again I come up with a new idea as to how to get it off, go out and try it, and fail miserably. One day... one day I will succeed. To the best of my knowledge you need a thin 32mm wrench to get a grip on that fan nut. Thin being critical in this application.

So long as you can mount the expansion tank someplace then yes, you do not need the shroud. I prefer it as it completes the setup with a nice finish, directs air, and holds the tank. I do not know anything about Bimmerworld's full kit, I just bought a fan from them, and fabricated the rest myself.

The lower temp thermostat is one of those things I believe is a fallacy. You should pick up the thermostat that is specced for your car (realoem will give it to you). A lower temperature thermostat has absolutely nothing to do with the ability of your cooling system. It will simply let more coolant through at a (slightly) lower temperature. If your cooling system is not up to the job, you will overheat regardless. These engines run in a fairly generous temperature range. Measuring in the head at Cylinder 2, I see between 170 and 220 depending on a huge variety of factors. Of course the stock gauge stays top dead center through this entire range. I am running 50/50 coolant and distilled water (no water wetter, still debating). I have the 92C thermostat and a much better radiator than OE. Idling in 90F heat it will not exceed 220F with no fan, if I flip on the fan it will drop almost instantly to below 200F. The long and short of it is, the difference between an 88C thermo and a 92C thermo is so minimal that you will probably never notice a difference. The engine certainly will not get stuck in cold start and run rich.

I just replaced my water pump with a composite one when I did mine and bought a new pulley (it was the original still). I have had no luck getting the fan clutch off to this day. Every now and again I come up with a new idea as to how to get it off, go out and try it, and fail miserably. One day... one day I will succeed. To the best of my knowledge you need a thin 32mm wrench to get a grip on that fan nut. Thin being critical in this application.

So long as you can mount the expansion tank someplace then yes, you do not need the shroud. I prefer it as it completes the setup with a nice finish, directs air, and holds the tank. I do not know anything about Bimmerworld's full kit, I just bought a fan from them, and fabricated the rest myself.

The lower temp thermostat is one of those things I believe is a fallacy. You should pick up the thermostat that is specced for your car (realoem will give it to you). A lower temperature thermostat has absolutely nothing to do with the ability of your cooling system. It will simply let more coolant through at a (slightly) lower temperature. If your cooling system is not up to the job, you will overheat regardless. These engines run in a fairly generous temperature range. Measuring in the head at Cylinder 2, I see between 170 and 220 depending on a huge variety of factors. Of course the stock gauge stays top dead center through this entire range. I am running 50/50 coolant and distilled water (no water wetter, still debating). I have the 92C thermostat and a much better radiator than OE. Idling in 90F heat it will not exceed 220F with no fan, if I flip on the fan it will drop almost instantly to below 200F. The long and short of it is, the difference between an 88C thermo and a 92C thermo is so minimal that you will probably never notice a difference. The engine certainly will not get stuck in cold start and run rich.


I was just thinking even though a 92C & 80/88C doesn't seem like that big of a difference, in terms of fahrenheit the change is there. But I think things should work fine since it's not like this method has never been done before - I'm just taking precautionary measures which is why I bought an electric fan (I doubt that an auxiliary fan was made to be a primary one). It's definitely reassuring that my car won't get stuck in cold start..that's one of the things I was hoping to avoid.