Electric Fan Conversion

[kishg]

nex sumone will koreck me fer spellin

I come here to get help and advice and offer when I can, I dont take the time to be gramatically correct.

sorry if that bugs people

live and let live

that's grammatically correct

[Wizard]

Back on subject, this is my newly installed 318is electric fan...





Volvo fan in original shroud (BMW) with 2 speed Volvo relays. Probably have about $40 invested including new 318ti (80°/88°) temp sending unit.

[Stück]

The fan portion looks alright, but the wiring is a mess that needs cleaning up...

[Wizard]

The fan portion looks alright, but the wiring is a mess that needs cleaning up...

I agree...This was a quick wire job...All will be "wrapped" in the near future....And I don't mean electric tape....lol

[Monark]

I'm pretty sure removing the clutch fan will extend the life of the water pump also.(don't know if that's been said) I don't know if e30 fan's are prone to flying apart and ripping through the radiator like the ones on the z3 either.

6 months after I bought my e30 the water pump went and the fan went into the radiator, so IDK if e30s are prone to it. But it did happen to me.

[Isamemon]

I agree...This was a quick wire job...All will be "wrapped" in the near future....And I don't mean electric tape....lol

I do not doubt that you have 40 bucks in it, but where did you get a new temp sending unit, and still all the other stuff and only have 40 bucks in it
as I would like to get a lower temp unit, and you must have found a cheap source

[Stück]

6 months after I bought my e30 the water pump went and the fan went into the radiator, so IDK if e30s are prone to it. But it did happen to me.

I'd call that neglected maintenance, not a "problem"

[Wizard]

I do not doubt that you have 40 bucks in it, but where did you get a new temp sending unit, and still all the other stuff and only have 40 bucks in it
as I would like to get a lower temp unit, and you must have found a cheap source

Fan was $12 at a U-Pull-it JY (Harry's in Allentown) and got the Temp sender for around $28 from Zygmunt (bimmerparts.com) (in Doylestown). No shipping involved as I am local.


EDIT....Fan was actually $16.40...My bad....So around $45.00 for the setup...

[Isamemon]

thanks
you big city guys get good prices at your wrecking yards
in my small town, $40 for a volvo fan is a deal ( the last time I got one), usually they go for about 65
no wonder you could pull the whole conversion for 45

[draccent]

For the record my car sits in traffic for hours in maryland gridlock joyfully idling away and never overheats.


Its stock and has the normal old mechanical fan.

[Wizard]

thanks
you big city guys get good prices at your wrecking yards

HAHAHA...I wouldn't call this BIG CITY...Over an hour north of Philly...We don't even have a Super Wal-Mart....lol
But Harry's is famous for their U-Pick prices...Think I picked up complete front strut housings with springs, struts and like new rotors for less then $30 each side...And my $12.60 Sable Sideskirts....

For reference:
http://www.wegotused.com/index.htm

[boostedE36man]

huked on foniks

[Jrdeamicis]

The volvo setup looks pretty good.

[Isamemon]

For the record my car sits in traffic for hours in maryland gridlock joyfully idling away and never overheats.


Its stock and has the normal old mechanical fan.

thats good

I lived in rockville maryland ( early 70's) and worked at Beck/Arnley Auto Parts in Falls Church Virginia. At that time drove my girlfriends BMW 2002 or my TR-3 or TR-250 and there were times I had to pull over and let them cool off in gridlocks on the beltline,( mid summer) of course none of them were stock ( so I avoided rush hour)

before that I worked at Beck/Arnley in Miami Fla. Had a bug eye sprite
and a hot mustang, the mustang had to have an electric fan ( built motor)
so since then I have been a "fan" of electric fans

[SWISS]

with my puller fan when you are sitting in a line of traffic and watch the gauge go up, the fan kicks on and cools it down, better then a stock set up ever will

a stock system will not do that I have seen e30's run hot wiating for a bank teller in a drive up in summer

Living south of Kansas I can attest to this having been an issue on all 3 E30's, one after a 24V swap, in the summer in a held up drive thru or 5 oclock Dallas traffic. Gauge go up, and so does the stress level.

Holy crap lack of punctuation.

Regardless, your statement about e30's running hot is your own opinion. My car (stock with stock cooling) has never run high, no matter the conditions. Never even above halfway. Especially not sitting in line for a band teller...

And yes, your car is basically stock. with a few bells and whistles.

You live north of Kansas this does not apply to you.

I'm pretty sure removing the clutch fan will extend the life of the water pump also.(don't know if that's been said) I don't know if e30 fan's are prone to flying apart and ripping through the radiator like the ones on the z3 either.

Here's a good site for fans.
http://www.the-fan-man.com/

Another good reason. All of which are outlined in the E36 fan delete thread.

no point on a streetcar. on the track, less chance of the fan cutting through a coolant hose but if your motor mounts are in good shape even that's unlikely.

I dunno about that one, The upper bypass hose is a straight shitty design. Had they followed the same method as the front metal bypass line none of that shit would matter and it would last longer.

It's obvious BMW learned from their mistakes and went straight for reliability even without maintenance. DOHC hydraulic lifter vs. manual solid, chain over belt, direct ignition system with no significant wear items like long ass fraying plug wires and caps and rotors, hose count reduction is another major advancement to next gen, the shitty gasket on the throttle body warm up circuit, etc the list goes on and on.


My approach on my E30 is the same as it has always been. Go back and fix the old crappy low tech with reliable hi tech, or maintain and watch it meticulously.

[YetiX]

I'm sort of on the fence on this one. If my cooling system ever takes a dump, I'm pretty sure I'll replace it with an electric fan for a variety of reasons listed above.

Does anyone have a diagram for wiring up the Volvo or e36 fan?

[SWISS]

I'm sort of on the fence on this one. If my cooling system ever takes a dump, I'm pretty sure I'll replace it with an electric fan for a variety of reasons listed above.

Does anyone have a diagram for wiring up the Volvo or e36 fan?

I have a Z3 M44 electric setup, pretty much plug and play and has the intake tubing. PM me and we'll talk price.

[E30M3 Bori]

(Hands up) I have a stupid question; Is the aux fan a pusher and the engine fan a puller? I'm restoring my engine bay from all components and can't remember. oh, its a E30 M3.

Thanks

[Sharbel]

pics

e30 M3 s14b25
Well I've been having this cooling problem since I converted to electric fan
my initial fan was a VAC 10" spal fan with C&R radiator that did not run well at all I think it's only for race applications.. I even went as far as drilling a small hole in the thermostat but then car took forever to reach optimum temp then it cools too fast too low at cruising speeds
now I got a13"more aggressive fan with a 75c 2002 thermostat with that on idle the car reaches optimum temp fairly quickly but a cruising speeds the coolant temp falls in between the blue and middle...
soooooo 5 years later.. I'm going back to stock 80c thermostat I just got a Volvo 960 shroud and I'm debating which spal 16" fan I should get that's thin enough to fit with adequate cfm?
The enging is an evo oem block 2.5 with oil squirters, cp forged Pistons, 292/284 shrick cams with stand alone ecu motec m4 that controls when fan and kicks in at about 170f...

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