Fan clutch

[huskar3399]

Hello all

I recently replaced my radiator fan clutch. The main reason i changed it because the old one stopped functioning like it should be. I understand that the ideal fan clutch does not spin to follow the rpm whenever the engine is cold and will only follow when the engine is hot. The fan can even be stopped by bare hand when the engine is cold. When the fan clutch is faulty it adds more weight to the engine causing no pick up. Plus the fan creates loud noise whenever revving.

So i changed it with the one i got from ebay. Brand BEHR. It worked perfectly at first but stopped working the next day. I assume it's a bad unit i got. So i went to munich and bought new one same Behr brand. It did work fine at first but guess what it stopped working again! I don't know for sure if the issue is with the brand or i got unlucky twice or it's due to something else.

Does anybody have any experience or thoughts on the issue? Thanks in advance.

 

[5150]

Bro, i had this problem before and i was out stationed when it happened. Went to the local aircon shop and asked to replace it with the ori bmw but sadly there's no stock at that time. The mechanic told me he only has taiwan made fanclutch but advised me to get the ori bmw ones bcoz theres so many cases of aftermarket fanclutch stopped working after few weeks and only the ori one lasts. Afraid of getting overheated otw back to KL, i installed the taiwan fanclucth, went back to kl to my mechanic after few days and replaced with the ori bmw fanclutch which is quite expensive but for me is worthwile. Also dont forget to change the aux fan too when you're doing it bcoz discovered they work together and also changed the air con radiator too.

 

[huskar3399]

Bro, i had this problem before and i was out stationed when it happened. Went to the local aircon shop and asked to replace it with the ori bmw but sadly there's no stock at that time. The mechanic told me he only has taiwan made fanclutch but advised me to get the ori bmw ones bcoz theres so many cases of aftermarket fanclutch stopped working after few weeks and only the ori one lasts. Afraid of getting overheated otw back to KL, i installed the taiwan fanclucth, went back to kl to my mechanic after few days and replaced with the ori bmw fanclutch which is quite expensive but for me is worthwile. Also dont forget to change the aux fan too when you're doing it bcoz discovered they work together and also changed the air con radiator too.

Thanks for the tips bro. I dont think behr is a taiwan made brand. Written on it "made in germany". Can i know what brand is original? I saw my old one written horton on it. And how much is the original one?

 

[moots]

bro huskar,
can you elaborate on how you concluded that both the new clutches are no good?

this is how you shud test it:
1. start engine (of crs la kan)
2. drive around for 10 mins
3. come bag home and open up the hood while engine at idle
4. rev the engine a bit
5. if the fan is clutched you will hear the fan roar and you will definitely feel the moving air the fan is pulling
6. if you don't hear or feel,fan is still at the freewheeling condition....wait maybe 10 mins WHILST WATCHING YOUR ENGINE TEMP INDICATOR
7. rev the engine a bit
8. if the fan is still not clutched and your temp is rising from the center position,quickly go far a drive to let ram air cool the engine down
9.after engine temp back to normal,open the hood and do procedure 4-7 again.

if still no good then yr fan clutch is possibly suspect.
the fan clutch front face basically requires sensing of temperature changes so it requires air flow over it to clutch and de-clutch

 

[huskar3399]

Bro moots,

My old fan clutch was going to kaput because sometimes it kept locking the fan even when cruising at highway. Could feel the engine heavy whenever revving. So i changed to a new one. It turned worst. Kept locking all the time. Changed it for the second time with the same brand behr, result was same. So i googled about the issue and it happened that some people had changed it until 5 times using behr brand and had the same issue. They recommended sachs.

So i bougt sachs brand from ba for rm243. The behr costed me rm150 n rm200 from ebay n munich respectively. The sachs brand works like it should be working as claimed. Can stop the fan with bear hand during morning start. And the fan will still slowly rotate to stop when the engine is off. Can see improvement in my fc. No more aeroplane sound no more when cruising at highway.

 

[moots]

wah....behr no good liao.....ok good info .thanks....

funny...my e34 was behr and current e39 osso behr....donno lah nowadays imitations are sold and passed of as ori.....

 

[tckhor]

Dear Forummers,
I came across this link on improving the cooling system by upgrading the radiator, expansion tank and converting to an electric fan.
The package comes as a complete assembly. Wonder whether anyone has installed such a system.
http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/store/screen/prod/store_code/6134/product_code/E39SDCKII.htm

 

[V-Man]

Dear Forummers,
I came across this link on improving the cooling system by upgrading the radiator, expansion tank and converting to an electric fan.
The package comes as a complete assembly. Wonder whether anyone has installed such a system.
http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/store/screen/prod/store_code/6134/product_code/E39SDCKII.htm

Looks neat and nice but the price tag is WOW ... I would rather go the conventional way of conversion

 

[haywire]

It can be done using E46 electric fan, no need to buy that expensive kit. One of the members have done this conversion (535i) on his 530i.

 

[huskar3399]

It can be done using E46 electric fan, no need to buy that expensive kit. One of the members have done this conversion (535i) on his 530i.

thanks for the news bro. do u have any useful links to refer to? i live in taman area with many road bumps which turns on the fan most of the times and it's making noise. perhaps the electric one will produce less noise.

 

[viknesht1]

Just to share with all..I also changed to Sachs brand as advised by Naidu (cause he buys parts from BA only).. noise solved and car is smooth... good power boost and the petrol consumptiosn especially has improved...