A/C / Heat Blower Motor Aftermarket VS. OEM

[latino911]

okay, for a Bmw E36 325is

Well my question is what are the exact issues, differences and concerns
between a blower motor with Non-detachable fans and the blower motor with Detachable fans.

Quality? etc.
thx.

[jijacob]

I would imagine the fans with detachable blower motor are about as reliable as the non-detachable with the catch being the non-detachable you can't replace.

Also odds are the detachable one is slightly more.

[fun2drive]

Detachable model is close to twice the cost and if done correctly the fixed fans come right out. I replaced my fan with fixed fans and it was not that hard once I removed the wiper assembly and moved it over an inch....

[latino911]

bump

[Albertan]

I too, was too frugal to order the detachable squirrel cage fans. I already had the engine out of the car so I was able to get good access. I did manage to get my old fan out in one piece and the new one went in as well. Took me a weekend to do it. I pulled the entire wiper assy out to get the room I needed. Then I had a hard time getting it back in. Months later when I finally connected a battery, it all worked.

[latino911]

im leaning towards the Non-detachable now,

[fun2drive]

If you will take the effort to do what I and the other poster mentioned it will fit in there just fine. If you don't than do get the detachable fan model as the fixed will not fit unless you pull the wiper assembly. Yeah I know sounds scary as in if I screw this up than I won't have wipers and a fan. Not a problem really and the assembly stays together.

Just do yourself a favor and take pics each step of the way. There is a good DIY but it is way overkill.
You have to pull the cowling but first the wiper arms have to come off. You need a small gear puller to do this without breaking them. You know what they sell for 4 bucks to pull battery posts off? That will work just fine. Than the cowling comes off with the 6 or so plastic buttons unscrew.
Than after that you pull the air filter plenum with a couple of 10 mm bolts (3) and unscrew the cabling cover screws are inside the plenum
Now you can see the fan cover and the cable which just happens to run right across the lower middle of the cover, great location BMW. Be sure to lube that cable and slide it back and forth so you can be sure you never have to do it again. Ok take the cover off.
You will see that it has some spring loaded snaps two at the bottom and one at the top. Take the cover off and I just move the cable out of the way and am careful with it. It will move around just fine as long as you are careful
Now you will see a diverter held in place with a plastic screw. Again take pictures of all of this so when you reassemble this there will not be a lot of WTF.

You can undo the wiper assembly now or in an earlier step it doesn't matter. You will need a big socket to get the thin bolt that holds the drivers wiper arm on. There are 3-4 other small bolts that are visible around the fan area and same with the passenger side.
Push the assembly down, yes down to get the drivers arm inside the cowling and just move it over an inch. Now you have clear access to the fan motor when you pull it.

Ok you have the diverter out of the way and will see the electrical connector held in place with a zip tie. Carefully cut the tie and remove it. You will have a large spring strap you need to remove that holds the motor in place. Best way is to get a J hook to pull on the bottom of the spring strap to release it. Do a search and you will see many talk about this bad boy. You will have to tug on it pretty hard to get it out and push on it pretty hard to get it back in.
Once that is out you can try to remove the fan assembly. However as is true with most BMWs the sheet steel cowling will be just a tinny bit too close and all you need to do is carefully bend the sheet metal up enough to clear the fan. It is very pliable and you can bend it back once done. Now you should be able to lift the fan right out with no clearance issues.

Reverse as they say is how it all goes back together and this is where having the pictures help. You can do this yourself but a friend is nice to have help out to help you swear and help drink some tasty beverages...

Hope this helps and again I think it was a DIY by some fellow that just posted this a few months ago outside this forum so Google this or try the forum search engine.

I found the DIY I think might help you. As I said this guy went overboard on some things and did it the hard way on others (wiper assembly removal).
This should help.
http://www.sqbimmer.com/dump/e36_blower_motor/

Good luck...

[latino911]

wow, thx a lot man.

hope the quality of the NON-Detachable vs. The Detachable blower motor is the same :D