M50 Fan/Water pump implode

[TimR]

My wifes E34 91 525 I fan let lose at the water pump, water pump shaft broke, 30K on the water pump, with the hood up and me looking in the engine bay. It crashed into the ground, that fan could of messed me up good if it came UP not down. The guy i got new parts from today said his fan broke too and put a huge dent in the hood. I feel lucky it didn't take out the radiator or my arm. Has someone allready built or selling a "guard" you could mount on top of the shroud over the fan on a E34 5's??? If I got one built would there be a market ??? Maybe $100-150 bolt on??

[LouieD]

Yep. That could put a hurtin' on you if it caught your face at speed. Lucky it shot down and not up. One of my father's acquaintances was partially decapited by an errant fan. He died from the injuries.

[sfgearhead]

What failed?

I don't think there is a market for a shroud no. Preventative maintenance is probably a better solution. Water pumps and fans are known issues on these cars, especially after 20 years. How old was the water pump?

But yeah, seriously glad you're ok!

[darrenforeal]

that's no bueno. glad you're ok

[TimR]

30K on the water pump, car has 140k, one guy said the fan clutch was bad??? is there a better fan clutch test?? Did the Bentely test, turns with some resistance, don't see any oil leaks.

[LouieD]

The pump failed. You can see in the center of the pulley the clean bit in the middle. That's the w/p shaft... and the flange, pulley, clutch and fan are all one piece. Maybe a poor quality replacement part or just a bad casting. 30k on the pump? I'd vote for cheap quality replacement part as the point of failure. If the fan clutch was bad it would either freewheel = overheat or lock up and run the fan all the time. I can't see how that would cause the pump shaft to shear. The other thing that comes to mind is that the impeller exploded inside and locked the shaft, but the drive belts tried to keep it spinning. But you would think that the belt would slip rather than have enough force to snap the shaft. Regardless. It failed and no one was hurt. Replace with quality parts and you should be good.

[TimR]

Yep, will be fixing today, it snapped that shaft right off. What sucks is i Just sold 2 Spal fans, cheep, !!!!!