ugh... broke rad fan blade changing oil - what to do?

[estoguy]

Hey guys... Really irritated. I broke a blade off the rad fan while changing my oil today. Honestly, I can't replace it for at least a couple of weeks... Money and all that fun stuff.

Did some research, and know that the fan will be out of balance as is and further damage could be caused to the fan and/or radiator. What should I do? It's a 9 blade one.

Can I break a blade opposite of the already broken one to help with balance?

Should I just remove the fan for now? It's winter still in Ontario and I drive mostly highway.

Considering balance, durability, etc, I'm guessing any kind of repair would not work anyway?

Thanks for any advice you guys can give.

[richardodn]

I'd just remove it and watch your temp gauge.

[estoguy]

I was having trouble getting it off last night. I'm used to getting it off with the hood off when I do my timing belt. Will try again today.

I didn't notice and odd noises or issues though. It seemed to spin around fine at idle. If it keeps being stubborn, can I leave it for now? I'm hoping to get a replacement in the next week or two.

[323i E30]

I'd just cut off an opposite blade and avoid the higher revs for those 2 weeks. Friend of mine had half a blade missing on his M30 E34 and it ran fine.
I'm not even near the same level of knowledge as Richard is though. That, plus the fan will have to come off in 2 weeks anyway so might as well get to it.

[Kershaw]

Duct tape a window fan to your radiator.

[estoguy]

Still having issues getting the 32mm nut off... can I just take the 4 screws out of the fan and leave the clutch on?

[323i E30]

The blades are trapped between the engine and the clutch if I remember it correctly, so I don't think so.

[Kershaw]

Still having issues getting the 32mm nut off... can I just take the 4 screws out of the fan and leave the clutch on?

Yep. But you might have issues with getting the fan out with the radiator still in. But if you can do it this way, sure.

[estoguy]

Got it changed out the other day. I got really lucky at a more local bone yard and found not one but two E30s, which is rare indeed. One was a red vert, the other a later model white coupe. THey'd already been picked over pretty good, but the fans were there on both. The first one I found was the coupe, but I got 3 of 4 bolts, before the last stripped out. Found a better fan and a couple other spare items on the vert.

Couple of things to note... the bolts that mounted the fan to the clutch on the yard finds were on the radiator side of the fan, and were Allen head filister bolts. On my Eta, the bolts were 10 mm hex head and on the engine side. I also had to remount the fan after my first attempt - I'd attached it the same as my original was, and I'd just gotten the 32mm nut almost all the way on, and the fan blades were hitting the crank bolt. Once I mounted it the other way, no problems, and the fan actually has more clearance from the rad hoses now and the nut is easier to access.

Thanks for the input guys!