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Thread: Fan Modification for V8 e39 cars

  1. #1
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    Fan Modification for V8 e39 cars

    I have swapped out 3 fan blade/fan Clutch Assemblies recently with this modification:
    · e39 with M62Tu engine
    · e39 with S62 engine
    · e31 with M70 engine

    The fan comes from the E65, E66, and E67 7 Series, as well as the E53 X5 with V8 and mechanical fan:

    Parts needed for the mod:
    Fan Blade 17417504732
    Fan Clutch 17417505109

    IMG_3944.JPG

    New fan assembly on top for comparison.

    The new fan is quieter, potentially less prone to breakage, and moves more air than stock fan. In order to perform this change, The fan blade and clutch must be used together and will not attach to existing fan clutch. This mod is early in testing, but so far, working well. All fan clutches that came stock on cars listed are 92CEL, the new fan clutch is 92CEL as well.

    About the fan: it has the same dimensions and offset of the stock V8/V12 fan, fits in stock shrouds on all cars mentioned.

    E39 M62Tu
    M62 Tu fan upgrade.jpg

    E39 S62
    IMG_3942.JPG
    Before Install
    Fan Upgrade.JPG
    After Install

    E31 M70 car. The fan has the same clearance as before and same diameter/offset from the water pump as stock fan assembly.
    IMG_3713.jpg

    Hope this helps.
    Last edited by bdiefAZ; 02-18-2019 at 11:39 PM.
    Regards,

    Brian
    Cave Creek, AZ

  2. #2
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    Interesting. Does anyone happen to know if this mod will work for us I6 owners?

  3. #3
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    The fan on the I6 engine is smaller in diameter, this fan will not fit the shroud.
    Regards,

    Brian
    Cave Creek, AZ

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    Nicely done. I was following the other thread as well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bdiefAZ View Post
    The new fan moves more air than stock fan.
    All fan clutches that came stock on cars listed are 92CEL, the new fan clutch is 92CEL as well.

    Interesting find, so what are you basing the extra air flow on?
    Presumably if both fan clutches are 92CEL that means the fan clutch will engage at the same temp?

  6. #6
    geargrinder's Avatar
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    Great job biebAZ. As I just posted on the other thread "maybe there's a similar retrofit that would fit the I6 engines"

    I think the tricky thing there is that starting with the late E46 BMW shifted to all-electrics on the I6's and then I think starting with the E90's they just have single electric fans?

    Which of course means retro'ing one of those electrics is an option but its not a plug and play mech swap like this. Maybe M57 diesel motors? Do they have visco fans? Of course then you'd maybe have issues with the activation temp being a little too low and/or maybe the RPM's being a little higher than designed....

    Somebody would need to play detective on realoem and try a bunch of stuff...
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  7. #7
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    Fan Modification for V8 e39 cars

    Brian, this is a good mod!

    You are essentially helping the engine perform better by giving less less torque requirements to spin that old, square blade design mechanical fan.

    The replacement blade that you used has a swept design that utilizes circulation control and essentially, just cuts through air cleanly and efficiently. Hence, pulling more ambient air.


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    Last edited by M5XTu; 01-16-2019 at 11:05 AM.

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    Moar fan horbespowrz!!!! Racekarz!!!! Buttdynooz!!!
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by BarryM View Post
    Presumably if both fan clutches are 92CEL that means the fan clutch will engage at the same temp?
    That's what the 92CEL means. 92 Celsius.
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by M5XTu View Post
    You are essentially helping the engine perform better by giving less less torque requirements to spin that old, square blade design mechanical fan.
    Yeah and swapping that K&N filter into my Civic in high school made it faster too. :-P
    Last edited by MotorMouth93; 01-16-2019 at 12:49 PM.

  11. #11
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    Lol. Dude my Acura was so much faster when I drilled holes in the airbox! Noise = fast , that’s just science.
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  12. #12
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    Can't wait for an almost straight swap electric fan for the I6. One day, lol.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by AusE39er View Post
    Can't wait for an almost straight swap electric fan for the I6. One day, lol.
    Zionsville has their electric fan shroud/expansion tank kit which is pretty close.

  14. #14
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    Great! thanks for the heads up
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    Quote Originally Posted by MotorMouth93 View Post
    Zionsville has their electric fan shroud/expansion tank kit which is pretty close.
    I can imagine the cost of postage to Australia. Ah well, maybe down the line some day. I only recently refreshed most components of the cooling/fan system and mounts.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by MotorMouth93 View Post
    Zionsville has their electric fan shroud/expansion tank kit which is pretty close.
    The Zionsville kit stinks. Don't waste your money, especially on the I6.
    Nate J.

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  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by computiNATEor View Post
    The Zionsville kit stinks. Don't waste your money, especially on the I6.
    Please elaborate. Was considering going this route.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by ordpete944 View Post
    Please elaborate. Was considering going this route.
    Their fan shroud is just a nice square and flat piece of aluminum with a very small amount of brackets that do not replicate the factory pieces. Their expansion tank is a nice square and flat aluminum box with two outlets at the bottom and one cap at the top.

    Is it nice stuff? Yes. Does it fit? Not really.

    The factory fan shroud attaches to the car in 9 ways:
    34622_x800.jpg

    Guess how many of those 9 ways to attach to a radiator Zionsville chose to use?

    Zero.

    Instead, you must drill into the soft aluminum radiator core and rivet or riv-nut the shroud into it. And the aluminum shroud is not lightweight; it's definitely heavier than the fiberglass/plastic factory shroud and expansion tank. It places considerable strain on the already not-super-strong radiators. If you want to spend $600+ on an all aluminum radiator, go for it. In my opinion, though, you should definitely just drop in a factory M5 radiator; it's an exact fit and a nice upgrade for any E39.

    In addition to its mechanical failings, read my thread about the "wiring" that Zionsville sent with my (wasted) $800 fan shroud + expansion tank. I threw it all in the garbage and went back to factory components.
    https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...wiring-diagram
    Nate J.

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    RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
    Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
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  19. #19
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    Yikes! That's not good. I appreciate the heads up.

  20. #20
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    Agree on the zionsville radiators being overrated. I also have experience with Wizardcooling (have a rad in my car) and although its a beefy, solid and really improved core, it wasn't as plug and play as advertised and I ended up having to gring the shroud and moving back the maf/intake elbow and filter housing on my 540i. Granted, it takes 20l of coolant and it's built like a tank, I'd recommend it for an all-track car or something like that, but for a daily driver I'll just go with the 88°C thermostat mod. It makes your "failure prone" cooling sistem allright by cutting the operating pressure to about half.
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  21. #21
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    oh this is interesting and seems easy enough. Anything to hear less fan noise and more engine noise
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  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by jicaino View Post
    for a daily driver I'll just go with the 88°C thermostat mod. It makes your "failure prone" cooling sistem allright by cutting the operating pressure to about half.
    Yeah, this. Combo that with putting in an M5 rad if you like.

    As s3x0rz as the Zions rad is, and as cool bling as it looks in the engine bay, at this point I think that's the route to go - unless you've got just loads of extra budget and are looking for some excuse to bling up the ol' engine bay, in which case, sure, it's just money.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Olly84 View Post
    oh this is interesting and seems easy enough. Anything to hear less fan noise and more engine noise
    Well in that case, just do visco-fan-delete (best to combine that with the appropriate tweaks to the DME tune).
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  23. #23
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    ^JC, when you do the 88°c conversion the viscofan never goes into schoolbus mode anymore, so there's no actual reason to delete it as it seldomly robs power due to heatsoak. Not to mention it makes a BIG difference in hot summer days when driving with A/C on into traffic.
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  24. #24
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    Sure, he was just saying he wants minimal fan noise, can't get much quieter than a visco-delete. But indeed on 100F days I'm sure I'd have colder AC in traffic if I kept the disco-visco.

    Personally I love the clean engine bay without the Visco and not ever having to take it off again, but I'm biased because the S/C setup makes everything all tight in there and a PITA so ditching the disco-visco is a huge plus.
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  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by geargrinder View Post
    Sure, he was just saying he wants minimal fan noise, can't get much quieter than a visco-delete. But indeed on 100F days I'm sure I'd have colder AC in traffic if I kept the disco-visco.

    Personally I love the clean engine bay without the Visco and not ever having to take it off again, but I'm biased because the S/C setup makes everything all tight in there and a PITA so ditching the disco-visco is a huge plus.
    Right, I remember now that we discussed how my wizardcooling radiator wouldn't clear your SC
    I kept the viscofan cuz never got around adjusting the dme for the 88ºC tstat. When I had the original tstat I ran commando and it's amazing. Plus I have the 530i viscous and it does just what I want which is keep me cool in low speed traffic.

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