Blower motor question

[2shelbys]

Hey guys. I haven't been around for a while because of a new job (911/Police dispatch). I am doing a ton of stuff to my '90 750iL. One of the jobs is replacing the heat/ac blower motor, which I expected to be easy, especially since I have the intakes off. My problem is that I have received three replacement motors from two different manufacturers (two from Hamburg Technic and one from Uro), and none of them fit. All of them appear to have the fan blades pressed on too far so they rub against the housing on one or both sides. They definitely look to be seated properly. Am I doing something wrong or a lot of these manufactured wrong? Thanks a lot for any assistance.

[Cactuar]

Hi, I ran into the same issue recently, see here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-begins!/page4

When I tried to space out the cages on the replacement Hella/Behr motor, I damaged the alignment of the cages. So when I hand spun the motor the cages wobbled.

In the end I had to completely remove the Hella cages and re-use the cages of the original Bosch motor.

It's difficult to hit the cages gently so they aren't damaged (small love taps). If you fear you might damage the cages take it to a shop and they might be equipped to do it without damaging it.

- - - Updated - - -

Also when spacing the cages ensure that the gap between the cage and plastic support is the same on the left and right sides. I fixed a whistling/wind noise by fixing a too-wide gap on the right side.

[URO Parts]

Hi 2shelbys, was your original blower motor a Bosch?

Our blower motor is listed to only fit 1990 750iL models originally equipped with factory Behr heaters. If your original heater is Behr, we'll definitely have our engineers investigate this. If your factory heating system isn't Behr, it explains why our replacement blower didn't fit.

[2shelbys]

Hi 2shelbys, was your original blower motor a Bosch?

Our blower motor is listed to only fit 1990 750iL models originally equipped with factory Behr heaters. If your original heater is Behr, we'll definitely have our engineers investigate this. If your factory heating system isn't Behr, it explains why our replacement blower didn't fit.

Mine is a Bosch. That explains that. Thanks for the info.

[2shelbys]

Hi, I ran into the same issue recently, see here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-begins!/page4

When I tried to space out the cages on the replacement Hella/Behr motor, I damaged the alignment of the cages. So when I hand spun the motor the cages wobbled.

In the end I had to completely remove the Hella cages and re-use the cages of the original Bosch motor.

It's difficult to hit the cages gently so they aren't damaged (small love taps). If you fear you might damage the cages take it to a shop and they might be equipped to do it without damaging it.

- - - Updated - - -

Also when spacing the cages ensure that the gap between the cage and plastic support is the same on the left and right sides. I fixed a whistling/wind noise by fixing a too-wide gap on the right side.

I tried cutting a couple of half circles at the edges of two pieces of wood that fit under the cages and hit the shaft with a hammer as hard as I dared and they wouldn't budge. I don't have a puller that fits them either. I am getting a Supco fan blade and cage puller and I'll see what I can do.

[shogun]

Do not mix that up, looks like there is a misunderstanding between Mr. Uro parts and 2shelbys.
On E32 there were no Bosch heating systems. If it is IHKA = Integrated Heating and Cooling system, then it is a Behr system, and if just IHR heating system, then the heating system comes from Siemens. I assume Siemens system was not sold in USA, only the Behr IHKA system. The complete IHKA system was made by Behr, including many parts from Bosch, like the blower motor, stepper motors, IHKA control module has usually 1 sticker showing the Bosch as well as the Behr and BMW number, see here http://bmwe32.masscom.net/johan/ihka/ihka.html
A 1990 735i USA spec. as well as your 750 with IHKA uses the blower fan 64111466018 / 64118390935 ,64118390935 Blower unit From: 02/01/1992 To : - , Supersedes: 64111374377 (06/01/1986 — 10/07/1997), Part 64118390935 was found on the following vehicles:
•5' E34   (03/1987 — 12/1996) also used on IHKR-III
•7' E32   (10/1985 — 08/1994)
•8' E31   (07/1989 — 05/1999)

For example this blower Motor has the original sticker Behr 94.444.50.005 , BMW 8 390 935 = that is the old 7-digit BMW no., now 64118390935, but the motor of the complete unit with the cages is NOT from Behr but from Bosch and has the old Bosch no.
0 130 111 032 , details you can see here https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w210614753

Here you see the Behr sticker on the IHKA E32 box http://www.e32-schrauber.de/bmw/daten/ihka/cimg0029.jpg

I just checked a spare blower motor from my E32 IHKA, all makers are on one sticker BMW Bosch and with their part numbers . Main subsupplier to BMW for the system was Behr and subsupplier of Behr was Bosch for some components of the system.
Measure the existing size, here are the dimensions from a Russuian site https://www.farpost.ru/moskva/auto/s...398890108.html
cage W 62mm, dia/height 151mm, motor housing L = 70mm, dia: 73mm, total width motor incl. cages 237mm, BMW 5-Series E34 88-95, BMW 7-Series E32 87-94, BMW 8-Series E31 91-99 SAT ST-64111374377
And if someone wants to replace the carbon brushes on the blower motor, sizes are measured 8 x 10 x 20mm

So I would suggest URO to have their engineers/quality control investigate this problem

[Cactuar]

Good info Erich.

The E31, E32 and E34 all use the same blower motor housing, part 64111374341. #4 here.

So why do the aftermarket blowers with cages (even the OEM Behr/Hella units) come with the wrong cage distance?

My theory is that the blowers are used in more than one car brand, for example Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Audi etc. The BMW cage spec maybe is different from these other makes, and it doesn't make sense to manufacture different versions for every make.

[shogun]

Can you still measure the correct setting/dimensions on your old one? Are these data correct I copied from that Russian site? cage W 62mm, dia/height 151mm, motor housing L = 70mm, dia: 73mm, total width motor incl. cages 237mm,
We would need the dimensions from an original blower motor with cages.

[Cactuar]

Yes this measurement is accurate. Before removing the original cages I measured the width as 9 inches and 5/16, which converts to 236.5 mm.

I did not note the other measurements, but I would assume the Russian site is accurate for those as well.

[2shelbys]

Can you still measure the correct setting/dimensions on your old one? Are these data correct I copied from that Russian site? cage W 62mm, dia/height 151mm, motor housing L = 70mm, dia: 73mm, total width motor incl. cages 237mm,
We would need the dimensions from an original blower motor with cages.

Shogun, This is my original. The whole assembly is about 9 1/4 inches wide which is about 235mm. There is about 4 3/8 inches of space between the cages which is about 111mm. Thats where the problem is. The inside of the cages on the replacement motors rub because they are too close together. They have all had about 105mm of space between the cages. The measurements on the Russian site look good. They show 113mm between the cages.
image1.jpeg image2.jpeg

The sticker is gone and the stamping is very hard to read. All you can really make out is BOSCH.

image3.jpg

[URO Parts]

We have our engineers looking into this, and will report back. Thanks for the info everyone!

[2shelbys]

Does anyone know if there is anywhere to get a motor with the proper dimensions as shown in Shogun’s Russian link, other than spending $370 at the dealership?

[shogun]

latest # is 64118390935 exchangeable vs old p/n 64111374377 , used in E34, E32, E31
here in 2016 FCP says: Discontiuation/supersession information is not too organized on this particular number. Just on the BMW side of things all numbers are "active" but only p/n 64111468542 can physically be ordered.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...or-64111466018
Years ago I bought an ACM for a friends E32 735 and that fitted apparently (I bought for him, he installed by himself, no claim), Pelican has them for abt $ 105 https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...assCat=Y&null=
but that was years ago.

[2shelbys]

Thanks Shogun. I am talking to Pelican now. They are going to pull one and measure it to make sure it's right before sending.

[2shelbys]

Pelican never got back to me after all, but I found the solution. Go to Autozone and order the 4seasons/Everco blower motor part number 76946 and you will get the correct one to replace the wider Bosch blower motor.

[URO Parts]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. We figured out that if a package containing the blower assembly is dropped on one of the same sides as a squirrel cage, the weight of the motor can push the shaft through the squirrel cage a bit and result in the cages being too close together. This explains why only a tiny percentage of the fans had the issue. It also explains why installers were able to spread the cages apart to make them fit the blower housing; if the blowers were manufactured with the cages too close together, there probably wouldn't be enough available shaft length to spread them apart.

We've redesigned the packaging to secure the motor in the center of the box, so that the cages can't be nudged out of place during shipment. Mystery solved!