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Thread: Fan Shroud Alignment problem

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Posts
    25
    My Cars
    1981 320is, 1972 240z

    Fan Shroud Alignment problem

    I bought a 325e last summer, and it came without a fan shroud. Since I'm in TX, I decided I'd put one back on.

    I bought the correct shroud according to realoem.com, and was trying to install it as a final piece of replacing the water pump and timing belt. When mounting the shroud on the radiator. the center of the opening in the shroud looks to be offset an inch or so to left when looking from the front of the car relative to the center of the fan, and there's no clearance between the right side of the fan and the opening in the shroud. The radiator is sitting correctly in the rubber mounts, the radiator mounting bolts are in the correct holes in the radiator support and the tabs on the bottom of the shroud are in the slots at the bottom of the radiator.

    Has anyone else had this issue and if so, how did you resolve it?

    Thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    corpus christi, texas
    Posts
    6,738
    My Cars
    No e30s, again :(
    check your motor and transmission mounts. it should sit in it properly
    No e30s again.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Joliet,IL
    Posts
    1,121
    My Cars
    87 325is 96 GMC Suburban
    Hopefully the car was not involved in a front collision

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Posts
    25
    My Cars
    1981 320is, 1972 240z
    Quote Originally Posted by msservices View Post
    Hopefully the car was not involved in a front collision
    The front 4" or so of the driver's side fender has a dent in it, but that doesn't seem to be enough to account for that kind of shift in the radiator support. If there were, I'd expect the hood to be extremely misaligned, but it's not.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    15,428
    My Cars
    00 E38,01 E38,99 323 is
    I would not expect left/right alignment issues that severe with bad motor mounts. I would expect up/down issues. Take a good look at both frame rails. Compare with a "known good" E30 if you don't see anything obvious. Something is bent somewhere.
    9/2004 Chevrolet Suburban Z71, black, purchased March 2016, 270k miles.
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    past BMWs: 5/1994 325isa (Arktisgrau), 3/1997 328is/5 (cosmosschwartz), 9/1990 535i/5 (calypsorot), 9/1990 318i/5 (brillantrot) 7/93 325i/5 convertible (samoablau) 2/92 325i/5 cabriolet (lagunengruen).
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Joliet,IL
    Posts
    1,121
    My Cars
    87 325is 96 GMC Suburban
    Or you could have an aftermarket radiator that didn’t have the fan shroud mounting points put in the right location

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    338
    My Cars
    1990 E30 325i 4 Door
    Quote Originally Posted by msservices View Post
    Or you could have an aftermarket radiator that didn’t have the fan shroud mounting points put in the right location
    This is very likely, i have an INA radiator and it is just 1-2 mm off on the shroud mounting points. When i laid the old radiator (origina 30 year old BMW one) on top of the new one, everything lines up (to the naked eye). Only when i mounted the shroud i noticed it was just that smidge off, just enough to make one notice but not enough to cause any issues, some slight hand pressure was enough to get spot on alignment.

    Or maybe the plastic parts on the old radiator have expanded and contracted so many times over the years, the alignment slightly changed when compared to a brand new one?

    Or were there different sized shrouds available?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Officially in Tampa
    Posts
    2,137
    My Cars
    87 Cabrio & 87 ETA
    Perhaps you were shipped the wrong shroud.
    87 Zinno Cabrio 98k Barn Find. Build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=268987
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Joliet,IL
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    87 325is 96 GMC Suburban
    That’s an even more logical explanation

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