S52 w/ AC cooling problems

[e30austin]

Here's my setup that I run with every swapped car I assemble. Some have had air con. Some have not. NONE have overheating issues and have very efficient air conditioning (if so equipped).

S50/S52
80c tstat with 1/8" hole drilled to allow air to escape
Stock water pump
E36 or Z3M radiator and stock E30 expansion tank
STOCK E30 A/C FAN (loud but move a lot of air and you already own it, SPAL is unnecessary in my opinion)
E30 M3 82c fan switch, installed on side of radiator, wired to high speed fan

Best of luck to you. The above is what I would suggest.

[Strelok]

Alright, so I got the euro fan in the mail today and had no luck with fitment:



The blades are fine the ring hits the top of the rad. I tried mounting it on the other side of the clutch but that pushed it into the front of the engine.

Any suggestions? Is there a thinner clutch I can run? The one in the kit I got is "vemo" brand.

Thanks!

Here's my setup that I run with every swapped car I assemble. Some have had air con. Some have not. NONE have overheating issues and have very efficient air conditioning (if so equipped).

S50/S52
80c tstat with 1/8" hole drilled to allow air to escape
Stock water pump
E36 or Z3M radiator and stock E30 expansion tank
STOCK E30 A/C FAN (loud but move a lot of air and you already own it, SPAL is unnecessary in my opinion)
E30 M3 82c fan switch, installed on side of radiator, wired to high speed fan

Best of luck to you. The above is what I would suggest.

It's my understanding that lower temp switches don't actually make the car run cooler? Considering the fact that my car can't even cool itself down to normal temps when I turn the AC off, I don't expect lower temp switches to help. I could be wrong though. Also, not sure what Portland summers are like but I have a feeling they're nothing like what we get in Atlanta

[m3boost]

Cut some of the lip from the radiator. You should be fine after that.

[e30austin]

It will kick the high speed fan on earlier (before half way), in an attempt to cool the car down before getting too warm. Just a suggestion from a guy who's done this a few times. Best of luck to you.

[E30335i]

Alright, so I got the euro fan in the mail today and had no luck with fitment:



The blades are fine the ring hits the top of the rad. I tried mounting it on the other side of the clutch but that pushed it into the front of the engine.

Any suggestions? Is there a thinner clutch I can run? The one in the kit I got is "vemo" brand.

Thanks!




It's my understanding that lower temp switches don't actually make the car run cooler? Considering the fact that my car can't even cool itself down to normal temps when I turn the AC off, I don't expect lower temp switches to help. I could be wrong though. Also, not sure what Portland summers are like but I have a feeling they're nothing like what we get in Atlanta

You need an earlier temp switch so it starts to cool the car earlier and make it more consistent. It’s easier to cool a car off earlier then when it’s almost too late. You know when you turn off a car it still gets hotter even when it’s off so you can kind of get the idea when the fan turns on, it doesn’t cool it off right away when it turns on either.


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[ForcedFirebird]

Alright, so I got the euro fan in the mail today and had no luck with fitment:

The blades are fine the ring hits the top of the rad. I tried mounting it on the other side of the clutch but that pushed it into the front of the engine.

Any suggestions? Is there a thinner clutch I can run? The one in the kit I got is "vemo" brand.

Thanks!




It's my understanding that lower temp switches don't actually make the car run cooler? Considering the fact that my car can't even cool itself down to normal temps when I turn the AC off, I don't expect lower temp switches to help. I could be wrong though. Also, not sure what Portland summers are like but I have a feeling they're nothing like what we get in Atlanta

The clutches are all going to be in the same position regardless of brand.


...and I don't know why you insist your car is running too hot. 195-205 is normal operating temp.



If you want your car to run cooler than normal, you need a lower temp switch for the fan, and a cooler thermostat. Put an 80°c switch and matching thermostat and your car will run cooler (which is almost as bad as running too hot). Your ECU will leave the car in open loop which will give you poor mileage, it will run rich as the engine will always be in "warm up enrichment" mode unless you change the maps in your ECU.

[Mwishlist]

Alright, so I got the euro fan in the mail today and had no luck with fitment:



The blades are fine the ring hits the top of the rad. I tried mounting it on the other side of the clutch but that pushed it into the front of the engine.

Any suggestions? Is there a thinner clutch I can run? The one in the kit I got is "vemo" brand.

Thanks!

I run the same fan on the back side of the clutch. It's only close to the vanos at the top, I trimmed the blades where they were close to the vanos and have been running it for a few years now with no issue .

[Strelok]

The clutches are all going to be in the same position regardless of brand.


...and I don't know why you insist your car is running too hot. 195-205 is normal operating temp.



If you want your car to run cooler than normal, you need a lower temp switch for the fan, and a cooler thermostat. Put an 80°c switch and matching thermostat and your car will run cooler (which is almost as bad as running too hot). Your ECU will leave the car in open loop which will give you poor mileage, it will run rich as the engine will always be in "warm up enrichment" mode unless you change the maps in your ECU.

Should have clarified - I took some more readings, this time I actually brought the IR reader with me and got the car as hot as possible - AC on full blast in stop and go. Took a reading when it was near the red and it was close to 220. Those initial readings I took were in the garage right after a drive and I think it had started to cool a bit. I'm not comfortable with getting anywhere near 220.

I run the same fan on the back side of the clutch. It's only close to the vanos at the top, I trimmed the blades where they were close to the vanos and have been running it for a few years now with no issue .

I tried this and found it to be all up on the Vanos, I don't think a trim would help unfortunately. I'm currently planning to notch that tab on the radiator, I think that will clear things up for me.

[ForcedFirebird]

I regress based on that last post. 220 "is" too high. 215 should be max when fans bring it back.

It doesn't cost anything to completely remove the thermostat and take note of temps. Worth a try for the sake of science.....

[dude8383]

The diesel fan works perfectly with the Mishimoto radiators... they don't have the lip on em.

The stock a/c fan as Austin! has mentioned is more than capable of pushing the air that you need to keep the car cool. I've had my S52 E30 with a/c for the last 3 years now kicking ass in NYC heat. Never has it ever gone above the 1/2 way mark. The spal fans don't push nearly as much air as the factory unit does.

[Strelok]

The diesel fan works perfectly with the Mishimoto radiators... they don't have the lip on em.

The stock a/c fan as Austin! has mentioned is more than capable of pushing the air that you need to keep the car cool. I've had my S52 E30 with a/c for the last 3 years now kicking ass in NYC heat. Never has it ever gone above the 1/2 way mark. The spal fans don't push nearly as much air as the factory unit does.

Interesting. The spal unit is rated at just over 1600cfm and is a good bit larger than the stock one. Do you know what CFM the stock one is?

I finally got this fan in. I initially trimmed the rad, threw the fan in, filled the coolant and fired to the car up only to find the fan was rubbing on the bottom of the rad. I took everything apart again in a fit of rage and ended up following the advice of one of the posters in this thread by putting the fan on the back of the clutch, then trimming the blades to clear the vanos and thermostat.



Lots of room for the rad but the vanos is damn close:


I'll be filling up and bleeding this afternoon, hopefully all goes well and I can finally get this thing off the jack stands

[dude8383]

Interesting. The spal unit is rated at just over 1600cfm and is a good bit larger than the stock one. Do you know what CFM the stock one is?

I am not totally certain but its like 2000+ IIRC

[Strelok]

Well I got the fan in and working, but I may have spoke too soon. I took it out for a test drive and it was running great, much cooler than before even in stop and go with the AC on full blast.

Since this is the first time I've had it off the stands with the new wheels and lip, I decided to drive to a nearby parking lot to take a few pictures. I left it idling while I took a few, and when I got back in I saw the gauge had creeped above 3/4. I popped the hood and grabbed my IR thermometer. To my dismay, the upper hose was reading about 220. The t-stat was at 210-ish. I walked over to check the lower hose and as I was about to get a reading it popped off the rad and sent all my coolant everywhere. I immediately shut the car off.

The gauge wasn't in the red but getting a 220 reading on the hose scared me into thinking I may have just lost my head gasket. It's currently sitting in the parking lot cooling down so I can go back later and fill it back up and drive it home.

[ForcedFirebird]

Hose shouldn't have popped off, even at 220. Time for a coolant system pressure test, you might be pressurizing the system. :(

[Strelok]

Hose shouldn't have popped off, even at 220. Time for a coolant system pressure test, you might be pressurizing the system. :(

Forgive my ignorance, cooling systems are the bane of my existence. Aren't they supposed to be pressurized? What would cause improper pressurization? Bad bleeding?