Vert overheating... Ideas

[future rs]

ok, so the clutch fan was not spinning.... I got a new one... still not spinning...

????????????? Need help asap

Was it a brand new clutch fan? did you replace the complete assembly or just the clutch? (sorry new to e30's not sure if the clutch is replaceable)

I had a similar problem on an old isuzu and it ended up being two bad clutches.

[bowtie2bimmer]

the clutch itself

[future rs]

the clutch itself

Was it brand new?

I have tested the clutches before by heating up the clutch with a heat gun (don't overdo it and melt the thing)

After getting it warm see if it turns easy or if you can feel if the clutch is engaged.

[bowtie2bimmer]

brand new form napa...

Should I try driving it to heat it up?

[stamar]

ya fan goes at operating temperature.

[future rs]

brand new form napa...

Should I try driving it to heat it up?

Driving it is the best option. Just keep an eye on your temp guage. Overheat enough and you can warp heads and blow head gaskets.

[noid]

brand new form napa...

Should I try driving it to heat it up?

Jump the sensor connector for the auxiliary fan and see if it keeps your temperature down. If it does then it is doing the job of the fan clutch.

[bowtie2bimmer]

so took it for a drive, no dice

But i was looking and it seems the fan is offset from the shroud. The shroud is installed perfectly, the two tabs at the bottom and the 2 clips up to. I moved the shroud a little and the fan began to spin...

Perhaps its just being caught up. But how can I adjust this. It only goes on one way right????

[bowtie2bimmer]

pics

[bowtie2bimmer]

also how easy should the fan have come off? I had to like pull the radiator too the front to get it off the threads... it seems really close to the radiator

[noid]

so took it for a drive, no dice

But i was looking and it seems the fan is offset from the shroud. The shroud is installed perfectly, the two tabs at the bottom and the 2 clips up to. I moved the shroud a little and the fan began to spin...

Perhaps its just being caught up. But how can I adjust this. It only goes on one way right????

The fan clutch is only needed when idling. If you are overheating mid drive while air is flowing well, the problem is not your fan clutch.

[bowtie2bimmer]

no it never overheated while driving... but as soon as i stopped it started to creep up. Fan doesnt move

[future rs]

Have you double checked the install of the fan back on the clutch? the clutch fans on most cars i have had turned all the time. But when they heat up the clutch engages and the fan will spin a lot faster with a lot more force. What your looking for is that the clutch engages and the fan speeds up. Should cause a lot more wind noise when it engages.

But along these lines i'm a bit concerned. You said that the car was overheating while driving at 50mph. At that speed you shouldn't need the fan. There should be enough air passing through the front air dam to keep things cool. Have you checked the A/C condenser or the front of the radiator for excessive bent fins? Was the overheating happening with the A/C on or off?

EDIT: sorry someone above me posted the moving vs. stopped issue.

[mbonanni]

I would keep an eye on your coolant/oil. I overheated my car to the red and cracked my head.

Goodluck.

Check thermostat.

[bowtie2bimmer]

it overheated first sitting in traffic and then on the way home it wouldn't go back down. however there is a lot of steam so I'm assuming there is an air pocket when I just drove it just now it was fine driving around at speed but as soon as I stop it started to heat up. after I installed the new fan clutch I added new coolant and bled the system