Humor me: A/C delete question.

[Sagaris]

I have been searching for an hour about removing the A/C and still have a question (325i)

My question is: While I do not believe that removing the aux fan (along with the condenser of course) will have any negative impact on the cooling system, I want to make sure that it is 100% safe and wont require me to be conscious about the engine temperature at stoplights.

Any experiences with removing the aux. fan?

[Jean]

You know you can remove the condenser and buy oem brackets to hold the aux fan in stock location right ? Removing condenser if anything will only improve air flow to radiator.

fan brackets 17 40 1 382 828 and 17 40 1 372 829

[Sagaris]

I appreciate the parts diagram and such. I had heard of people keeping the aux. fan. What are your thoughts on keeping it vs. removing it?

[Jean]

If your fan/clutch works fine you probably will be just fine w/o aux fan. Plus you are in WI, not in CA,AZ,TX,FL....

[ChaseN]

But what are you losing by keeping the aux fan? One of the worse feelings in the world IMO is watching your temp gauge slowly creep towards the red while you're stuck somewhere you can't turn the car off (traffic). Keep the aux fan and enjoy complete peace of mind.

Unless you're looking for that fuhraze weight reduction?

[Jean]

That's why I suggested brackets to keep the aux fan in place ;) as a backup fan.

[Dirty e30]

I took a saw to my condenser and cut out the center part. ghetto, but it holds the fan just fine.

[ChaseN]

That's why I suggested brackets to keep the aux fan in place ;) as a backup fan.

Agreed. I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard the aux fan in my iX come on (with a/c off of course) and every time I've heard it, I thanked god for having it there :p. No reason to dump it on a street car really...

[ChaseN]

I took a saw to my condenser and cut out the center part. ghetto, but it holds the fan just fine.

So wait...you cut out the middle of your condensor, then used the remaining sides as a bracket? Now that you know the above brackets are $11 a piece, promise me you'll fix that? ;)

[Philo]

I thought the aux fan only ran while the A/C was on. If you are taking out the A/C, why keep the aux fan?

Unless i'm incorrect.

[ChaseN]

I thought the aux fan only ran while the A/C was on. If you are taking out the A/C, why keep the aux fan?

Unless i'm incorrect.

If its working correctly (which a WHOLE lot aren't) it should also come on around the 3/4 mark (give or take, this can be very different car-to-car depending on sensor age/condition) even if a/c is off.

[Danny]

I thought the aux fan only ran while the A/C was on. If you are taking out the A/C, why keep the aux fan?

Unless i'm incorrect.

No that's not true. It will also kick on if the coolant gets too hot. Such as when there is very little airflow over the radiator. (Stoplight or slow traffic)

[MR 325]

I ran no A/C and no aux fan in my B25 swapped 85 for about 3 years. Never ONCE did the car heat up, even in SoCal.

[Dirty e30]

So wait...you cut out the middle of your condensor, then used the remaining sides as a bracket? Now that you know the above brackets are $11 a piece, promise me you'll fix that? ;)

Problem is I JUST did that a few days ago and was super proud of my ingenuity. Sorta bummed when I saw Jean's post haha.
I did a pretty good job, so I'll rock it for a bit ;-)

[ChaseN]

I ran no A/C and no aux fan in my B25 swapped 85 for about 3 years. Never ONCE did the car heat up, even in SoCal.

Yeah, on a properly sorted cooling system, is it really needed? No, it isn't. Is it a comforting fudge factor when I'm stuck in one of Pittsburgh's tunnels, and the OBC is reading 122*? Yep, it is. I guess my point is, since the OP's already got it, why do away with it. It could save you the day that your thermostat decides to take a shit in the heat of the day (Happened to me with my iX on an OE BMW t-stat only ~150 miles old. The aux fan let me limp it out of the tunnel till I could get into a faster traffic flow).

Problem is I JUST did that a few days ago and was super proud of my ingenuity. Sorta bummed when I saw Jean's post haha.
I did a pretty good job, so I'll rock it for a bit ;-)

Do what you gotta do. I'd love to see pics, seems like a fairly interesting idea :p