blower motor just died

[jrobie79]

so im driving along the road and i make a right turn and bam theres this loud ass noise coming from like the center of my dash, im like oh shit what the hell just happened, so i figure it must be the engine but i keep driving and notice my fan is on so i shut it off and the sound goes away. so im thinking its the blower motor because everytime i put the fan on it goes nuts. how easy is it to fix, how long does it take and is there a step by step anywhere on the interweb?

[Jarvis]

Sounds like one fan cage (one side) of the blower motor blew up. It's made of fairly fragile plastic and if it ever catches on something while spinning, it usually grenades into multiple pieces.

You'll need to replace the whole blower motor assembly. You cannot simply change the blades attached to the actual motor. It's pretty easy to swap out though.

Search the forum. Multiple threads have excellent how-to posts on this subject.

[jrobie79]

thanks my man

[Garageaholic]

i changed my blower motor, it was quite a bitch to do. let me tell you. Get the wiper assembly aside, and not to mention the plastic shroud doesn't come apart easily. Just be careful when doing it, because those blades are more fragile than you think

Short story
i went to pick up my E30 that i bought on ebay. when i picked it up, i turned on the fan, and it vibrated like hell. I wondered why. i later took it apart to find a little nest of field mice hangin out in my blower fan area. lol they ended up chewing the plastic off some of the fan blades and that caused an imbalance in the fan. I ended up replacing it, but i thought it was hilarious!

[el_4ever]

the wheels are balanced so test to make sure there aren't any rubs before putting enerything back together...turn on the recirculating function of the a/c system as well as it changes the way the system works...just a few war stories

[Jarvis]

i changed my blower motor, it was quite a bitch to do. let me tell you. Get the wiper assembly aside, and not to mention the plastic shroud doesn't come apart easily.

You didn't need to do that. The wiper motor does not get in the way of removing/installing the blower motor at all.

Honestly the hardest part is getting the metal clip (that holds the motor in place) back on. Even that's not a technically difficult thing, it just requires some finagling.

[PeaveyBassist]

Jarvis knows what he is talkin about.

Will

[Jarvis]

Also, all it takes is a crack in the plastic fan cage to eventually ruin the blower motor. On speeds such as 3 and 4, it is spinning so fast that the plastic will eventually catch on something (the walls of the housing the whole assembly sit in are very close to the blades) if cracked and the cage will break apart. Don't bother swapping out the blower motor unless your replacement has zero cracks on the plastic blades.

On three different E30s over three years, I've had blower motor issues with all of them.

[PeaveyBassist]

e30 blower motors FTL.

Will

[wastedincome]

Honestly the hardest part is getting the metal clip (that holds the motor in place) back on. Even that's not a technically difficult thing, it just requires some finagling.

Aint dat da truth. I spent more time on that fucking clip then anything. It really does help to have the new fan and car in a nice heated location as when the blades are cold they break 10 times easier. Ask me how I know ;)

[Jarvis]

Aint dat da truth. I spent more time on that fucking clip then anything. It really does help to have the new fan and car in a nice heated location as when the blades are cold they break 10 times easier. Ask me how I know ;)

The first blower motor I replaced had went bad during 4*F weather driving from NH to upstate NY. An hour from my destination, it died slowly over 10 minutes. The windshield got pretty fogged up after that. Nevermind the numbing cold of just being in the car.

After ordering a replacement from the Euro Depot, I got to replace it while parked in front of my dorm at Hartwick College -just before having to drive home 300 miles... AND it was snowing. I managed to crack the outer ring on the fan cage while installing it, but I found that limiting the speed to only 1 or 2 kept it from breaking more. Of course like two weeks later I forgot and turned it all the way to 3 or 4 and that half blew up instantly. I got away with just one side of the motor having blades for a few more months. Fun fun fun!

[jrobie79]

well i got a new blower motor, and i took the old one out, it seems as though the metal clip holding it on was loose, which probably caused the orginal to break in the first place. i ahve a question about what that metal clip hooks on to. is it supposed to have a gap in the middle of it? it looks something like that, jagged edges and im wondering if its supposed to be a solikd piece maybe this is why the clip fell off the original? this is what im talking about:

[PeaveyBassist]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1413&mospid=47322&btnr=64_0514&hg=64&fg=15

Number 8 in that pic.

Will

[Stu]

One disadvantage of the M50 (and I guess about the only :)) is it requres pulling the intake mani to change the blower motor

[jrobie79]

i cant get that clip to stay on...any suggestions?