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    #1

    Bad fan clutch?

    Hey guys,

    For the past few months I've been having cooling issues. I have changed the coolant temp sensor, thermostat and put fresh coolant in my rad. Starting about a month ago my car has started to overheat only at idle and then the temp comes back down once i get moving and have air flow. I need help diagnosing whether this is because of a bad fan clutch or partially clogged radiator? My fan seems to only run at one speed all the time even when the engine becomes hot, which leads me to believe i have a bad fan clutch. I have a spare rad ready to go if i need it, just want to confirm it is the fan clutch before i go out and pay $100 for a new one at Lordco.

    Any info helps
    Thanks
    sigpic
    91' 318is Brilliantrot
    Yes, it still has an m42
    Tags: None
    #2
    Do the rolled paper test...roll up some newspaper and try to stop the fan at idle. If you can stop the fan easily then the fan clutch is bad.

    Comment

      #3
      Originally posted by dnguyen1963 View Post
      Do the rolled paper test...roll up some newspaper and try to stop the fan at idle. If you can stop the fan easily then the fan clutch is bad.
      Just tested this, the fan stopped super easy as soon at I put the roll in.. So this is 100% my fan clutch this means then?
      sigpic
      91' 318is Brilliantrot
      Yes, it still has an m42

      Comment

        #4
        Could be air in the system. Most effective way I've found is jack up the front driver side corner as high as it will go without lifting the passenger side tire off the ground. Then take the radiator cap off and run the engine until it fully warms up. Reving the engine up a few thousand RPM and holding it for a few seconds every now and then will help circulate the air out of the engine. Be sure to keep the coolant topped up as you are letting it warm up. It might drop some if there is indeed air.

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by AndrewBird View Post
          Could be air in the system. Most effective way I've found is jack up the front driver side corner as high as it will go without lifting the passenger side tire off the ground. Then take the radiator cap off and run the engine until it fully warms up. Reving the engine up a few thousand RPM and holding it for a few seconds every now and then will help circulate the air out of the engine. Be sure to keep the coolant topped up as you are letting it warm up. It might drop some if there is indeed air.
          Don't think it would be that, because I recently took my rad out to replace the thermostat and bled the air when reinstalling. I'll check again to be sure though before I do anything
          sigpic
          91' 318is Brilliantrot
          Yes, it still has an m42

          Comment

            #6
            Well it looks like it is the fan clutch. Did the news paper test when it was at normal temperature and was able to still stop the fan. Also, the fan never speeds up regardless of rpms or engine temp.
            sigpic
            91' 318is Brilliantrot
            Yes, it still has an m42

            Comment

              #7
              Almost certain that it is your fan clutch especially you bled the system recently.

              Comment

                #8
                Originally posted by AndrewBird View Post
                Could be air in the system. Most effective way I've found is jack up the front driver side corner as high as it will go without lifting the passenger side tire off the ground. Then take the radiator cap off and run the engine until it fully warms up. Reving the engine up a few thousand RPM and holding it for a few seconds every now and then will help circulate the air out of the engine. Be sure to keep the coolant topped up as you are letting it warm up. It might drop some if there is indeed air.
                Wouldn't you want to jack the front passenger side up since the coolant filling bottle is on that side?
                1986 325ES

                Comment

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Economy Sport View Post
                  Wouldn't you want to jack the front passenger side up since the coolant filling bottle is on that side?
                  Later E30 has the coolant tank on the driver side.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Ok so, I replaced the fan clutch and it was shot it runs so much smoother now. Except, the car still slowly overheats if I leave it idling. What could be the problem? When I rev the car it does begin to cool back down since the fan is spinning faster then. Just doesn't seem to stay cool at idle.
                    sigpic
                    91' 318is Brilliantrot
                    Yes, it still has an m42

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Does your heater work well? If not there could still be air trapped in that. I bled the system on mine because I had similar issues but it didn't fix it until I rapidly/vigorously squeezed the coolant pipes going to the heater matrix. A load of bubbles came out of or coolant tank filler. Just a thought

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