the dreaded viscous fan

[leeorglory]

Morning all,

So it seems the dream didn't last very long, last night while on my way home I got stuck in traffic for a good 20 minutes or so, during this time I suddenly noticed that the temperature of the car had rocketed to the point it had illuminated the warning light.

I believe this is down to the viscous fan, but having done a quick search on the internet, I've found that I can replace just the clutch assembly, the fan blades, or both. I'm pretty sure its the clutch assembly that needs replacing but I thought I would check on here first, to save myself ordering multiple items.

If someone could confirm that this is definitely what I need to replace that would be great.

[Bimmer Owners' Club]

Hi Lee

I would check out the thermostat or the water pump (as these tend to break up internally) as these components usually cause overheating, not to say it isn't the fan but I would definitely check these out as well

Let us know how you get on
Cheers,  Trevor

[leeorglory]

Thanks for your reply Trevor, over the weekend I replaced the fan, as it turns out my car had an electric fan fitted for some reason,  but the thread for the viscous fan was still there so I've put a viscous fan in for now to see how that goes and touch wood it is working fine again now. 

I also found that the end tank on the radiator had a crack in it so I've done a fix on this for now but think I might upgrade the rad for an ally one in the near future. 

 

[Bimmer Owners' Club]

Thanks for the feedback, great result then with the fan and also spotting the crack in the tank...that would definitely put the temperature up as it would be drawing air and therefore lowering the boiling point of the coolant. 

Just be sure that the electric fan is drawing air the correct way...e.g not competing against the viscous fan

[leeorglory]

I’ve actually removed the electric fan altogether. So I only have the viscous fan now. It’s definitely doing the job I just need to keep an eye on that rad if it springs another leak it will definitely be going in the bin and replaced with a nice ally one.