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PJK
Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 1829 Location: Shingle Springs, CA
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Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 12:19 am Post subject: Aux Fan blades |
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Bambi jumped out in front of me. Along with some body work which I will need the blades on the electric fan cracked. BMW does not sell the fan blades. They want about $400 for it. Pelcon is a bit better but they are still spendy.
If someone has one with a dead motor for a decient price I can probably make one good unit.
Phil |
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mmaldin
Joined: 19 Oct 2001 Posts: 288 Location: Boulder, CO
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:52 am Post subject: |
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Phil,
Sorry to hear of your misfortune with Bambi. I don't have a spare, but if you wind up having to buy a new one, check out these guys, http://www.bmwmercedesparts.com/. They are a BMW dealer in Nebraska that sells OE parts at a nice discount. A quick search, not sure of your year though, showed list at $377 and net at $264. I have had good experiences with them and have found many OE parts for less than aftermarket prices.
Good luck,
Michael _________________ Michael
94 325i, 178K miles, original owner |
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PJK
Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 1829 Location: Shingle Springs, CA
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Michael,
Thanks for the link. One more source of parts is a good thing.
On my way to the bay area I had some warm wether so I turned on the AC. The fan did not come apart and the balance seemed to be OK. With that in mind I started to repair the damage with heat welding, and J&B Weld. So far it is going OK. This fan just may last as long as the car.
Phil
mmaldin wrote: | Phil,
Sorry to hear of your misfortune with Bambi. I don't have a spare, but if you wind up having to buy a new one, check out these guys, http://www.bmwmercedesparts.com/. They are a BMW dealer in Nebraska that sells OE parts at a nice discount. A quick search, not sure of your year though, showed list at $377 and net at $264. I have had good experiences with them and have found many OE parts for less than aftermarket prices.
Good luck,
Michael |
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idanity
Joined: 21 May 2005 Posts: 3097 Location: N.W.U.S.A.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 2:44 am Post subject: |
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that sounds terrible.
at least balance out the fan....so an even number of blades are dispersed...oherwise you risk a quicker bearing failure (its just a matter of time on all bearings).
sad to hear about your bmw...makes me want to install bull horns on my hood _________________ .......... |
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PJK
Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Posts: 1829 Location: Shingle Springs, CA
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 1:14 am Post subject: |
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Hi Idanty,
All of the blades are still there. On one blade there was a crack between the outer edge and the ring which surrounds all the blades. Also part of that blade was missing.
Before I did anything I got the fan to run (turn on AC) and the balance seemed to be reasonable.
I heat welded the tip of the blade to the ring with a soldering iron. I don't know what the material of the blade is. I know it is not ABS since MEK won't soften it.
I figured the density of J&B weld has to be closer to what the blade is than nothing. I filled in part of the broken blade using tape and J&B weld.
There is still more to go but for the rest I'll have to make a pattern from one of the good blades and J&B weld it into place.
I haven't much to risk (other than wasted time) since I can only buy the fan as an assembly motor, bearings, and all.
I have a strobe tac which I bought from a seller on e-Bay. The seller showed me a link with instructions on balancing fans with it. When I get done I'll try the method on the BMW fan.
Phil
idanity wrote: | that sounds terrible.
at least balance out the fan....so an even number of blades are dispersed...oherwise you risk a quicker bearing failure (its just a matter of time on all bearings).
sad to hear about your bmw...makes me want to install bull horns on my hood |
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