Fan rattle at hard steer - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

PSB · 17th September 2002, 13:14

Chaps,

I'm quite new to the world of owning an E34 M5 (3.8, Avus Blue), but so far it is a very fast world to live in!

I have found a small problem though: When steering hard left or right, with the internal fan on (and yes, I mean the fan that cools or heats the passengers) there is a clicking sound that is related to the speed that the fan is set to. Note this is only occasionally, and it seems to only happen when the car is being driven slowly on hard steering lock.

Has anybody had any experience of this before? Any ideas how to fix it? I have had the drivers side panels out and had a good look but I can't see how the steering column could interact with the fan.

By the way - exactly where is the fan located and how do I get access to it?

Yours questioningly?

Paul

Husaborg · 17th September 2002, 14:28

Paul
I too have a noise coming from the fan, more so when set at a higher fan speed. I lifted the bonnet last night and it looks as though a bearing on the fan motor has either failed or dried up, and after more investigation i hope to be able to access it from the engine compartment rather than having to take the dash out.
I will let you know after i have had chance to investigate, however maybe someone has already doen this and may reply.

Mark

jimmy01 · 18th September 2002, 01:17

Hi all,
I had same problem in my e28 fortunatly I kept a complete fan unit from one I broke for spares, it was the bearings that had dried more or less solid and would free of for a while with some wd40 but would come back again soon! with e28 fan is accessable from under bonnet, just remove panel and its there, with e34 not so sure, if my memory serves me I am sure you have to remove skuttle panel plastics to acces it (wipers) though might be wrong!

Husaborg · 18th September 2002, 01:18

Had a look at where the heater is hidden and it is located behind the bulkhead and looks quite tricky to get to. Some bolts look difficult to access and i would appreciate if anyone could advise if they have actually removed the heater unit and any associated problems they encountered.
I now think that there maybe some debris in and around the fan which needs to be removed.

PSB · 18th September 2002, 02:43

I've ordered a Bentley manual from Amazon uk. I am hoping that the fan is the same on the non-M5's.

Yours,

P

PS. If anybody does have any bright ideas in the meantime, please shout

rich · 10th December 2002, 16:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Husaborg
Paul
I too have a noise coming from the fan, more so when set at a higher fan speed. I lifted the bonnet last night and it looks as though a bearing on the fan motor has either failed or dried up, and after more investigation i hope to be able to access it from the engine compartment rather than having to take the dash out.
I will let you know after i have had chance to investigate, however maybe someone has already doen this and may reply.

Mark

HI there,
I have exactly the same problem with my fan. Have you had any luck fixing it? From where do you get at the fan?

Thanx

Husaborg · 10th December 2002, 16:35

Have fixed the fan. You gain access to it through the engine compartment by removing a panel that sits between the wiper assembling and the engine. Some nuts are a bit tricky to get to but allow a couple of hours and its a simple job.