BMW E46 Manual Swap Project: Electric Fan & Radiator Bracket Swap DIY 

NutNbutSpeed did you remove the front aux fan as well?

@@krystlpistol4697 I would, also add porch style screening over front of radiator to keep it clean from bugs and road debree

Michael Swetell but why remove it? Doesn’t it have a function? My mechanic told me it’s there in case the car overheats.

@@gustavorock4616 Runs off the same connector as the pusher fan. So the electric fan would kick on in any instance the pusher fan would.

3 years too

But how will it cause overheating?

Dat50go it’s a restriciton

Atleast someone replied, I think I've heard this? And I seen this as a popular mod, but who says? Always very vague when these youtubers describe this particular MOD..

I don't think it would cause overheating but it's pointless for it just to be hanging out there.

thanks so much!

Wow, nice! You should make a video on that next chance you get.

Hey so should I use my stock computer & strip the oem fan out? I had the clutch fan break on me going electric wanted the two fans and have literally been on a mathematician dilemma for the past week about exactly what you said, So should I strip old fan out put new Mishimoto one in? And keep the same computer?

@@josephe4667 The electric fan basically plugs into the same connector as the pusher fan or the auxiliary fan for the AC. I tried splitting the wires to operate both fan, (New electric fan and the AC fan/pusher fan) but when I did that both fan do not turn on so it results in overheating. There is no need for the auxiliary fan or pusher fan. just having the electric fan alone is enough. my car has not overheated in two years. Good luck

@@cya3651 awesome, I have my parts coming in 10 days so not excited to try and take my bumper off for the first time, The rest should be easy but I’m Lowk dreading that part lol, also- clutch fan broke at the connecting bolt ( where it screws ON to the water pump) should I replace the water pump? I hope it’s not damaged but I have no idea since the clutch fan is right there

I would say if coolant is not leaking from the water pump then it’s still good. However if it has been couple of years I would say replace it since you are there already. As for the clutch fan as long as you can get to the nut to loosen it so you can take it off it should not be a problem. FYI..If you are not already getting parts from FCP Euro I would say start because ALL their parts are lifetime warranty. Good luck

Someone said if you do this you should mod your temp sensor to go on earlier, heard it supposedly overheats with the electric fan. Did you mod your sensor? Or just remove the fans and plug in the electric fan with no mod?

Sebastien Schlegel as a matter of fact, that bushing video will be out next Wednesday

I already hate to be able to watch his thanks to you

I think they electric fan can be found in later E46Fanatics models manuals if I remember correctly. I got mine off a manual 330i straight swap plug n play

Im probaly year late butt i had similiar issue. It turned out fan was ok i just had to replace 3 pinned relay at fusebox. Hope that helped! Leme know if u managed to fix it.

You do was is done in this video. Remove both fans and install electric fan between radiator and engine.

No. Once you remove the old shroud and fan, the electric one slides straight in. Exactly the same T25 screw and push-pin secures the new one.

This fan will only turn on when your AC is on. It controlled by the PWM signal from the DME. what you need is a SPAL fan that's activated by the coolant temperature sensor and a 12V power source when the key is on

No, it should run off temp and AC.

Your fan module (is on the fan shroud near the motor )or relay has a problem

also wiring reverse lights?

Yeah my coding series will be coming out shortly. I am making a 3 part series and I want to cover all the bases. The reverse light wiring was a couple of videos back--at the end of the clutch kit & wiring video, part 2.

Manual E46 does not have a front pusher fan Just the electric at the back. They both use the same connector to power, so you cannot have both on. Removing is the right thing to do if you do this swap, as it will restrict otherwise. Have had an v. early 328 manual since new so have first hand exp, and never had any issues with AC. Having both Auto and manual e46's, the Electric fan is MUCH more convenient than the clutch fan and probably will put less stress on the water pump. Will also not explode like the mech fan is known to.

Yes. Replace with electronic fan.

thanks. i replaced the radiator fan with a Hella electric fan. AC fan is still there didnt touch that one. Car is not shaking anymore when at stop light in Drive. Car runs smoother, so far no issues with the fan.

Hi what fan did you use? I converted a 320ci 2.2 to a manual. And would like to do an electric fan conversion.

@@Uranus707 Hi the electric fan was 119 GBP ( British pounds) and the brand name its HELLA . done the fan conversion end of Feb...so far so good no issues.

​@@Uranus707Best source is a wrecked E46. Any manual trans model 4 or 6 cyl will fit. I picked one up today from my local wrecker yard for $25.

No, the new fan should have enough power to keep Ac working.

I frickin' love that thing. Usually lasts 3-4 hours I think. Never really noticed.

Because this video is about swapping the viscous fan for an electric one lol😂

@@98ron I know what he is doing! The 330i has 2 fans (electric and viscous)so now he has only 1 fan sucking hot air from the engine onto a hot radiator (no engine cooling), when it should be cold air being blown onto the radiator and the viscous cooling the engine! Either way I dont see what gains there are by doing this?

Yes to both

Is the auxiliary fan a pusher or puller?

@@Stefan_Smith pusher

Watch the video again. The two fans are completely different

This fan is from a manual trans car. its designed to fit behind the radiator. IMHO a much better solution and prob more effective, and much easier to work with when you need to get in there. This replaces the whole mech fan shroud. and will use the connector that the front fan plugged into. so the front fan is now discarded.

Never mind manual swap got it but I'm still interested in installing electric fan

The shrouds are different but the motors are the same

No, its less powerful. U need to use the correct fan

+The mech a nic it's really good man. Works every time

yes, when the engine needs to lower the temperature of the coolant

thank you!

Most of the people get them from junkyards or eBay, OE brand is BEHR

the expansion tank is for the car's coolant system and no coolant goes to the manual transmission, so... no?

Same expansion tank

Well it is a BMW there are no stupid questions for BMW lol

BMW also told me after a check i had done by them right after i bought the car that the 10k car i bought needed 290k's worth of repairs 😲 I'd rather stick to the advise that the 50's Kid gives than what BMW says 'cause the 290k bill they wanted to stick me with turned out to be around 5k in the end and my baby is still going strong 💪

The plug for the aux fan will plug in the new fan. No need to wire anything. It will work the same.

712k subscribers software developer

No, if you leave the aux fan in, it will restrict airflow to the radiator and electric fan.

If it restricts it, how can it work on other BMW:s too.... For example E53. I mean, this is just talk, you can say what ever about airflow restrict, but if it does, many BMW cars would have been overheated as factory builds :p

The thing is your using the same plug, there's no way to power both fans unless you do a whole lot of work.

@@Yophillips3272 Aaa ok! That's the stuff. Yea then this is kinda totally different, and should then use really one fan only. I was in blackout, I have never had E46 of BMW's models.

+79Pavlito yes

Thank you

And the 4 cyl models as well as the 6s have the same fan.

@@50sKid Hi, first.....thank you very much for your channel, there are many others and no offence to anyone, but yours just IS the best. 2nd, i have a manual '99 328i pre-facelift E46 and mine has only the viscus and the fan in front of the radiator. I read some of the comments which say that y the fan you used was off of a manual E46......does that mean that i take the one in front of the radiator and move it to the back to delete the viscus or is there another fan.....sorry, just want to be petfectly sure before i mess up. 3rd, where have you gone? I am not seeing any new video's... Believe it or not, i enjoy watching even the videos that has no bearing on me 'cause i find it entertaing...your method if delivery......so i'm quite sad to see that i have gone through almost all and no more are coming. Anything we as fans can do to help keep the channel alive???? Anywhoo, hope you see this and that everything is still well with you. Your channel might seem like a small thing, but you have made a big difference in many people's lives.

He got it from a manual petrol e46

the clutch fan can grenade and take out other things in the cooling system. It also makes working on the accessory system easier.

Probably adds a couple HP too.

Adam More oh I am having similar issues on my 330ci. Although I had fuel cut from 5 & 6 and figured it may be the coils. Changed them as well as replace the ccv system, throttle body and intake gaskets, new DISA, new vacuum lines, motor mounts, nearly complete coolant refresh with the exception of the radiator, headers cv axles and today transmission mounts. But I still have a fairly rough idle. I may try to replace the VANOS seals if not refresh it with a kit. Have you cleaned your IAC ?

CVV hosese and separator...

What codes are you getting? if any.

does the issue start immediately or when the ECU goes into closed loop (1-2 minutes after starting the engine)? have you tried disconnecting the MAF sensor and running with it unplugged? does the issue persist?

Ciprian Stoian The CCV and oil separator are good, no leaks.

Same problem here. I’m looking for answers

@@paulnastoff2394 did you figure out what your issue was? Am finding myself in a similar predicament

@@digitaloski8702 Yes. First of all if you install electric fan you need to remove the auxiliary fan by dropping the bumper in the front so that you improve airflow and natural cooling to your radiator. Number two I had a small leak in the plastic overflow reservoir that is notorious for leaking I replaced it with a stainless Mishi Moto reservoir which should end that problem from ever occurring again. Third and probably the most important, you have to make sure you get all the air bubbles out of the coolant system and it is topped off properly by continuing to vent through the breather hole. To do this You should turn on your heat full blast while the ignition is in acc position and then jack the car up in the front so it is tilting back towards the engine slightly Jack car up about two or 3 inches then top off the bleeder several times. Probably best if you add coolant under vacuum but I did not have that set up and found the RU-vid video on properly topping off your coolant system which helped. She is maintaining good temp since then no leaks.

I watched a video where the guy left the front fan as a “back up” are we certain that it will restrict airflow if it’s left in?

He's swapping the auto trans to a manual gearbox so the trans cooler is no longer applicable.

You can do a swap as I did in this video, yes. If your manual fan is loud, it has failed and is stuck in the "on" mode (normally it just freewheels but doesn't spin at the same rate as the engine unless it gets really hot). If it goes too fast, the plastic fan blades can explode and take out your radiator. It's happened to me.

50sKid okay, thank you for your reply. Also my air conditioning doesn’t run cold. I’m trying to diagnose my issue so I can resolve it. If the ac fan never runs regardless if ac is set on or off, does that suggest my fan could be the issue?

@@Sitdownbruhh If your AC system is low on gas the AC compressor won't actually turn on. You can press the AC button and think it's running but it may not be. So the front fan won't run either. Possible reason.

Yeah the manual E46's have the electric fans that fit in where the manual fan fits in on an auto. You can just grab one--I grabbed an extra one myself for a friend of mine. They were about $40.

if I understand correctly, you remove the clutched fan, remove the aux fan assembly and the front of the radiator and replace with the "manual sourced electric fan" and plug it into the existing plug where the previous auto fan was located. and job done? I suppose the fan shroud then becomes redundant and can be left off the vehicle.

@@andreiput9492 You have prob worked this out by now as its 4 years ago - but the mechanical fan shroud is discarded along with the clutch fan - Manual fan comes with a shroud built in the just drops in.

Oops nevermind, the fan comes without the smell sensor so I just unhooked the one from my original and good to go!

I have used green on BMW's 16y now. No problems on that area and I hear of this blue only now and it made me bit laugh :) I will keep the green one and recommend it also.

Green is better then blue bmw just wants to damage your motor that way they stay in business. Such as the method of lifetime tranny oil is bs too. Dont go with what you hear & see