Euro E36 M3 Fan & Shroud Procedure

The following information is provided for reference purposes only and should be used at your own risk
In no event shall Beisan Systems, LLC or its members be liable for incidental, consequential, or special loss or damages of any kind however caused.

Fan & shroud removal

Open front hood.

Remove left and right shroud air guides rear face mounting rivets.
Pry out rivet center pin (tack lifter), then fully pry out rivet from base (tack lifter).

First, push the left and right air guides to the rear to release them from the mounting bracket.
Then, pull up and remove the left and right air guides from the engine compartment.
Finally, press the radiator upper hose to the rear to help with right air guide removal.

Remove rivet at each top corner of fan shroud. Pry out rivet center pin (tack lifter), then fully pry out rivet from base (tack lifter).

Remove the radiator overflow hose from the top shroud brackets.

Use the static friction method to remove the fan and belt.
Next, remove the fan and fan clutch from the water pump shaft. Then, place the open wrench on the fan clutch nut (32 mm combo wrench) and position it forward on the nut to avoid hitting the thermostat and radiator hose clamp. Finally, strike the wrench firmly at the top with a heavy hammer to break the seized nut loose; left-hand thread.
Note: Nut is left hand thread, thus unscrew by hitting wrench top from left to right (car front orientation). The serpentine belt static friction on the water pump pulley provides a large enough opposing force to break the seized nut loose. Therefore, it is important to use a heavy hammer to produce a high instantaneous jerk. Several attempts will be needed before nut seize breaks. Rotate open wrench to reposition for better access.

If belt static friction method is not successful, attempt pulley holding tool method.

First, remove the fan and fan clutch from the water pump shaft using the pulley holding tool method. Next, position the water pump pulley so the holding tool can access it; the pulley has two adjacent pairs of mounting bolts, and one pair should be positioned with the left bolt just to the right of top center.
Install water pump pulley holding tool onto pulley bolts. Position holding tool at right, and place tool indent curve against fan clutch nut bottom.

Mount tool end hole onto pulley bottom left bolt, and tool second hole onto pulley right bolt. Reposition fan clutch nut for better holding tool access (picture).
Place open wrench on fan clutch nut (32mm combo wrench). Counter hold holding tool and break clutch nut seize (32mm combo wrench); left hand thread.
Note: Nut is left hand thread, thus unscrew by turning wrench from left to right (car front orientation).

If fan clutch nut seize difficult to break, apply lubricant to nut/threads contact surfaces (spray lubricant).

Once nut seize is broken, remove tools and spin fan blades to unscrew nut; left hand thread.
When nut is close to shaft end, turn fan slowly while continuously holding fan blades. This will keep fan from falling and damaging radiator fins when fully disconnected.

Lift fan shroud up while maneuvering fan / fan clutch out of fan shroud and engine bay.
Note: Bend and move overflow hose at shroud right corner to raise shroud above hose.
Remove fan shroud from engine bay.

Fan & shroud installation

First, install the fan shroud. Then tilt the shroud right side up and slide it into position. Next, bend and move the overflow hose at the shroud right corner to lower the shroud below the hose. Finally, align the shroud by pulling it up, forward, and dropping it into position.

Insert fan/clutch in fan shroud. Lift shroud up and forward while maneuvering fan/clutch into shroud.
Note: Fan is oriented with clutch nut to car rear.
Align shroud by pulling up, forward, and dropping down into position.

Mount fan/clutch onto water pump shaft.
Lift fan and mate (hang) fan clutch nut onto water pump shaft. Rotate fan to find best nut thread to shaft thread mate. At optimal fit, fan will hang on shaft without threading (picture).
With fan hanging independently on shaft, slowly turn fan blades to thread nut onto shaft; left hand thread. Fully thread nut onto shaft.

Place open wrench on fan clutch nut (32mm combo wrench) and lightly hit wrench top with heavy hammer, one time; left hand thread (sledge hammer).
Note: Serpentine belt static friction on water pump pulley facilitates large enough opposing force to tighten clutch nut. Fan opposing spin also tightens fan clutch nut.

Install radiator overflow hose into shroud top brackets.
Fully install fan shroud. Lift fan shroud up, pull forward, and drop down to mount into bottom and side radiator frame slots.
Note: Fan shroud should insert fully and align with radiator frame.

Install rivet at each top corner of fan shroud. Pry rivet center pin out, fully insert rivet base into shroud, then press in rivet center pin.

Install right and left side air guides.
Insert each guide into position and insert guide tab into fan shroud slot.
Note: Press radiator upper hose to rear to facilitate right air guide insertion.

Pull left and right guides forward and insert guide square hole onto shroud bracket.

Install left and right air guides rear face mounting rivets.
Pry rivet center pin out, fully insert rivet base into guide/shroud, then press in rivet center pin.