RealOEM.com BMW E60 550i Engine oil cooler/oil cooler line

3 and 9 are the hoses that we're dealing with on the 550, which IS different from the 545i, apparently. Soooo, the fan doesn't just wiggle up. Looks like these two hoses go THROUGH the fan shroud.

 

I thought it was aa AC condenser or something, but apparently it is the oil cooler. The oil cooler is attached to the fan shroud, if you look at my first picture you will see the hose that goes to the fan shroud and not the radiator. In the second pic it shows the oil cooler after lifting the fan a bit. The oil cooler is attached to the fan cowling.

The fan definitely has a line going through it on the top. This must be different from the 545s. It seems the lines have to be disconnected. Does anyone have a Bentley manual? Maybe that could shed some light on the situation. Also, does anyone know if the Trans cooler has to be disconnected to change the alternator?

 

550 or 545i?

On the 545i, on the drivers side, the fan mount is hinged.. it takes considerable force to get it to move, but basically you pull the fan up an inch or so, then hinge the mount 90 degrees. I thought I was going to break it the first time I did it

After that it should come out pretty easily. Obviously you have to remove the hose that runs along the top of it first.

 

That's not the case on the 550. The fan moves up a bit and I can see where it will slide up but the oil cooler(which the 545 doesn't have) is attached to the fan and there are a few lines running through the fan. I figure I might have to remove all the hoses then remove the entire thing. would like to get a perspective from someone who has done it before on the 550.

 

I have the Bentley repair manual and there is no difference in the fan removal procedure for any E60 from 2004-2010, regardless of model.

I still say you are mistaking the part called the module carrier, which is the same color plastic as the fan housing for part of the fan housing. The module carrier is a u-shaped plastic piece that both the fan and radiator slide into from the top. It may appear as though cooling lines are going into the fan shroud, when really they are going through the module carrier that the fan slides into.

If you PM me your email address I will scan and send you the procedure (material is copyrighted and I cannot post it on the forum).

I have not removed a fan from a 550i so anyone else out there who has let us know if any of the cooling lines need to be removed or if the fan will just slide out once the screws are removed, the electrical connectors are disconnected and the hinged stop on the drivers side of the fan housing has been folded in.

 

At this point we are beating a dead horse. I lifted the entire fan and it lifts out of the carrier moves up but it moves with the Oil cooler which is attached and the hoses go through the fan into the oil cooler. Why do you keep dismissing the oil cooler? I have the BMW TIS and like the Bentley there is no difference in removing the fan. However, if you look closely at the pictures you will note there is no oil cooler in the pictures shown. Did you look at the pictures I posted of the actual thing? Thanks for mentioning the Bentley because I was planning on purchasing one to see if it was different from the TIS.

I am going back to the garage tomorrow, one way or another it will be done. Lets forget the fan for the time being. I will move forward on the assumption that I will be removing those lines. I saw that there is also some transmission cooling involved I don't want to mess with that, does anyone know which line takes care of that?

 

UPDATE

Sorry for your frustration.

Yes, I was beating the horse to a pulp, but given the material I had at hand, I had no other response, and was trying to be helpful.

This is the fan itself that comes out of the carrier. From all appearances one would think yours had been custom modified as I saw no holes.
BMW E60 550i Auxiliary Fan Assembly OEM

But then I ran across this thread where a 535i owner lamented about the same problem. Yes, I stand corrected, and you do have to remove the oil cooler lines to remove the fan.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?p=7719030

 

These holes were not drilled or custom. The part you show would be the fan after removing the cowling or cover of the fan. Inside the cover fits the fan and the oil cooler. The oil cooler is affixed to the fan cowling by (what I can see so far) 2 plastic tabs on the top and 2 on the passenger side.

RealOEM.com BMW E60 550i Fan shroud/fan

From the link above look at the top right corner, that is where the lines go through and I can readily see the lines going through the fan to the oil cooler when I remove the radiator cover. If you look at the pictures I posted earlier you can clearly see those lines going in, they are definitely not custom.

 

Nothing in the Bentley manual on oil cooler removal.

v8power
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Damon54
So a Duralast , Valeo is always a rebuild?

Yes, same alternator with new valeo regulator. They take your old one to rebuild.

Just to add to amar67 write up, originally its for a 545, if you have a 550 , the oil cooler is attached to the fan assembly. Unhook at the side of fan with a hex wrenchad be prepared for a big oil mess oozing out of the cooler while you lift the fan out. Btw it is engine motor oil cooler. I had to search carefully on realoem to make sure it wasnt trans oil.

 

Thanks for being persistent. I will engage with the OP from the thread you found, hopefully he can give me some pointers.