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Fan Clutches

There seems to have been a high failure of F&S (Sachs) fan clutches lately.
This is especially prominent with the E32/E34 (269) fan clutch although the
common E30/E28 (000) clutch has also had failures.  One of my distributors
has advised that I return my F&S to him for credit rather than risk warranty
claims. The alternate (and BMW OE ) brand is Behr.  Behr is slightly more
expensive on the E30/E28 assembly and approximately $30 more on the E32/E34
unit.  I have both assemblies in stock and the hub nuts on the Behr units
are significantly
harder to turn meaning the fan will not slip as easily (this should
translate into better cooling).  (Note: if anyone has purchased a F&S clutch
recently from me, please contact me directly for an even exchange with the
Behr unit).
A few other comments on fan clutches....they should be stored vertically.
There was a bulletin many years ago indicating that flat storage would cause
premature failure of the clutch assembly  (some say the bulletin was later
recinded).  Behr still indicates the need for vertical storage on their
units and has used a styrofoam packaging in the past to prevent totally flat
storage.  Secondly, if you switch to a Behr E30/E28 unit, be advised that
Behr has re-engineered the part (for unknown reasons)...the old Behr part
#65103.0000 has been updated to a new # 65121.0000.  Both are for the
E28/E30....the new Behr unit will not work with your existing "846" fan
requiring another $35.00 investment in a new style "573" fan.  Try to get
one of the old Behr assemblies to avoid updating the fan or stick with the
Sachs units and keep an eye on the temp guage.  SD
Steve D'Gerolamo c/o The Ultimate Garage,  Emerson, NJ  (201-262-0412)