How to access blower motor?

[BimmerJB]

Driving on a hot day day in Las Vegas, the A/C just let out a loud BOOM. Found out the blower motor just clonked out.

To replace it, do I access it from under the hood or do I have to rip apart the dash.

[TiAgX5]

Dash has to come out.

[BimmerJB]

Is there a link on a how-to take apart the dash?

[petener999]

BMW TIS Online Repair Manuals

[BimmerJB]

Thanks guys

[Dr_Smith]

I did it, it's not that bad really, took about 15hrs total.

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by Dr_Smith

I did it, it's not that bad really, took about 15hrs total.

15 hours isn't bad? That sounds absolutely horrible to me.

These things go out like clockwork on BMW's. It is crazy they have to be so damn hard to replace. I had to remove the intake manifold my e36 and still bend some sheetmetal to get it out. The one in my e53 squeaked as well as the one in my current e46. I am dreading this repair.

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by FSETH

15 hours isn't bad? That sounds absolutely horrible to me.

These things go out like clockwork on BMW's. It is crazy they have to be so damn hard to replace. I had to remove the intake manifold my e36 and still bend some sheetmetal to get it out. The one in my e53 squeaked as well as the one in my current e46. I am dreading this repair.

The one in my X is 9 yrs old with 150k miles and just started squeaking when spinning down. Seen domestic/asian vehicles blower motors fail in half that time/miles. This repair is not as bad as it looks, I helped a friend do his in around 6 hrs. I've worked on GM cars that were more difficult to change spark plugs then this DIY.

[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by FSETH

15 hours isn't bad? That sounds absolutely horrible to me.

These things go out like clockwork on BMW's. It is crazy they have to be so damn hard to replace. I had to remove the intake manifold my e36 and still bend some sheetmetal to get it out. The one in my e53 squeaked as well as the one in my current e46. I am dreading this repair.

would it be possible to get some oil to the bearing to extend the lifespan and delay the repair? maybe still have to remove some panels but not the entire dash etc?

[Dr_Smith]

Don't get me wrong I think it's absolutely ridiculous that the whole dash has to come out for a 1 minute blower motor swap and then the whole reassembly. I can't fathom why they couldn't have thought of a better access route. That being said, I've done much worse jobs on Ford and Chevys swapping heater cores - so relatively speaking it wasn't that bad. Here's some pics...