Anyone removed clutch fan and replaced with electric?

[PropellerHead]

I did this on my E39 as well, but I went a step further. No more plastic radiator problems in that thing. The 4.8is is not belt driven as it is, but should the radi fail in it, I am going with another one of these for the X5. It's a Zionsville:

[m5james]

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

I did this on my E39 as well, but I went a step further. No more plastic radiator problems in that thing. The 4.8is is not belt driven as it is, but should the radi fail in it, I am going with another one of these for the X5. It's a Zionsville:

As nice as that is, it's just too expensive to justify the costs vs doing the setup in the link I proved. All aluminum is nice, but as much as we hate them, expansion within the plastic end tanks on the stock radiator will absorb that expansion. If going all aluminum, I'd suggest Evans coolant while you're at it to prevent the expansion problem.

[PropellerHead]

Originally Posted by m5james

If going all aluminum, I'd suggest Evans coolant while you're at it to prevent the expansion problem.

It's been in my SC'ed E39 for over 8 years without a problem on BMW coolant. That's the reason I dropped the cash then and the reason I will do it again: Peace of (my) mind.

The Zionsville is neither better nor worse than any other solution. It is simply the one that has allowed me not to be at all concerned about the radiator and the added SC load in my E39 for 8 years. The longer it remains without issue, the better the ROI.

If I can get that same peace of mind on the E53 if the plastic ever fails in it, I will. It should be noted though that the radi in the E39 had already failed by this time and # of miles in my E53. I don't hear a lot about failures and I won't gain anything from lack of parasitic draw removing a fan clutch like the 3.0 and 4.4 guys.

But it does look cool.