E34 Blower Motor Replacement - Cabin Filter

I have a 1995 540i and it appears my Blower Motor may be out, does not work on any speed settings. Before it stopped working completely it seemed to be running slower than normal on all speeds. Additionally when it first stopped working, periodically it would come on however that behavior has stopped. From reading other comments I am lead to believe it is not the Resistor, hopefully because the new Motor is on its way. Nevertheless my question is does anyone know if the cabin filter can be replaced thru the engine compartment when I am replacing the Blower Motor? Sounds like a good opportunity if possible. Lastly concerning the Resistor I have seen threads out here where some 95' 540i's do or do not have the Blade-Type installed. On some websites when attempting to order a Resistor, the site would lead me either or both types. Thanks in advance for your help.

Originally Posted by countycop911

I have a 1995 540i and it appears my Blower Motor may be out, does not work on any speed settings. Before it stopped working completely it seemed to be running slower than normal on all speeds. Additionally when it first stopped working, periodically it would come on however that behavior has stopped. From reading other comments I am lead to believe it is not the Resistor, hopefully because the new Motor is on its way. Nevertheless my question is does anyone know if the cabin filter can be replaced thru the engine compartment when I am replacing the Blower Motor? Sounds like a good opportunity if possible. Lastly concerning the Resistor I have seen threads out here where some 95' 540i's do or do not have the Blade-Type installed. On some websites when attempting to order a Resistor, the site would lead me either or both types. Thanks in advance for your help.

No, the cabin filter must be accessed the good ol fashioned way through the glovebox.

for help:
http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_15.htm

OK thanks for the quick repsonse. Thought I would take a shot at it and have never replaced it. Probably a good idea to do it at the same time since my knuckles will be sore anyway.

This is not a knuckle busting project, once you start , you will find out that its an easy DIY . Don't forget to vacuum any debri in the filter cavity
Good luck
Sent from my Desire HD using Bimmer App

Originally Posted by supertech777

This is not a knuckle busting project, once you start , you will find out that its an easy DIY . Don't forget to vacuum any debri in the filter cavity
Good luck
Sent from my Desire HD using Bimmer App

Not knuckle busting until you have to refasten that silly white plastic strap.
The technique is you have to position a smaller flathead screwdriver inside the holes of both straps in order to pull the top strap over the bottom strap.

Talking about the "release strap"

The DIY writer obviously has a bolt there because he broke it the first time around. Use my above technique instead.

I thought replacing the cabin filter was a PIA on my 525. However no where near as the current oil pan PIA.
If the filter was never replaced - it could block the blower - it appeared so with mine. Truth: I really just hated the bentley instructions and the contouring my old body had to go thru.
Here is a 20 year old cabin filter.

Originally Posted by paperplane94

Not knuckle busting until you have to refasten that silly white plastic strap.
The technique is you have to position a smaller flathead screwdriver inside the holes of both straps in order to pull the top strap over the bottom strap.

Talking about the "release strap"

The DIY writer obviously has a bolt there because he broke it the first time around. Use my above technique instead.

LOL , sorry but I didn't have a problem with the strap , the squirrel cage just needed a little man handling . Thank God it was flexible ..... Nothing in these cars is bad . Actually its easier,to work on than any late model GM products ! And the best part is most of the forum members here will help you get started toward the right direction .

Sent from my Desire HD using Bimmer App

So.... replaced the Blower Motor on my 95' E34 540i over the weekend with fewer problems as I expected. One thing I noticed, and I wish I would have snapped a photo is my White Strap that secures the housing did not have the center bolt/nut and no place for one, just smooth plastic. Additionally, the bottom of the strap was gone. I simply inserted another wire tie into the hole where the bottom of the strap should have been and connected to the existing White one coming over the top of the housing. Appeared secure so closed er' up. since I decided to work on the HVAC area I also thought it would be a good time to swap out the Cabin Filter since I never did. Not sure of it's age however could have been original. Nevertheless the change in the amount of air from the vents was unexpected. Forgot what it should have been, probably 4 or 5 times what it was prior to the swap. That process was painless as well. The only problem I really had was to understand whether-or-not the filter was properly in place. By that I mean there is not "Snap" or such to know it is positioned correctly. A bit cumbersome to get to since your face is firmly planted against the passenger-side floor mat in order to see what you are supposed to do. Lastly I recommend cleaning out the filter housing with a vacuum with a small tool end less than an inch in width. Lots of debris in that cavity and no way way could clean it any other way. All in all if I was timed with the cabin filter replacement, I think I could do it in 15 minutes. Well worth the time, money and effort considering the benefits.

You can change the blower, vacuum out the filter cavity (and presumable the blower motor cavity too), and change the cabin filter, all in just 15 minutes flat ?? Impressive !!

And would you say the increase in delivered air speed was due to the new blower motor, or the new cabin filter, or both? If both, how much of the change would be due to the new filter and how much to the blower ? Please try to guess if possible. Thank you.

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

You can change the blower, vacuum out the filter cavity (and presumable the blower motor cavity too), and change the cabin filter, all in just 15 minutes flat ?? Impressive !!

And would you say the increase in delivered air speed was due to the new blower motor, or the new cabin filter, or both? If both, how much of the change would be due to the new filter and how much to the blower ? Please try to guess if possible. Thank you.

RobertBaggio, did not mean to mislead anyone on the timeframe. What I meant to say was I believe I could change the Cabin Filter in ~ 15 minutes. The Blower Motor took ~ 2 hours start to finish. However even when the new Blower Motors was running full tilt, not much air was entering the Cabin. With the installation of the new Filter is when the drastic change occurred. So to answer your question, the Cabin Filter was clearly the culprit of the lack of Air Distribution.

No problem countycop911. I get you now.

I think i would like to change the filter on my car. Could you help me with the part number ? Thanks..

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

No problem countycop911. I get you now.

I think i would like to change the filter on my car. Could you help me with the part number ? Thanks..

RobertoBaggio, I purchase most of my parts from BavAuto. From the attached images you can see mine for a 95' 540i it was the MANN CU338. Looks like yours is the same.

BavAuto:
www.bavauto.com/ Part Number= "64 31 1 390 836"

BimmerSpecialist:
http://www.bimmerspecialist.com/part...%20390%20836/3

Yahoo:
http://shopping.yahoo.com/819899009-...omotive-parts/

Good luck.

Originally Posted by countycop911

RobertoBaggio, I purchase most of my parts from BavAuto. From the attached images you can see mine for a 95' 540i it was the MANN CU338. Looks like yours is the same.

BavAuto:
www.bavauto.com/ Part Number= "64 31 1 390 836"

BimmerSpecialist:
http://www.bimmerspecialist.com/part...%20390%20836/3

Yahoo:
http://shopping.yahoo.com/819899009-...omotive-parts/

Good luck.

RobertoBaggio, by the way I mistyped the part number. It is actually a MANN CU3338

Thanks countycop.