Rad Fan removal problem - 01' 330i

Hey guys,

I want to change the belts on my engine as they are cracking. i looked up a DIY for the belts replacement, it says to remove the fan and casing to have more room.
it said remove the one torx screw on the left hand side, and slide out. however there is an anchor pin on the right side. which i cant seem to remove, its spring loaded or something. i've also seen that you have to remove the fan itself before this will slide out...???

any help is appreciated, as this is the first time ive seen an "anchor pin" holding something in place.

Thanks!

Pop the center pin out and that releases the pressure so that the outer portion can then be removed. Once that is removed you can slide the shroud out. And yes, the fan has to come out with it at the same time.

thanks.....i tried to find some other area to slide a srew driver in. no luck. i cant see anything anywhere around it that would allow me to remove it. other then pulling it straight out, which it wont allow.\

know any pictures somewhere showing how??

this pin is different then the ones to take off the air intake attached above the rad fan shroud.

It's a black plastic pin right? You don't pull off the whole thing, in the center of the pin, there is a small insert that you have to pull out. Use a thin screwdriver and remove just the center insert.

i dont want to see slow or anything. but its solid plastic, no centre pin at all....trust me.

it does NOT look like this....its solid. one piece, just dbl checked.

Can you post a pic of the installed pin in question? It should be the type shown in your last post (at least it is on the two E46s I work on). Sounds like someone may have put a different fastener there or we are talking about two diifferent locations.

Do a search here (or on google) for "BMW E46 fan removal" and you'll get very helpful DIYs and videos.

well, i m going to stop by my mechanic to make sure i wont damage anything by yanking it out....i will take picture of it and post.

I do almost all the work on my car and its the first time ive seen something like this.

thanks for all the input

It is quite possible that the head of the center pin has broken off. It has happened to me before. Unless you look very closely, it may appear as a solid plastic head. You can just pull it out, won't hurt anything.