I’ve found the E30 blower-motor retaining clip to be one of the most counterintuitive—and least documented—parts of the job. Here’s what you need to know.

The clip behind the blower motor often falls out when the motor is removed, leaving it unclear where the rear end should attach.

Despite appearances, it does not hook onto the metal bracket shown in position 1. The rear end of the clip fits into the mounting point above the metal bracket, as shown in position 2.

*Once you slot the bracket into the back, use a zip tie around the wiper arm mount to hold the clip up while you slip the blower motor in.

Additionally, some 1987 E30s are equipped with fuel-cooling lines that run across the bulkhead and connect to the A/C lines. Neither the metal lines nor the rubber hoses needs to be removed. Simply release the fuel-cooling lines from their retaining clips and gently swing them aside—the brackets provide enough clearance to access and remove the blower motor.

This entry was posted on August 14, 2026 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Do it Yourself. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.