Strange Whooshing Sound X5 3.0d

ChefDJ

///Member
anton-sa said:
i cant believe so many people, but not ONE person mentions, that you should check your VISCOUS FAN COUPLING... it can easily (and has with me on a few bmws) fail in a way where it gets overly sensitive...

a fan blowing at 2000rpm will make a whoosh sound...

sometimes when they start failing they dont disengage when they should...

And it will do it upon acceleration?

Andrew said:
It started off as a slight whooshing sound when accelerating and has got worse to the point where if the window is open, it sounds like burst boost pipe.
 

H|TM@N

Member
anton-sa said:
i cant believe so many people, but not ONE person mentions, that you should check your VISCOUS FAN COUPLING... it can easily (and has with me on a few bmws) fail in a way where it gets overly sensitive...

a fan blowing at 2000rpm will make a whoosh sound...

sometimes when they start failing they dont disengage when they should...

True, at 200k+ mileage the viscous fan has probably given up, but what about the excessive turbo lag?
 

ChefDJ

///Member
I don't think the fan has anything to do with acceleration does it? It won't speed up and slow down?
 

RAArmstrong

///Member
ChefDJ said:
I don't think the fan has anything to do with acceleration does it? It won't speed up and slow down?

It does. The fan is turned by the engine, so essentially the fan spins at the same RPM as your engine when it locks up
 

Andrew

New member
I am 100% certain its not the fan .... I am familiar with the sound of a stuck or engaged viscous fan. This is more of a powerful hiss of air, but I appreciate the input.

After reading the various comments I am inclined to think that it's weak vacuum due to split or otherwise damaged vacuum lines which is interfering with the operation the variable vane boost control.

Will check tomorrow if I have time
 

Andy1GP

///Member
It also has 4 vacuum lines. All m57n motors do. I would suspect the engine mount vacuum lines. At that mileage the mounts could be cracked and the leak could be from there.

Also check the vacuum accumulator tank. It looks like a little geyser or reservoir. The turbo line runs into it from the reducer. Those tanks can crack as well.

But like has been said the viscous could cause those symptoms. Robbing power and inducing a sensation of lag if the clutch stays engaged.

Hope you get it sorted

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

anton-sa

Active member
Andrew said:
I am 100% certain its not the fan .... I am familiar with the sound of a stuck or engaged viscous fan. *This is more of a powerful hiss of air*, but I appreciate the input.

After reading the various comments I am inclined to think that it's weak vacuum due to split or otherwise damaged vacuum lines which is interfering with the operation the variable vane boost control.

Will check tomorrow if I have time

Omg... u have a snake in ur engine bay :idea:
 

ChefDJ

///Member
Sounds like a hell of a lot of air being pushed through a valve, opening and closing at certain times...?
 

H|TM@N

Member
Andy1GP said:
It also has 4 vacuum lines. All m57n motors do. I would suspect the engine mount vacuum lines. At that mileage the mounts could be cracked and the leak could be from there.

Also check the vacuum accumulator tank. It looks like a little geyser or reservoir. The turbo line runs into it from the reducer. Those tanks can crack as well.

But like has been said the viscous could cause those symptoms. Robbing power and inducing a sensation of lag if the clutch stays engaged.

Hope you get it sorted

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

You have a short term memory. You checked the vacuum lines with me, remember? Silver X5 3.0D with 84k km.
 

Andrew

New member
OK ... I had a good poke around the engine. I set up a vacuum gauge and experimented with pinching off various pipes and the vacuum system checked out. I took off the snorkel that feeds the turbo and although it was still in good nick it was covered in soot. This coupled with the smell of diesel fumes in the engine bay has lead me to believe that the manifold is cracked.

I will strip it off on the weekend

Where is the best place to source a new one?

Cheers
 

deepblonde

New member
ChefDJ@TheFanatics said:
Don't check vacuum lines. Replace them without doubt. My car had the same issue. Otherwise do a vacuum line delete mod. See my thread and search for vacuum lines.

Im searching for the thread about doing a Vacuum line delete mod, but I can't find it.
Could someone post a link to it please?
 

Waseem 333i

Active member
You want the bra to go through 76 pages. Simply find the 4 vacuum lines under the intake manifold. Remove all of them then close off 3 of the holes with suitable screws. Then run new 4mm vacuum lines from the one hole that's left to the tank behind drivers headlight. Replace the vacuum line to actuator switch (or whatever that is called) then from switch to actuator. Your swirlflaps need to be blanked off also because that vacuum is going to be disconnect.
 

deepblonde

New member
Waseem 333i said:
You want the bra to go through 76 pages. Simply find the 4 vacuum lines under the intake manifold. Remove all of them then close off 3 of the holes with suitable screws. Then run new 4mm vacuum lines from the one hole that's left to the tank behind drivers headlight. Replace the vacuum line to actuator switch (or whatever that is called) then from switch to actuator. Your swirlflaps need to be blanked off also because that vacuum is going to be disconnect.

Page 29, post 575.
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=40650&page=29
Thank you for the explanation; I'll have to have a look;
No e53 ever came with swirl flaps anywhere in the world, so I'm safe there.
 
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