540i engine fan: How loud is yours?

[Ken23212]

My 540i has a fan in the engine bay that below 2500rpm completely over powers the sound of the engine. I asked a tech at my local dealership and he said that fan noise is inherent with the car. Has anyone found anyways of making that more quiet? My car sounds like a truck during around town acceleration and I honestly hate the noise.

[Analog]

Mine is quite loud too.

Electric fan ftw

[pimpstaty5y]

mine only goes on at startup but goes off unless im gunning it around town with the ac on. it might possibly be because ur coolant system isnt running as good as it should..but im not 100% sure

[Rebel635csi]

its your viscous clutch fan....when the fluid gets really hot it engages the fan, as soon as u start to move forward and cool the fan off or hold the RPM up and the airflow cools the fan off it starts to free wheel again...

it only happens to me on hot days or when i've been idling for a while and its a midly warm day.

[skylinergtr]

my fan is really loud when the hood is open. and when i give it some gas. i think its cuz i took the engine fan off? not sure... but when its closed i get no problems. i dont think mines that loud. but my new exhaust system is kinda loud and i love it:redspot

[atl530i]

its your viscous clutch fan....when the fluid gets really hot it engages the fan, as soon as u start to move forward and cool the fan off or hold the RPM up and the airflow cools the fan off it starts to free wheel again...

it only happens to me on hot days or when i've been idling for a while and its a midly warm day.

What he said. I plan on installing an electric fan in there though. Free up the engine a little and quiet the car some.

[Mr Project]

If it's that way all the time, you need to replace your fan clutch. It should only 'lock up' and be that loud above 2500 RPM when the car is REALLY hot. If it's doing that now, the fan is locked up and sooner or later, the blades will explode and go shooting around in your engine compartment. I've personally seen them rip right through the hood. Don't mess around with this, get it replaced ASAP or dump it in the trash and go electric (my recommendation)

Here's my write-up on the electric fan conversion.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=792994

[ctrlaltdl]

Try and spin it with the engine off. If it doesn't spin (or not without a lot of resistance) then you need a new fan clutch.

[atl530i]

If it's that way all the time, you need to replace your fan clutch. It should only 'lock up' and be that loud above 2500 RPM when the car is REALLY hot. If it's doing that now, the fan is locked up and sooner or later, the blades will explode and go shooting around in your engine compartment. I've personally seen them rip right through the hood. Don't mess around with this, get it replaced ASAP or dump it in the trash and go electric (my recommendation)

Here's my write-up on the electric fan conversion.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=792994

I've seen that happen also. Mine does it normally but I do not like the loudness of it. Electric fan FTW.:buttrock

[MacR]

Mine is decently loud. It's all new though. I'll deal with it.

[rsnajork]

interesting I can't hear mine now I am going to try and listen for it lol:buttrock

[boone.msi]

I dont have one ;)

2800cfm fan on low, never been happier...

[Ken23212]

How difficult is the electric conversion? The noise happens when i start the car or even if i drive it slowly around town with the temp needle in the dead center so nothing is overheating from what I can see. About how much would one of those run me?

[Rebel635csi]

your car doesnt have to overheat for the fan to do its job....

but if its howling if the cars cold, there's something wrong

[prash]

is there any E34 owner who's installed a zionsville rad?