530i viscous fan very noisy

[530ghost]

I just got my 530i finally But the fan just seems too noisy, it is louder than the engine noise. it's making this wind thrust sound and it's very annoying. is this normal? what i do know is that the fan has been replaced just before i got it and I'm sure that the guy just replaced it with a cheap brand fan since he was selling it, so that's my only explanation.

Many Thanks

[r1ch1e]

Is it actually viscous and not fixed? Is there any play in it?

[530ghost]

It is viscous, and what I find strange is that when I start the engine cold sometimes the viscous fan comes on and sometimes it doesn't, but even if it had to come on in traffic as the engine gets hot, should it be this noisy?

[530ghost]

Is it actually viscous and not fixed? Is there any play in it?

And there's no play at all, all parts are new, and it's not a mechanical noise, it's like a windy noise, like a very loud hair hair dryer

[edjack]

It may very well be a cheapo clutch. However, there have been a few reports of replacement OEM clutches that were noisy.

It's not terribly difficult to remove the fan and clutch as a unit, and then you may consider replacing the clutch if it proves to be an off-brand.

[530ghost]

Ye I think I will just replace the fan with an original bmw fan and see what happens.

[ajtish]

Are you sure you're not hearing the auxiliary electric fan kicking on?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[530ghost]

Are you sure you're not hearing the auxiliary electric fan kicking on?

Defenitely the viscous fan. So does any one here experiienced the fan to bee too loud, making the car sound like a mitsubishi shogun?

[ojomo]

it only gets louder when it engages, if the fan speed increases with your rpm at all times and sounds like a truck, you better replace it.

[530ghost]

Ye, that's exactly what happens, the more rpm the louder it gets. I will just have to replace it.

[larrym3711]

Your viscous fan is clearly (!) not working properly. Get yourself a high quality viscous fan from name brand suppliers. This part should not be a low quality fan for many (!) reasons.

larrym3711
2001 540iA Sport

[auaq]

On every cold start, regardless of the day and time, the fan will be loud enough to irritate your next door neighbours. In city and highway driving it is the same situation. However, if the engine speed stays above I think 3k rpm it will quiet down. It was irritating to me, so my solution to this problem was a simple one; drive without it. Just remove it and be least bothered by it. I removed mine since last year and have been driving it without any issues.

[ElleShooTiger]

Slowly rev your engine right after starting it, you should hear the fan noise increase until around 3-4,000 rpms, after that the wind noise should stay the same or drop. IF the fan noise increases more or sounds like a jet engine, STOP, your fan clutch is likely stuck and you run the chances of the fan blade blowing apart and doing lots of damage.

[adam1979]

I think as long as it disengages after 3 or 4k rpm, it's normal operation. It's loud on cold start and loud if the engine gets heat soaked (traffic on a hot day). These fans are noisy.

[530ghost]

Well, im my opinion its way too loud even if it stops at 3-4k rpm and i will replace the fan blade and the viscous and see what happens. Any 3L engine has this grunt noise especially bmws best example m3 e36 or e46 i don't expect the 530i to sound like an m3 but it definitely shouldn't sound like mitsubishi shogun

[530ghost]

So any way for those who will have this problem in the future, here's what I have done,

It turns out that the viscous fan was stuck open at all times and it was speeding up with engine rpm up to the red line sounding like an airplane , so I got my self a second hand original bmw viscous fan, replaced it and problem solved, it finally sounds like it should do. Thanks to all who replied.

[bullard123]

I'm having this problem as well. My fan clutCh was brand new OEM Behr and the fan blade was brand new BMW as well. It only happens when the temperature gets hot and the AC is on. It sounds like it wants to fly off. But when the temperature gets cold its fine. No noise whatsoever. Im guessing that when its cold, the fan clutch doesn't have to work as hard to keep the engine cool. It's been almost a year since I had mine installed and its the first time it has done this.

[530ghost]

well on my car the fan comes on for a few seconds when starting from cold and then goes off until the engine really gets hot while car is stationary. So if your fan is ON from a cold start and stays ON it is most likely a faulty viscous fan but if it comes on in traffic a lot more often than it used, maybe the engine is over heating and the fan has to work harder, this could be due to not enough coolant, air gaps, sticky thermostat etc

[rf900rkw]

Um, no. The fan clutch doesn't give a flying crap about the engine temperature. It can not sense it at all. The clutch is controlled.... very slowly controlled, by the temp of the air coming off the radiator. If the radiator gets hot, the moving air will heat up, the fan clutch will slowly heat up, the vanes inside move, the clutch spins faster, more air is moved, the radiator cools, the air cools, the clutch slowly cools, the fan slows down.

If anything goes wrong such that the radiator isn't getting warm, be it low coolant or a stuck thermostat, then the fan will not spin up. This is the same way the aux fan will react, except the mechanical will react much slower.

On this front, I just bought YaBMW; an E46 touring for kid #2. The first thing on the list was to make the fan as quiet as my two Z3s and E39; All four fan assemblies are laying on the top shelf in my barn, quiet as can be....

[E39 Sean 540ia]

Is there anything to worry about if I do not have a mechanical fan? The thing is annoying. I always hear of people removing them. The weather here tips 100 frequently though so that is why I am hesitant.

[AnotherGeezer]

If you have a proper replacement, it works as it should. If you buy a cheap fan clutch, prepare for the worst.

[16valex]

On this front, I just bought YaBMW; an E46 touring for kid #2. The first thing on the list was to make the fan as quiet as my two Z3s and E39; All four fan assemblies are laying on the top shelf in my barn, quiet as can be....

Nice touring for a kid! But I have to say you're brave man.

[rf900rkw]

Don't think of it as removing a cooling fan. Think of it as upgrading to E60/E90 and later specification..... One electric fan.

[16valex]

Don't think of it as removing a cooling fan. Think of it as upgrading to E60/E90 and later specification..... One electric fan.

Randy, that is true to a certain point however, the big difference with the new single design electric fan is they are a puller.

[rf900rkw]

As long as the ducting is correct, pusher or puller makes virtually no difference. Which is chosen is just a matter of packaging.