[Cereall]

Well i was driving home, just got a car wash and sitting in stop and go construction traffic..

i stopped and was sitting for about 1 minute and my lifters got realll loud... i heard over my radio and immediatly gave a slight rev... which made them louder... but then they quieted about 10 seconds after

so what couldve cause this or what type of problem is this... valve seals recently done before i bought it (which was 5 days ago) and a fresh oil change that is topped off and looks clean... i checked when i got home

so is this a low oil pressure problem as i havent seen a light pop on my cluster but idk

im so angry and worried it could be something drastic so im open to any and all suggestions

thanks a bunch

and 115k miles 1999 540i 6 speed if anyone worried or it mattered...

 

[Waveho]

The good: Perhaps you heard the aux fan connected to your a/c in the front? It is also designed to kick into medium or HIGH speed to assist in cooling your engine as a "pusher" fan. When your temp will climb in stop and go traffic and your engine temp is rising (I don't recall the actual temp that triggers the "high" setting), it will kick in and sound very much like a jet taking off. If you have not heard this before, then it will surprise you.

The bad: The aux pusher fan will kick into HIGH only because your engine temp is rising beyond "normal" levels. This is cause for concern! I forget if you've done the cooling system overhaul yet in another thread? When this first happened to me, it was because the main fan clutch was bad--the main fan was "lazy" in that it was worn out to the point that it wouldn't spin very quickly when idling or in slow traffic--causing the aux pusher fan to engage all the time, and more and more often. I replaced this to IMMEDIATE positive effect. I have never had the aux fan come on again or have my temp gauge move past 12 o'clock. This gave me time to do the rest of the overhaul in piecemeal fashion. Good luck!

 

[dannyc9997]

I doubt it was lifters if you raised the RPMs and it didnt quiet down, unless your REALLY low on oil (which im sure you checked right?). I bet it was the fan hitting something.

 

[Cereall]

yeah oil is all good...

my temp gauge has never once moved past the 12 position

no idea on cooling system overhaul... i will look into that a little more as i was given many receipts with purchase of car... and my normal fan is always spinning and appears fine but i will have to look into the aux. fan a little more but hopefully it doesnt happen again

 

[ascott]

yeah oil is all good...

my temp gauge has never once moved past the 12 position

no idea on cooling system overhaul... i will look into that a little more as i was given many receipts with purchase of car... and my normal fan is always spinning and appears fine but i will have to look into the aux. fan a little more but hopefully it doesnt happen again

With the car not running, grab the fan and try to spin it. If it's really stiff, the fan clutch is good. If it is not really stiff, get a new fan clutch.

 

[Cereall]

thank you for that tip... i will definatly do that tomorrow...

i might have been completly crazy and the noise might have been an actual diesel engine from the large Cat tractors on the side of the road... i just freaked out that it was my car... which im 98% sure it was...

it sounded like a loud clanking diesel but i will give it further investigation tomorrow and im hoping the fan clutch is bad... lol... just so i dont think its anything real bad has happened

 

[Waveho]

Ah ok, loud clanking wouldn't be the aux fan then, unless it was hitting something. Hope you figure it out and that it's not something serious!

 

[540 M-Sport]

More likely a drive pulley bearing or something....

 

[Cereall]

ok well oil level is fine... coolant full

but my fan turns over for with very little pressure at all... in either direction...

so i will assume it was my aux fan coming on? what is a suitable replacement for the fan clutch? any recommendations as it seems like the stocker is not very good

 

[Waveho]

Link to OEM part (Behr):
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin...an Clutch, 540i Sedan/Touring (1996-03), Each

Or you can check ebay for cheaper. If you have been driving and the car was warm, there should be fairly significant resistance in trying to hand-turn the fan; if it spins easily, it is worn out and must be replaced. Start the car and open the hood and just watch the fan--it should make a VROOM! roar at initial startup and it should spin fairly furiously. Does it look "lazy" to you, especially compared to other cars you may have had? Replace it! There is a special tool for fan clutch removal, but if you can find a VERY wide yet VERY thin adjustable wrench (32-36mm), then it will work fine. Otherwise here is a link to the wrench:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/catalog/shopcart/BE39/POR_BE39_WATmis_pg2.htm#item13

Fan clutch is reverse threaded, so you must turn clockwise to remove!! Relatively easy job.

A properly functioning fan clutch I think is your main line of defense against the prevalent engine cooling problems that seem to occur on the e39. Not enough spin=not enough fresh air pushing against radiator and engine=overexposure to extreme heat to many poorly designed plastic and rubber cooling system parts=cooling system failure=CN90 giving you the what-all about what you did wrong and what it's gonna cost you now!

 

[Cereall]

thank you for your help...
i was looking on bav auto and saw those tools... i have a thin adj. wrench and think it will work

i tried to spin when my car was cool and hasnt been running for a while and there was no resistance really... would a warmer clutch make a difference??


when running it seems good and spins like normal... but i have only looked at it like twice but feel this is something that should be addressed regardless...

edit: just ordered clutch for 96$ free shipping... the wrench was 40$ with like 16$ shipping... lol so i will hold off on that and think of something to work

and thanks for your advice with the reverse thread... i wouldve been confused