Merciless

Good day to all,

Please excuse if i hve already previously posted this, as my computer crashed earlier. But I am experiencing a whistling noise coming from the engine while the car is stopped at either a light, stop sign or when I slowly pull into my garage. I recently replaced all my belts, my tensioners and pullies, so i am sure that is not the issue. My indie mechanic suggested that it may be the crankcase valve, but the noise seems to come from the middle ( in between tensioners) Im not sure about this and may have to take it to BMW to run a diagnostic on it to see if that is indeed the issue. Have any of you experienced this type of noise? its kind of a wind blowing type of noise to best describe it. Once I accelarate after stopping then the whistle continues. If i am in parked or idle and I hit the gas pedal, the whistling occures immediately, then subsides. when I drive, and then stop to park, same situation.

Your help woul be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Merciless

bump

tonyb635

Maybe vacuum? Might consider trying a can of carb cleaner to spray on a few areas to see if the engine revs or stumbles.

Merciless

Thanks, so how would i go about applying the carb cleaner? I will try that, but im not sure that will solve the issue . Will keep you posted

tonyb635

If there is a leak the carb cleaner won't solve it but it might help to isolate where it's coming from.

RTR

It might be crankcase related, but I think it would mostly occur at idle / deceleration / constant rpms, but should disappear when you press the gas.

Check for vacuum leaks as suggested (if you use carb cleaner, make sure the engine is cold and be careful!).

Merciless

Yes,Exactly.!!! Im just going to buy the crankcase and vacuum tubes ,my indie mechanic will only charge me 50 bucks to install. better than paying 150 for diagnostics + parts at the stealer with no guarantee that they will find the problem... Will start with that and see where it leads me. will keep you posted.

Thanks

tonyb635

Your Indie mech can't diagnose this for you before he just replaces a part? I'm not a big fan of just throwing parts at something until it's fixed because of my past experiences with missing it. And of course it always seems to be the last part I purchase and then the total cost in some cases ended up costing me more than if I had just taken it and had it fixed. I doubt your indie will give you a guarantee unless he confirms this is the cause of the noise, otherwise you buy the part and he installs it, I am sure he would not mind that at all for a quick 50. IMOP sometimes it's just better to get someone to have a look first. I know the stealer SUX with their fees, but perhaps the indie's fees are much less and at least he can tell you if this is the cause of the noise.

Merciless

True, I have not purchased the parts yet, as i am actually waiting to get my Oil change today hopefull> I already asked him to look into this (check all vaccum hoses) when I get there today to see if we can spot any cracks or such. From there, we will evaluate if that is the problem. If we cant find it, Im just going to take it to BMW and try to see what the problem is. My indie actually works for an independent bemer shop here in Houston. He just does all the side work for me as he lives near my house. Will keep you posted.

Merciless

Ok, we found one of the vacuum hoses cracked, I mean cracked where you can snug fit a flat head screw driver. Anyway, after geting my oil changed, I also found that my damn gasket cover appears to be leaking. Yet problems after problems. Though at 100K miles , I expect some gradual deterioration of parts. Parts to work on tomorrow are : Crankcase valve and all vacuum hoses,. I decided to replace the entire structure as im not sure what damaged the cracked vacuum hose may have done to the pressure case itself. will change all just to be safe. BMW quoted approx 59 for the crankcase valve, 30 for the main hose, another 30 for the secondary and 25 for the minor. My mechanic is charging me 150 for the labor....

After talking to a SA from BMW (also a friend) Would have been charged 4.5 hrs for labor only...