stevolution

My girlfriend has a 2004 E60 530d. today we wondered if we could hear a funny noise then put it down to our imagination.

50 miles later there is a massive lack in power, you can hear ticking which speeds up as the revs increase. I took the engine cover off. There seems to be vapourised diesel coming from underneath or around the airbox. I nursed it home and I thought I could occasionally hear a loose metallicy sound like something was loose.

any ideas? also, how would I attempt to get in and see what's wrong?

thanks a lot guys, my missus is in a massive panic.

cheers

steve

turboawd

did an air intake pipe come loose? Check and make sure all intake pipes are seated properly.

stevolution

the air intake pipe seems to be fine? do you mean the big fat rubbery hose that leads into the air filter?

Anzafin

Check the all air hoses; big ones and the tiny vacuum hoses as well.

The big charged air tubes may sometimes come loose and the little vacuum hoses tend to get brittle. In some models the turbo is controlled via vacuum hoses and if they are broken...
However, the metallic sound makes me wonder the feared "swirl flaps". They locate in the intake manifold, and in the case of a broken swirl flap there would be some major engine damage.
Take a look at this thread for more information: https://5series.net/forums/topic/704...diesel-engine/

On the other hand, if it was a broken swirl flap, I believe the car wouldn't run.

I hope you two get it solved! Let us know...

- Antti -

stevolution

thanks for that.

the car certainly drove home okay. felt smooth enough as long as you keep the revs up and ignore the noise. any demand for torque would make the car want to stall. I heard a metallicy sound when I took off after first stopping. I only heard it for 10 seconds or so then the metallic element disappeared. it's just making the whole choof choof choof sound like thomas the tank engine. Also sounds a little bit like if you were to attatch a playing card to the fork of a bicycle.

When I stopped at home, smoke or vapour could be seen coming out from headlights. When you open the bonnet you don't see it as much but it definitely seems to be coming from around airbox area to the left of the engine.

I will check again to see if anything is loose. I'm not massively familarly with these engines, could anyone describe what the vacuum hoses look like and where I can locate them? So far everything seems to look quite solid and secure.

cheers

Anzafin

The metallic sound refers to something that actually got broken. Like a broken turbo vane or possibly a broken swirl flap .

Turbo vacuum hosing visible on this RealOEM page: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...36&hg=11&fg=45

stevolution

i'll get a look at that right away anz.

i went outside and took a video of the engine bay. I know it's dark but you can maybe see the smoke and might give you an idea of the sound. I will put the link up shortly.

jay77

The pics in this post should help identify the vacuum pipes, certainly helped me

stevolution

Here is a little video I made to try show you my problem.

Anzafin

That sounds horrible!

Definitely something broken and badly! Not a vacuum hose or the charge air hose.
My vote goes for the swirl flap. I don't believe in the broken turbo because the engine runs so bad even on idle. Don't run the engine any more. Get it checked by the workshop.


- Antti -