Whistle Sound When Giving Gas 2000 528i

[coolkolb]

When i give it gas it makes a very faint whistle sound. This happens when I am in gear or parked or neutral. It only happens for the beginning gas and if I depress very sharply it won't happen. You have to have the window down to hear it. I can't place the sound on either side of the car. The whistle is not super loud, and sounds like air flowing out, but with a sharpness to it.

I have not opened the hood and had my wife give it gas to hear where it is coming from yet. I don't know if it's serious or not. It has been this way for the past 4 months since i bought it and seems to be getting worse (louder).

I have a 2000 528i with 93000 miles.

[Jrf786]

I have the same problem with my 97 528i it's got like 104k on it now. Mine only does it when the engines cold though, makes a squeaking noise too:S Anyway, it's prolly the tranny, I'm just waiting for something to fuck up so I can use the warranty on mine. Dont wanna have to pay for anything cant really afford it..

[bryan1970]

if it only happens at the beginning of giving it gas it is probablly the throttle body opening up and letting a gush of air in. it might not happen if you punch the gas quickly becasue your car probablly has a throttle by wire and they aren't teribbly responsive compared to a throttle cable. try listening to the air box when someone hits the gas.

[CosmosBlack]

Check the oil separator.

Do you also get some "bubbling" when accelerating from stop?
Like in the old cars where you forgot to release the choke after applying it?
If it's the oil separator, when the problem gets worse, you will get more loss of power, and white smoke out your exhaust.

[coolkolb]

I don't think it could be the transmission if this happens when it is in park also right?

Originally posted by Jrf786@Mar 23 2005, 06:24 PM
I have the same problem with my 97 528i it's got like 104k on it now. Mine only does it when the engines cold though, makes a squeaking noise too:S Anyway, it's prolly the tranny, I'm just waiting for something to fuck up so I can use the warranty on mine. Dont wanna have to pay for anything cant really afford it..

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[coolkolb]

I have searched all over for info about the "oil separator." I haven't yet looked at my bentley manual because i've found it kinda worthless in the past. Can you point me to a good website to find out information about this and how I can check/clean it?

Originally posted by CosmosBlack@Mar 23 2005, 09:02 PM
Check the oil separator.

Do you also get some "bubbling" when accelerating from stop?
Like in the old cars where you forgot to release the choke after applying it?
If it's the oil separator, when the problem gets worse, you will get more loss of power, and white smoke out your exhaust.

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[Jrf786]

Originally posted by coolkolb@Mar 25 2005, 10:45 AM
I don't think it could be the transmission if this happens when it is in park also right?

Well, it doesnt do it as often but yeah it does. Sounds like a whirling, whistling doesnt it? Seems really odd to me. The only thing I could think of is that. And last night it made that same noise but a lot louder going down the freeway at 90:\ Was really loud but as soon as I layed off the gas for a sec it stopped :S

[CosmosBlack]

Originally posted by coolkolb+Mar 25 2005, 12:56 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(coolkolb @ Mar 25 2005, 12:56 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>I have searched all over for info about the "oil separator." I haven't yet looked at my bentley manual because i've found it kinda worthless in the past. Can you point me to a good website to find out information about this and how I can check/clean it?


<!--QuoteBegin-CosmosBlack@Mar 23 2005, 09:02 PM
Check the oil separator.

Do you also get some "bubbling" when accelerating from stop?
Like in the old cars where you forgot to release the choke after applying it?
If it's the oil separator, when the problem gets worse, you will get more loss of power, and white smoke out your exhaust.

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[/b][/quote]
Well, you can't clean it, if the oil separator is broken or leaking, oil gets into the air intake. You gotta replace it after a messy cleanup job.

The oil separator is like a rubber/diaphragm that separates the oil from the air/gas intake (I think...). I had mine replaced on both E39 and E34 before. There is an opening kinda like a hole, located at the back of the engine block, somewhere in the upper middle. You have to reach your hand back there and feel for that hole. Place your finger or hand over it and if you hear a whistling or whooshing sound, that means there's a vacuum leak. It's hard to explain, and I didn't fix it myself, my mechanic did.

Maybe you should bring it in to your mechanic and ask him to just check the oil separator. It might not even be that problem, but I'm just making a good guess based on your description of the symptom.

[billB]

Guys Oil Separater is not that easy of a job to do if u don't know what u doing...I recommend a pro and as CosmosBlack said you talking burning oil thus blue smoke=oil; NOT white smoke=burning coolant like in cracked head/overheating. Here is a pic to give you an idea or two on its location....notice oil pooling under your throttle body/manifold. VERY BAD QUALITY PICTURE!

[attachmentid=20217]

[coolkolb]

OK, I have ruled out the Oil Separater now. It seems like I would want to investigate the throttle body now. How would I go about testing this, and what is the priority level that I should be giving this for fixing? Is this something that needs to be fixed right away?

Originally posted by billB@Mar 26 2005, 07:23 AM
Guys Oil Separater is not that easy of a job to do if u don't know what u doing...I recommend a pro and as CosmosBlack said you talking burning oil thus blue smoke=oil; NOT white smoke=burning coolant like in cracked head/overheating. Here is a pic to give you an idea or two on its location....notice oil pooling under your throttle body/manifold. VERY BAD QUALITY PICTURE!

[attachmentid=20217]

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