M gearbox or not gearbox whine

N

ncrossy1980

Active member
 Newcastle Upon Tyne
My girlfriend pointed this out yesterday when we popped out to the shops, until that point I hadn't thought anything of it but she reckons that the gearbox is whining something rotten. I've created a video but tbh you'll likely not hear the whine due to the deep bass and rumblings being picked up on mic.
The whine is worse in lower gears, usually when coasting/decelerating, and you can also hear it revving whilst stationary... even in neutral. Which whilst knowing nowt about cars, makes me thing it might actually not be the gearbox. It doesn't sound right though. I also created an audio clip of it revving in neutral but I need to find a way to post an audio clip.
If you watch the vid, if possible, try and turn the bass down on the speakers and the treble up. A mobile device might project it better. It's quite prominent at around 2:08.

https://youtu.be/bWH_4uW0kyc

Any thoughts? The fact that I can hear it in neutral suggests it's possibly not gearbox related, but it's something.
 
Hi have a slight whine on mine but like most who have the same it seems to be the diff. Like you noticeable on lift off, but not in stationary. Can't see how it can be the gearbox if stationary TBH.
 
When in neutral hold the clutch down, if it stops whining its the gearbox, if it continues its something on the engine.
 
Yea it's still there with the clutch down:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kebvzz27ng441eo/Whine2.m4a?dl=0
 
Defo heard the whine in the video. But tbh, the M makes all kinds of noises on and off! Have you done anything differently recently? E.g changed fuel type from BP optimal to V power. I find that mine runs noiser (to my ear anyway) on vpower. When was the last oil service? Does the whine sound change depending on the gear your in?
 
It sounds like mine from the sound clip, like Fast3000 says the M's do make a different noises.

For peace of mind it may be worth having someone who knows these engines take a look/listen :?
 
Power steering pump? Mine is whiney and is at it's worst at idle and dropping down into second etc. On the move, you cannot hear is as the engine / road noise drowns it out.

H.
 
Btw Ncrossy I am no expert (as you can probably tell :P )

Do you have any reputable BMW independent garages near you? An experienced BMW mechanic would be able to tell you if somethings wrong.
 
Yea I have :) I'm gonna drop him an email with the sound clips attached. It shouldn't be the power steering pump, I can't see why that would pick up noise on increased engine revs without the steering wheel being touched...? Also, just had a brand new steering pump put in 2 weeks ago, that's the newest thing in the car!
My worry levels have dropped a little since a few others say they have a bit of a whine, but i'll get it checked out whilst the car is still under the 3 month statutory warranty period from a trade seller.
 
funnily enough I've noticed a slight whine on mine too only when you coast/come off the gas.. VERY slight but one of those things now I've noticed it I keep noticing it :lol: can't hear it in your vid though
 
Yea the mic can't pick it up very well, but it's very noticeable to the ear. Fast3000 mentioned something interesting regarding fuel type, I haven't had the car long enough to have a preferred fuel yet and I wasn't planning on sticking to any particular brand but I did fill it up with V Power last time around... so I'm using that as an excuse to drive the car to work and back a few times to run it dry then put BP Ultimate in and see if it makes a difference :thumbsup: :driving:
 
Mine has been significantly noisier in recent days since filling up with V Power, could be co-incident, but it's something worth investigating by swapping to BP Ultimate. I'll be able to notice any difference pretty much instantly.
 
Just to conclude this, for what it's worth. I let the full tank of V-Power run dry, filled it up with BP Ultimate... I wouldn't go as far as to say it feels like a different car but the difference in feel is dramatic using BP Ultimate. The car felt like a bag of hammers whilst using V-Power, the whine noise, there was a raspy hiss from the engine on acceleration, the revs didn't fall smoothly during gear change, however now it's back to feeling slick and responsive again. Definitely no co-incidence.
Still have a little bit of a whine but nothing I think there to worry about. For me now, it's BP Ultimate and nothing else.
 
how long have you had the car?

I really REALLY can't see how changing from BP ultimate to V-Power would create anything noticeable to the non-F1 Driver, nevermind whines or rasp. Are you sure it wasn't hot and later tested cold?

If i'm brutally honest i laughed when i read some of these claims, maybe i'm an idiot, but ...
 
It was observations over an entire full to empty tank cycle, over the course of around 2 weeks so a mixture of cold days, hot days, wet days, every day felt pretty rough with the V-Power. On cold start the car was stuttering slightly through acceleration in 2nd and 3rd until around 5 minutes into the drive, haven't experienced that again since switching.
Hey, might be a complete co-incidence, but that's how it's been. Open to hearing other peoples observations.
 
Well, not one to snuff at an opinion - if you genuinely found an issue i'd be considering taking to an indy for a second opinion/overview. I'm still apprehensive it'd be the FUEL that's the problem, but you never know - i've read stories of people getting bad batches of fuel and it adversely affecting the car. This was something that happened a year or so ago with a large batch of tesco fuels iirc.
 
Just my experience but my car felt a bit rough on v power and I did notice the difference moving to BP ultimate. It just feels a lot more smooth. I've been using BP for around 3yrs now.
 
Oh dear I've started a forest fire :fuelfire: with this whole petrol thing. I was honestly just pointing out a small obeservation, I will state that mine does slightly and I mean very slightly run rougher sounding with v power. At the end of the day the Ron changes the fuel timing and this is going to change the engine somewhat? I could be wrong and that won't be the first or last but happy for an expert to explain how Ron affects the ecu and the engine timing.
 
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