S63 AMG Whirring noise

[chic0821]

I have recently bought a 2015 S63 SMG Coupe, but there is a whirring noise coming from the engine at idle, Don't hear it when the bonnet is shut or driving. It is fairly loud, but car drives ok. It had the big service prior to me picking it up including drive belt & plugs. Just wondering if this is normal or not. Comments please

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

The 5.5 litre twin turbo engine ("M157") is quite a noisy engine - most AMG engines are - so it's difficult to know based upon your description. I would suggest asking someone familiar with the engine to take a listen. It could a bad pulley wheel at one extreme, or just the way it is at the other extreme.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

The 5.5 litre twin turbo engine ("M157") is quite a noisy engine - most AMG engines are - so it's difficult to know based upon your description. I would suggest asking someone familiar with the engine to take a listen. It could a bad pulley wheel at one extreme, or just the way it is at the other extreme.

PS When idling or driving very slowly very close to a wall with your window open, eg driving into your garage or driving through a drive-thru, be prepared to think "Oh my goodness", it will sound rougher than you would expect!

Reason being that you're hearing the noise of the engine ancillaries bounce straight back out you (like reflecting light in a mirror), whereas you'll be used to hearing the more dominant noise of engine revs or exhaust note, after being filtered by the bulkhead and glass.

 

[Larkone]

When you consider the vast range of things under the bonnet that could produce a 'whirring noise' then without some professional investigation the best you can do is stick a wet finger in the air and guess.

 

[John]

Could be pulsation damper as it is possible to hear at idle and a louder engine may drown it out at speed.

Needs a video clip posting really.

 

[whitenemesis]

The 55k engines had a very loud whirring noise, supposedly from the oil pump gears. Maybe the same here?

 

[Atavus]

Probably just normal noise as someone already said. Keep the bonnet closed and drive the car.

 

[ShaunB]

Probably just normal noise as someone already said. Keep the bonnet closed and drive the car.

 

[chic0821]

Tried to add a video but forum does not accept MP4 files, but on the video to me it sounds ok. Seems more pronounced in real life. Have not had a V8 Bi-turbo before so do not know. My previous Porsche GT3 sounded like a bag of spanners in a washing machine on startup so this sounds quite mild. Looks like I should drop in to dealer

 

[John]

Host the clip on Google Docs or OneDrive, share it read-only and post the URL to it on here.

Or upload it to YT and post the link.

If it's not that audible, you might have to take it to someone who doesn't have a horse, lasso, spurs and a hat made by Stetson.

 

[chic0821]

Uploaded to YouTube

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[Will]

Well that doesn’t sound normal to me, my 5.5 M157 doesn’t sound like that. And it sounds more like a rattle than a whir. I’d get it checked out!

 

[Muckypaps]

Doesn't sound like mine either.

 

[Dickster]

That doesn’t sound good, get it checked out. Perhaps send that file to your local wrench.

 

[zipdip]

Well I would hate any V8 I owned sounding like that you need to get it looked at

 

[Boristheblade]

Diagnosing noises like this is difficult at best,
I'd try find another similar vehicle locally for sale, go have a look at it and listen to it running, see if they are the same or not.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

As others have suggested I would get your car along to a Mercedes-Benz dealer/workshop or an independent marque specialist, and try not to use it in the meantime. It’s difficult to tell what it is from the video but it is enough to hear that it needs to be investigated.

 

[Will]

You know what, my wife has just popped out in ours so I had a quick listen with the bonnet up.

As said already, the M157 is a pretty noisy/clattery engine anyway - but I think the phone recording may be part of what makes yours sound worse than it is. In reality I guess most people only hear the engine with the bonnet closed and the windows up, and the exhaust noise masks most of the sound from up front anyway.

Here’s mine, a 25k miler for comparison - from stone cold (well 30 seconds after starting!

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Hand on heart, it doesn’t sounds anywhere as loud or clattery in real life - I think the phone microphone is what’s making it sound much worse.

So I wouldn’t be overly worried, but yours still sounds a little more noisy? So probably worth getting it checked out anyway for peace of mind

 

[chic0821]

Will, thanks for the video. To me, they both sound about the same. Spoke with Service guy at the dealership who confirmed what you were saying that they are fairly noisy. He said if you don't hear it from inside there will be nothing wrong & engine light would normally come on & if I was still concerned to drop by & they would get the AMG technician to have a listen to it. Will do that next week.

 

[John]

Certainly the middle rattley sound I hear at 17 seconds sounds familiar to me from a previous MB V8 (probably my 211 55).

I would still have a tech listen as they hear these things often and are best-positioned to know what sounds healthy and what doesn't.