dlaustin

I have no idea whether or not you still have the problem with the whine. I have a 2001 Allroad and had the same problem. RMcQ was right on!

I found the electric fan on the back of the radiator off and the electric fan on the front of the radiator screaming. I turned off the ignition and checked the rear electric fan. It rotated freely in the reverse direction, but only sometimes in the forward direction. I looked and looked for a loose rubber gasket and only after rotating the fan in different directions was I able to find this nasty little item. The next trick was to grab and remove it. That appeared impossible until I removed the louvered door immediately above the fan in question. I was then able to force the gasket up into the door space with my finger and grab it with a pliers and remove same. I only retrieved a 4-5" piece.

Anyway, I then restarted the car. The fan in question came on as did the electric fan in front of the radiator. The whine is now gone and nothing needed replacement. The fix was cheap.

I have no idea how the gasket was attached and its purpose. I do not intend to do anything more unless a cooling problem exists.

Hope this helps.

04 allroad

Ok, now I'm having this problem. The fan on the engine side of the car is screaming. The other fan isn't doing much. My A/C is off and I tried to turn it on to see if it made a difference. It did not. I recently had a coolant hose come off (my fault) and I had to mess with the coolant temp sensor. All fans spin freely. I can't figure it out.