I've got a few miles on my X5 2001 3.0L, 211,000 to be roughly exact.....

I get a raspy, kind of bad bearing sound at idle. Replaced fan belts
and went away for awhile. As soon as you touch gas it goes away.

One BMW svc advisor said I have a bad fan clutch. He grabbed the
fan blades while it was running and was able to hold it still. I don't
think I would grab that sucker while it was running!

Has anyone replaced one of these fan clutches? Looks simple to do
about $140 for part.
I heard that overheating was one symptom. However BMW temp gauges
don't really move with temp, just approximation as they are heavily damped
to stay at "normal" temp.

Any input on this would be appreciated!