Hey guys,

2003 R53 with 103k -- been noticing a noise that I have had for a while getting much louder now when I take sweeping right turns and have noticed some uneven wear on the right front tire. It sounds like a droning / grindy noise, but a dull grind.

Is this a symptom of a wheel bearing or should I be looking at other suspension components?
- Tie Rod ends?
- Ball joints?

Thank you for the help.

 

Does the sound get louder with speed...
My gut feeling is the uneven tire wear is causing the noise...humm or buzz, but not a grinding....
And if you hear a sound when turning...maybe a CV joint...
You could jack theccar up, grab the tire, and try to move it...
Or better yet, a "courtesy" inspection at a chain shop....
How old are the struts? Worn suspension usually equals uneven tire wear...
And the right front takes the big potholes, etc...

 

Hey zippy - doesn't happen when turning at low speed - only when I make sweeping turns. I had thought it was tire noise - but had not noticed the uneven wear until recently. Struts are about 25k miles - KYB. Tires are also about that mileage....supposed to be 40k mile tires. Jacked up the car and tires definitely not moving. I've read some threads that as you shift weight - the load goes into the opposite suspension and can throw the sound. I had this car "inspected" by MINI not more than 2k miles ago during one of their service clinics. They had a whole list of issues (none of which were suspension related). Right front took a massive hit last summer as did the right rear as i actually bent the upper rear control arm

 

If the wheel bearing is bad it's pretty obvious when you jack up the car.

Grab the tire on opposite ends and try and move it in and out. If there is any movement you'll be able to tell where it's coming from.

If there's no movement it's something else that's making the noise.

From the way you describe it, with the car being hit hard sounds like something in the suspension is a little off

 

+1 on Shawnnn's suggestion to check for a bad bearing. I've had bearings do some crazy things on me though. I've had bearings only make noise when they were under load/pressure from turning aggressively. A very distinct grinding noise to even a high pitched squeak noise. Have the wheel bearings ever been replaced? If nothing seems out of the ordinary, you may want to start there and see if it resolves your issue.

 

It will be a loud grown noise and it gets worse as you speed up , when you turn the wheel you can compress the bearing back together and less noise when its first going bad and then go straight again it hear it get louder, i have dona a bunch of them. I Put MINIs on the rack and spun the wheel and can hear it. To tell which side it is. I did mine in pairs , so you dont do one then a few miles down the road and the other side starts. Saves some time.

More great info here: also some pointers about the ABS sensors.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...placement.html

 

Hey guys - so I finally got some time to put the car on jack stands and have some troubling findings:

1) when grabbing the wheel at 12 and 6 I can't move it.


2) when grabbing the wheel at 3 and 9 I can make it move probably about 1/8-1/4" left to right coupled with a pretty loud clunk.

3) took the wheel off and there are rub marks in the inner fender which weren't there even 700 miles ago

4) when grabbing the axle I can move it in and out a bit and make the clunk - is there supposed to be any play at all in that thing? It seems to be seated in the transmission fine...CV boot was replaced by mini dealer about 5K miles ago.

5) the Lower tie rod looks straight and fine but is the boot sitting correctly? My hugest thanks to all of you.

Lower control arm bushings are power flex installed at 67k miles


Theories: bad axle, bad cv joint, damaged or bent suspension bits (not wildly apparent to me), bad wheel bearing and hub, loose bolts on axle or something like that ECS I just ordered lower ball joints because well 100K miles and all. Could be ordering a wheel hub soon...

 

With the wheels in the air, compare left to right by spinning the wheel with one hand and holding the suspension spring in the other hand feeling for a vibration. If the right is drastically different than the left and it isn't rubbing anywhere, could very well be the bearing/hub assembly which is a pretty easy fix as they're sold as one part.

 

If it does seem to be bearing related and you're going aftermarket, stay the hell away from the Precision parts one. Try PRO parts. Had one for over a year and seems to be doing just fine.

 

Are you sure the left to right movement isnt just the steering moving? Even if it's locked there is still going to be some movement.

The tire rubbing against the fender is strange. Sounds like the noise youre hearing is the tire rubbing.

My wheel bearing was pretty bad, the wheel easily moved around in the hub (up and down) but it didnt rub against the fender ever.

A bad axle cant make the tire hit the fender either, they just turn the tire and don't control the suspension in any way.

Is it possible to take it to the shop that did the repairs after the accident, and have them take a look? A second pair of eyes looking at it can't hurt. It's hard to tell sometimes just looking at pictures

 

I got mine from way, great price on an oem part

 

Hey Shawn, Never had it repaired after I nailed that pothole over 5,000 miles ago. The sound is pretty new given I drive the car so little. I have ball joints coming today which I'll put it. My only thought is lots of slop in some joint (hub etc) would allow it to have excessive negative camber and a rubbing situation. Again nothing looks bent but not exactly sure. The tie rod end boot looks suspect...that's all I got for now. The car is our second car and we've been debating even having it for a while...I don't know if this will be the final straw for me. Left to right movement would be okay...it's the clunking noise that has me worried. Sounds just like this:
One more question - if you grab your tie rod end - can you rotate it? I know there is some sort of joint connecting it to the steering knuckle but mine actually can rotate a few degrees left and right and makes a clunk at the end of the turn. The one of the driver side has a little bit of play but isn't as easy to turn

 

Sorry, I misunderstood when you said the front got hit hard.

If your wheel is moving like that video then it's definitely the wheel bearing. It's not too expensive and easy enough to do.

If nobody else responds I'll crawl under my car later today and see what my tie rod end does

 

It's not that rattly but it's that kind of clunk. Your comment about even at full lock there is some play made me start hunting things down and low and behold I could make the clunk with the tie rid end.

I also confirms that the axle can move in and out a little bit from the drivers side one. I believe that the tie rod end is smoked and the alignment is off...leading to the uneven wear.

Also I inspected the inner fender liner - I think that it's not rubbing but rather that's the shredded remains of the inside of my tire.

 

Just jacked my car up and mine clunks too, there is a small amount of play. The clunk on mine is just the steering being locked.

Tie rod ends do turn on my car too, but feel tight. Could be worn out though too i guess. Haven't put new ones on in the year ive owned it. I didnt notice a clunking as i rotated them though.

Hopefully the tie rod ends are you're problem

 

Hey guys -- I thought I would update this thread for everyone.

I spent a few days going through the front suspension replacing all kinds of things:

1) Outer Ball joints (completely whippped) -- super easy job btw -- just keep a cold chisel handy so that you can get the old ones out, they can potentially be seized to the steering knuckle.

2) Tie Rods -- the ball joint on the right side was pretty whipped and allow me to rotate it very easily causing a clunking noise. The left side wasn't bad but since I had the car up - I figured I would spend the extra time and tighten it all up.

3) Inner CV boot on the drivers side -- pretty easy job if you follow all the DIYs and videos out there

I got the car over to an alignment shop and the owner (most honest guy ever) said he would align it but he took it for a test drive and felt that the wheel bearing is shot and it was not tire noise I was hearing.

Took the car home and have a wheel bearing sitting on the shelf for this weekends task - so after all that -- the car is perfectly true and aligned but the noise is still present and I feel very confident that its the wheel bearing -- I'll update everyone sometime this weekend and maybe post some photos of the process.

 

Here's the easiest way to differentiate a bearing and a cupped tire noise. Cruising at 50 or more MPH gently rock the car side-to-side (watch for traffic) if the noise comes as goes as you rock it, the sound should change or even appear and disappear. That's a bearing noise. As you slow down the sound should reduce or vanish.

A cupped tire will keep sounding almost to a stop, unlike a bearing.

Because of the design of the wheel hub/bearing cartridge in the MINIs, shaking the wheels at 12 and 6 doesn't always work to diagnose a bad bearing.

 

Hi Helix,

Thats exactly how I was diagnosing -- noise goes away when I bring it even slightly to the right. Comes back when I pull left or go straight. Comes back with a crazy vengeance when I pulled a left sweeping turn.

I am using that to tell me to replace the right bearing -- do you agree?

 

Just do it Kahnfucious

You'll feel better about it if you put a new one on and it's a pretty simple job. The big axle nut can be a *****, just use the biggest bar you can find. I'm in WI, we use a lot of salt here and the bearing came out easily enough on my 02

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...placement.html

 

No, you can't make that assumption. The next step is the put the car on jackstands (very securely), have an assistant spin the wheel and you place a stethoscope or long prybar on the inside of the steering knuckles (under the car) and listen carefully for bearing noise.

 

This will be my last UPDATE on this post -- but I'll still monitor it should anyone have any questions.

Thank you everyone (Shawnn especially) for the support and encouragement - tonight I bit the bullet and got the right front wheel up on a jack stand. I spun the wheel by hand and it was pretty easy to hear the grinding noise (it seemed very faint compared to the drone I was getting at 30+ MPH but the turn rate was obviously much slower by hand.

Took about 1.5-2 hours but I was happily test driving the car in SILENCE tonight.

Process for anyone that is interested:

First remove the wheel and hit the rotor retaining screw and the 4 13mm hub bolts with PB blaster -- let them sit for a WHILE -- hit them again with PB blaster then start the process below.

1) Remove the metal clip from the front brake caliper
2) Take off the dust caps for the front caliper
3) Use 7mm hex socket to undo the two guide bolts -- the brake line will be in the way of one of them, grab a wobbler extension and you can skate around it -- or use a very long 7mm hex key.
4) Remove the caliper, and rest or zip tie it on top of the hub -- it should NOT hang by the brake line
5) remove the outer brake pad that stayed with the caliper frame
6) unbolt the two 16mm bolts that connect the caliper frame to the steering knuckle
7) pull the frame off
8) hopefully the PB blaster has done its job -- using a T50 torx bit -- and an impact driver -- carefully try to remove the set screw -- you might get lucky and it will come out... mine did not so I kept using the impact driver and then carefully used a breaker bar pushing in with one hand and got it to turn.
9) take the rotor off
10) remove the 4 13mm bolts holding the hub and bearing on the knuckle -- again a 13mm socket plus wobbler extension and a small breaker bar are essential
11) once all 4 13mm bolts are out - tap on the back of the hub with a hammer...rotate the hub and tap again (GENTLY) -- keep doing this until the hub falls off the axle splines.
12) Place the 4 13 mm bolts through the steering knuckle (it is infinitely easier than when you put the hub in place -- because you cant really see in there
13)Line up the new hub and bearing with the splines and slide it into place. hand start the 4 bolts -- this is tricky and will require the 13mm socket and wobbler in your HAND
14) tighten them all down -- in a cross pattern
15) reverse all the things you did to the brakes -- and make sure you use brake cleaner on everything.

Button it up and go for a now very quiet drive.

 

Thanks for the update and the DIY .

PB blaster can be very helpful.

 

I feel like I am having a similar issue and can't tell if it's the cv axle or something else. I have no play on the wheel top to bottom so I dont think it's that. I do get a loud hum relative to speed and only when weight is on the passenger side. it's a steady hum though, and it's gotten worse. I think it might be the passenger side drive axle. super annoying at freeway speeds.

thoughts?

 

Hey Burrito -- there was 0 play in my wheel hub after I fixed my tie rods and ball joints so I wouldn't rule out the wheel bearing yet. What I found was that with my car it happened when driving at highway speeds. The noise went away when I turned right because it shifted the weight around on or off the hub.

When the car was jacked in the air and I spun the wheel I could hear the grinding noise -- some have also stated you can feel a bad wheel bearing when touching the spring... as it will transmit the energy through.. I didnt need to touch it to figure out it was junked. Again... no play in the bearing but now that its off the car -- you can hear it grinding when you turn it by hand very easily.

You said WEIGHT on the passenger side -- which to me means something is messed up with your suspension and its RUBBING. Have you taken the wheels off on the passenger side to see if something is bent and/or you have rub marks on the inner wheel wells.

Search my name and you will see a post when I bent the upper rear control arm -- that was pretty visible with the naked eye as it looked like the top of my rear wheel was leaning in-ward.

 

Haven't read the entire thread, so hope this hasn't already been suggested. A test I have used to determine if a wheel bearing is to drive up to the speed where the noise is most evident, then swerve first to the right, then to the left, if the noise goes away in one direction, but immediately comes back once going straight, then you most likely have a bearing issue as tire noises wont change when swerving. If swerving to the right stops the noise, then you may have a bad front bearing as you just unloaded the spinning bearing and it got quiet. Swerve to the left and the noise stops,....then you may have a bad left wheel bearing.

Heres another thought. I just had a similar issue on my land rover, only at high highway speeds, I would hear a whining rubbing sort of sound,...a swerve to the left and it would stop. Turned out that the wheel well liner on the right side had come loose, but only rubbed on the tire when at higher speeds and only when going straight or turning to the right. A couple of wire ties ended the problem.