My car's factory...completely stock. 03 cooper-s. Since about
2 days ago I get this 'thump' noise from somewhere in the
rear(?) of the car whenever i make a sharp righthand turn
about 25mph through an intersection. The thump is heard
when the lateral G is at its peak.

Does not seem to make this noise on sharp lefthand turn.

I checked the battery if it was loose or not, checked the
boot side walls and wrenches to make sure it wasn't loose...
they're all tight. Everything in the boot is wrapped down so
its something either in the cabin or in the suspension.

anyone have such experience and can possibly give me
ideas where to check?

thanks. :smile:

 

Have your rear suspension bolts checked.

X2

 

Jack Car up, remove rear tire, and remove inner liner. You can then check and make sure the upper shock mounts are tight. Sounds like they may have come loose.

 

thanks for the info. is this a typical problem on the coopers?

ill check that out tonight. anyone know the size of the bolt head (is it a nut shaped or a allen hex bolt?)? i better check the fronts too.

found the answer!

>rear strut top bolts - 13mm socket, rear strut lower bolt - 21mm, rear strut top nut - 16mm, wheel bolts - 17mm.



_________________
03 Cooper-S IndiBlue/Blk: #1 #2 #3, Leather w/ antherasite int, Factory aero kit, R90 w/ SP9000, Alpine 6CD MP3 changer, Autoclearguard. Winter: SpeedEdition TK5 16x7 with Pirelli P6FourSeason 205/50 // 2002 WRX with lots more mods.

 

hummm....it wasn't the rear struts bolts. they were on pretty tight (didn't have to take off fender liner either to access the bolt heads) front struts are also pretty
tight.

anyone else might have a clue to what this might be?
does the swaybar shift laterally at all during a fast corner?

 

Do you hear this every time you turn, or only when you first get in your car, and go around your first turn?

I hear this sound, but only right after I leave from somewhere...not later.

 

i hear this sound only when i make a quick sharp turn...

it might be something in the cabin. not sure....just want to
find where it's coming from. its not the boot, its not the
strut top bolts... doesn't seem like the swaybar or swaybar
mounts were loose either.

 

>>i hear this sound only when i make a quick sharp turn...
>>
>>it might be something in the cabin. not sure....just want to
>>find where it's coming from. its not the boot, its not the
>>strut top bolts... doesn't seem like the swaybar or swaybar
>>mounts were loose either.


Some other rear suspension things to check:
See if the rear swaybar links are attached and tight
Check the 13 mm bolts that hold the swaybar to the frame (2 per side)

 

thanks dypane1, i checked those too last night.

its not a thump noise that i hear while driving normally...could it be
spring compression noise?

 

check your hatch cover, the one that flips up and down with the boot. It may be the ball thingy that is on the string that latches to the eye bolt. If the string is not latched then that ball is in free swing and swinging hard enough will hit side panel and make thump noise.



Peter

 

itsthesize- ahhh! thank you for the note. come to think of it, it could very well be that cover. im going to check it tomorrow morning.

thanks again for all your guys' support on this. i really appreciate it. :smile:

 

FOUND THE PROBLEM! :smile:

it was my danged CD case in my glovebox moving around at high lateral g's.
it's all leather so it didn't seem to slide anywhere because it grips well, but
at high g's the case shifted into the wall of the glove box making the faint
thump noise.

geeez...im glad i found the problem... well, i guess i learned a lot of the
mini suspension too, while i was retorquring all the nuts.