Hey guys. Just finished the clutch swap out with the Valeo clutch kit a few days ago and have been driving the car around to make sure it was sorted. Things seem great.

I just drove from CT to DC for work and I noticed towards the end of the 6 hour drive that when I let off the gas and coast in a higher gear there seems to be a very slight rubbing, humming, or scraping sound. It's very hard to describe. When I push the clutch in or give it even the slightest amount of gas it goes away.

Is this just normal for a single mass flywheel?

Wonder if anyone else has run into this.

Thanks!

 

Did you replace the clutch guide tube ? What year and model ?

 

You should not hear a sound when coasting in gear whether you've replaced the guide tube or not. If the sound is getting progressively worse, I'm afraid that you'll have to tear it apart and check it out before something fails or falls off internally.

 

Could this be the supercharger? I'm thinking that the oil has never been changed and I'm hearing some other racket from it.

I did change the guide tube.

 

Doubt it. If you can make the sound change by slightly depressing the clutch, then I think that assembly is your smoking gun.

 

I wonder if it's the transmission itself and the new clutch is finding a new weak point?

 

Any other ideas guys? I don't want to take off that bell housing again and I replaced pretty much the whole front end so it could be a million things.

 

I wouldn't want to pull the tranny again either, but if the noise goes away when you step on the clutch don't you think it has to be transmission related?

 

Yes and no. I don't hear the noise when I'm hitting the gas and I'm wondering if the torque placed on the engine when I hit the gas could be affecting something else....no idea just looking for easier options before i do the weekend job again.

 

The transmissions in the R53s are extremely stout, I'd say if the noise is clutch related you'll be pulling it back out. Unless you're hearing clutch chatter, which isn't uncommon in the cold, but you shouldn't hear it while driving, and it would go away when the clutch is depressed.

 

I don't think I'm explaining it well enough. I get the noise only when I'm coasting. When I push the clutch in or hit the gas the noise goes away. I can sorta hear the noise when I really stomp on the gas too.

I'm now wondering if the clutch plate is loose somehow but I torqued everything to spec. I'm probably going to drive it for a couple of weeks until I can make time to tear it apart again. Ugh

 

Are you getting any leaks from around the axle shafts? If you didn't get the axle pushed ALL the way in such that the locking ring snaps into place, the axle itself might be wobbling in the side gear during overrun (deceleration w/o drive). Just a thought, easy to check.

 

So I had the first opportunity to do anything with the Mini today at lunch. I put it on a lift and first checked the axle shafts to see if there were any fluid leaks. I like that theory because it saves me time and headache. Eliminate the easy stuff first right?

Interestingly...during the clutch swap I replaced the boot and grease for the passenger side CV joint as it looked terrible.

When my eyes got to that area I noticed that there was grease in a nice straight line, up and down originating from what I believe to be the boot I replaced.

Here is my new running, "I don't want to tear the bell housing off the engine just yet" theory: Th CV is shot at this point....when I coast it lets that CV spin under a little torque and causes the grinding rotation noise I hear. When I hit the gas hard it places the shaft with some torque and causes the same grinding noise. When I push the clutch in there is no torque on the shaft and it just free spins with no noise.

It's a theory but either way I'm replacing that whole shaft. My question is...has anyone had any luck with any of the off brands that cost 1/10th the price of the OEM?

Thanks!

 

It's possible it could be your axle, but whenever I've had one go bad it only made noise while turning.

Luckily I have an excellent axle rebuilder close to my house, but if I didn't I would might try my luck with one of the rebuilds. They usually come with some kind of warranty. Or you could get a good one from the driveshaft shop, kind of pricey at $400, but still less than oem.

Can't hurt to check out the used market place either, probably get a better one than an autozone special

 

The OEM supplier axle or Genuine is what I would stick with. We have them HERE. I have never had any luck with aftermarket axles that were not OEM/Genuine. You could also do a quick Google search and see if you can find a place near you that does OEM axle rebuilds. I have had luck with a place that does this where I am from.

 

We have installed the O'reilley rebuilds for multiple customers who were unable to afford the MINI OE axles, and to this day they are still running strong as ever.

Many of the rebuilds you get from O'reilleys are an OE component that has been reconditioned or refurbished.

FWIW I have O'reilley rebuilt calipers on my MKIV Jetta, and it still stops. They were OE calipers that were cleaned, rebuilt, and resold.

 

Did you ever solve the problem?