I have had my mini for 5 months now and every once in awhile a whine noise comes from under the hood. Almost sounds like a bad bearing or weird supercharger whine. Its quite loud and pronounced, it raises and lowers with engine RPMs, however it doesn't appear to match RPMs, as once it raises with RPMs it stays there for a few seconds and comes back down to match the engine RPM.

I know this sounds weird, but engine noises are hard to explain. I have had a JB4 Stage 2 and Stage1 run on it and stock as well. All seem to have the same issue, but its random or at the very least not reproducible regularly. I am looking for thoughts or ideas on what it is before it goes to the dealer for this issue.

There is another issue that may be related and is performance related. The car feels like it is not producing all of the boost it should, and is around the same time this noise happens (sometimes). Under normal operation at 2500 RPMs you can floor the throttle til 3k RPMs then let off and hear the blowoff/bypass of the turbo air pressure, but when the issue persists, the sound cant be heard. Under heavy acceleration from 3k - 6k in any gear (more pronounced when in 3/4/5/6th gear). The acceleration is lackluster and never throws me in my seat. It also feels like it stutters or surges through the RPM range when doing a WOT run.

The video is here and towards 0:30 til the end you can CLEARLY hear the noise and that it sorta matches the engine RPMs. I then am able to put it into gear (manual trans) and the noise stops. Maybe coincidence or maybe its not turbo related.



Thoughts?

 

If you are trying to identify the noise source and suspect it is from the transmission you need to have the car in the air and get under the car. Depending upon the car some panels may need to be removed so you or a mechanic have good access to the engine and transmission and can use a mechanic's stethoscope to try to pinpoint the source of the noise.

If the noise occurs with the engine idling with the transmission (manual) in neutral or park/neutral (auto) the odds are the noise is not with the transmission but from the engine.

With other cars and the Mini should be no different in this regard a common source of noise then is the water pump, or another accessory like the alternator, power steering (if the car uses a hydraulic power steering system), A/C compressor, or an accessory belt tensioner/idler bearing.

Being very careful around the accessory drive system with the engine running one can probably identify the noise source.

If the noise is present from cold engine start for some engines the accessory drive belt can be removed and the engine started and run only long enough to determine if the noise is present or absent. If absent the belt goes back on -- be sure you note *before* you take it off its routing and direction of travel so you can install it the same way -- and the engine started to confirm the noise is back.

If the noise is still present the belt still goes back on but the noise is either coming from inside the engine -- unless you can determine it is coming from some other source -- or the transmission.

 

Just to toss in another theory, based on the video and your explanation that the noise doesn't change when pushing in the clutch, but rather when you put it into gear leads me to the trans input bearing rather than the clutch throwout bearing. My initial thought on the sound was throwout bearing, but you noted that the noise didn't change with pushing in the clutch. As RockC noted above, get it into a 'competent' shop and let them diagnose with it up in the air to better isolate the source/location of the noise. Good luck.

 

Did you sort out the problem? I am getting the same noise and am trying to figure it out.

Thanks!

 

as am i. Have been for months now. So many people told me to check my trans. Idk how much clearer i could have explained it, just like the original post here. Its def not trans related. And i can at least tell you that much from experience. Coincidentally my trans just exploded out the side last week, so i replaced it, and this original noise in question still exists. Wondering if it has anything to do with the waste gate getting stuck open. Im not 100% positive, but judging from the diagrams, i believe its digital, controlled by the ecm. I’ve been putting in hella research lately trying to get my car back to day one feels. Will let you know if i find out more. Its crazy how little info there is on this yet how many people i see with the same issue.

 

Were you ever able to fix the issue. I’m getting the same noise when ever I do a nice high RPM pull past 5k

 

I still occasionally get this sound. My mechanic thinks it is the clutch bearings but I am not sure. I find the noise only comes when I'm putting a lot of work on the clutch. I get it sometimes when I am in stop and go traffic for a while, or the worst I have had it is when I tracked the car over the summer. Replacing my clutch and flywheel in May so if you haven't figured it out by then I will let you know if that changes anything. I don't find it affects anything either then my clutch does feel a bit off and the car will pop out of 1st gear sometimes. Hoping its a clutch problem and not a waste gate...

 

Did the clutch replacement fix the issue by chance.

 

Did you ever get the problem fixed? I just got my F56 about 6 weeks ago and I'm having the same noise

 

FYI if you read the comments on the OPs YouTube video. They said transmission fluid was low which fixed the whining and a broken bypass valve fixed the power issue.