R52. I get a creaking noise when turning the steering wheel at colder temps (ambient). As soon as the weather is warm it doesn’t happen. I’ve visually inspected all the bushings and they look good.

125,000 miles on it so I suppose new bushings would hurt.
Any thoughts?

 

Clock spring inside the steering wheel. Misnamed because it's essentially a circular grouping of the wires that control the horn, ignition, etc. It circles the steering wheel hub a couple of times so that when you turn the wires don't suffer damage. The wires are encased in a plastic-like loom that stiffens with cold weather and creaks in the winter.

 

Gotcha. Any fix or replacement?

 

I wish I knew because mine does the same thing. I tore into it this past Spring. Word of caution: disconnect your battery before pulling the steering wheel because disconnecting the clock spring with power present will set your airbag light (don't ask me how I know). The only way to turn that light off is via a programming tool.

 

Ouch! Thanks for the heads up. I also have some lights on that can only be reset with the dealer tool. The previous owner had the instrument cluster replaced but never had it coded to this chassis so my scanner won’t even connect to that side. Such a pain.

 

Not to disregard @cooper48 suggestion (great future advice for me).
I'd also had/heard a dreaded creaking sound from my 04 R53 when I turned the wheel driving slowly or puling out of a parking spot.
After doing some further examination; My creaking noise was the result of worn compressed front, strut mount bearings. Most evident/worse during cold temps but far less audible during warmer mid-day temps.
I replaced those 2wo top mount bearings. Solved my creaking noise issue immediately. Amazing how much better the car handled afterwards.

 

Good info. I’ll check it out. I’m considering a complete bushing/bearing replacement anyway. Try and get it back to like new condition.
It’s been difficult to track because when I take the weight off of it the noise is gone. Which is why I assume it’s bushing noise but they aren’t cracked.

 

I agree.
When I'd lift the front wheels off the ground, turned the wheel = nothing / no creaking.
At first I refused to believe my 28k mi strut mounts were bad since there was no evidence of torn or cracked rubber but...

Left - New top mount - Right - Previous 28k mi (TRQ brand) top mount. You can see how squashed the old one is by comparison.

I've installed other TRQ parts on the Mini in past years (subsequently replaced them w/OEM), without any real problems or premature failure.
However, my image above speaks volumes to me with regards to the longevity after only 28k miles.

 

In line with Here2Go suggestion is that there are two universal joints that are part of the steering shaft. One is located inside (the other under the bonnet) below the dash/steering wheel. If that hasn't been lubed in a while it could be a noise source.

 

Did yours make noise with up/down motion? I’m only getting it when I turn. Other than that there is no suspension noise at all. Such as when going over bumps.

 

I thought of those but they are fine. It’s definitely the sound of creaking rubber.

 

No noise over humps and bumps. Only noise/creaking at low speed turns.

 

Yep that sound exactly like what I’ve got. Also, when I bought the car the towers were starting to mushroom so I immediately added the plates on top to fix that. Logically then the bushes/bearing underneath would probably not be in the best condition either.

Can you recommend a good place to get them. Pelican Parts wants about $140 per side.

 

I went with Lemforder (31306778833) from FCP.
The price was a little cheaper than what I'd expected to spend but (from what I understand) Lemforder is OE or OEM (?)
FCP Genuine Mini mounts are pretty much in line with Pelican and ECS.
ECS is also one of my preferred Mini parts carrier which seem to have a larger selection (brands) and price ranges.

I've currently put 6,500mi on these new strut mounts.
We'll see how long these Lemforder's hold up.

 

Check out www.partsgeek.com. They carry both OEM and aftermarket parts on most MINI necessities.

 

I’ll check them out. Thanks.

I just ordered an o2 sensor so hopefully I can get that issue fixed then move on to the strut bearings.

 

A bit off topic with regards to creaking - but If at all possible, can you upload or describe the appearance of the 02 sensor you pull from your car?
I've just replaced both of mine (@ 104k mi). I've owned the car since new and have no record that either of the 02s' have ever been changed.
Although, I've never had any fault codes or SES - I just felt (after 100k mi) it was about time. Mine had a white-ish appearance.
Just curious if the condition is "normal" by comparison to other's experience.

 

I can do that. I won’t be until this weekend when I get to it though.

Not sure if you’ve seen my other thread. Basically a 2096 lean condition code. However, fuel trims are within spec. Unplugged the downstream sensor and oil came out! Hopefully that was causing the erratic behavior of that sensor. Was moving switching up and down and at one point went to zero and stayed.

 

- Thanks!

 

Here’s a pic of the old downstream sensor. It was definitely bad. Although I’m sure you could tell by the looks of. The upstream one was solid white. For fun I swapped the old downstream into the upstream port and the signal was 0 and never switched.


As far as the strut bearings go I noticed some leaking from them. So…I’ll be replacing the struts as well as new bearings. That should solve it.

 

Hey - Thanks for uploading the image!
Yep - both of my 02s' looked about the same white-ish in color. Car always ran great and never any fault codes or SES and live data voltage and fuel trims were in spec.
I going to assume the white condition is normal and is of little concern (in my case).

Have you given any consideration as to which type/brand for your new struts?

Looking forward to your progress.

 

I haven’t looked for specific brands. I’m sure I’ll go with an affordable midrange. Not cheapest but also don’t need top-o-the line either.