So in the last 6 weeks or so been getting sounds from the front wheel area when braking the car hard or lightly. Even pulling out the driveway going in reverse it makes this metal crackling sounds. I had thought it was maybe the brake pads shifting in their Calipers but I just dont see how that is possible with the TSW MDM brake kit. Even tried 2 different sets of pads with no change. But liberally appling WD-40 to some of the brake parts (Disk Hat hardware, bone hardware "may" have helped..not 100% sure

I have H-Sport Camber plates and have lubed those up from the top with some lithium grease and even tried WD-40. I am at a lost where these sounds are coming from. Maybe front stock swaybar drop links?


Thx!

Cody

 

Have you checked the hub/wheel bearings?

 

I have not. Dont hear any noise when just turning the wheel. What would they sounds like if they were going out?

 

I would do a youtube search for some examples. I have heard bad bearings make a grinding sound while rotating.

I am about to replace them because mine have been making a clicking sound on the outside wheel while turning. There are a couple of threads on NAM about this, suggesting drive axles, but I already replaced mine and the noise continued. More recently it was suggested it was the wheel bearings, so that will be the next step.

I have heard brake pads making more of a clunking sound, and a BBK might also rub on the dust shield if you didn't remove it making a grinding sound. If you remove the rotor, you can see if there are any shiny spots on the dust shield. If this is the problem, it is easy to fix, either remove the shield or bend it back out of the way.

 

It sure could be the bearings, but clicking means CV joint to me. Bearings make more of a grinding noise and it usually is while the offending wheel is being pulled from the car (outside wheel on a turn)

Rules are meant to be broken, but checking the CV is easy enough.

OP, you might have to visually inspect the brakes to see if there is any obvious weirdness going on. On cars in the past I have seen pads have small pieces seperate and wiggle around.

 

I agree that the CV joint was the first indication. All of the threads and videos I looked at suggested that it was the CV joints. So, I replaced the driveshafts, ball joints, control arm bushings last week. As soon as I got the car out on the driveway again, I heard the noise again. Another NAM member, jrcsh6, has confirmed that his problem with the same noise seemed to have been bearing related. I will find out later this week when I replace them.

Agreed on the brake pad material cracking.

 

It is definitely a clunking metallic pop type sound. Can even "feel" it in the chassis even at slow speeds braking forwards then reverse.

 

Have you done any suspension work recently? Or just before you started hearing the noise?

If it is more of an intermittent (over a bump or when braking), clunking sound, then I would check the swaybar links, control arm bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends in that order. When you described it as crackling I thought it was a continuous sound.

The swaybar links are typically related to a loose nut, torque to 41 lb/ft IIRC. Make sure you counterhold the link ball joint either with a hex bit on the bolt or with an open end wrench on the interior portion of the ball joint. If bolts are tight then the ball joints may be gone, check for play.

Again, youtube video is your friend especially for the control arm bushings tests. I like one I saw from BavAuto on a 3 series but there are a couple.

Ball joints are harder to determine, but check around the ball joint area for tears in the rubber. Use a pry bar or large screwdriver to check for play in the joints.

 

this is a reach...Do you have your wheel bolts converted to studs? I did on mine a while back.

Last month I was convinced my cv axles were failing because I heard metallic popping sounds before and after a stop. It turned out to be a few loose wheel studs.

 

Isn't that a symptom of the control arm bushings going out? Might be worth a look.

 

I do have studs yes. I hope it is that as still cant figure this out..LOL

Will check tonight

Thx

cp

 

Studs are tight...but still need test drive. Cant open garage to wake the kids

 

No suspension work in probably 18-24 months. Generally, ok always, when braking or just after braking forward then reverse or vice-versa.

 

I have studs also, so keep us posted. Check out the bad control arm videos on youtube, checking them once you know what to look for is relatively easy.

The test I did was to kick the tire towards the rear on the leading edge. Once I knew what to look for, it was easy to diagnose a bad set of control arm bushings. Still didn't resolve my problem, but I fixed that one.

 

Thanks..any chance you can post URL to the video you are referring to? Only video I found was torching them to get them off

 

Nope not stud noise....the search continues :(

 

Have you taken the top camber plates off and checked the bolt on the strut shaft? I have seen this on a more than a few sets of the H-Sports.

 

Sorry, it looks like it is BMP, not BAVAuto.

Here are some relevant videos... They are based on BMW 3 series, but the suspension is basically the same as the Mini. They have other videos and the related/suggested videos are also pretty helpful.

Control Arm Bushing Failure


Control Arm Bushing Repair and diagnosing bad ball joints.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVH4Sy-s2PE

 

I watched the video a couple of times, and really can't tell what it is. It doesn't sound/look like CV or bearings or brake pads to me. Easy enough to check the swaybars, control arm bushings and engine or transmission mounts.

Can you replicate by just moving the tires while on the ground? Up on jack stands? Rocking the body forwards and backwards?

 

So far the only way I can replicate is driving the car back and forth and stopping with the brakes. Using the parking brake alone does not replicate the sound. Also it alternates so if I drive forward then brake and DONT go backwards or stop so hard it causes the car to shift backwards. The sound will not happen. But the second say I go in reverse and hit the brakes it will make the sound. Going forward again will hear the sound. Guess if I never went backwards I would not hear the sound again.

Can try to do another video w/o the engine running to maybe get better clarity where the sound is coming from.

 

So a lot of this noise was coming from worn out control arm bearings which I had replaced. 20% from the shifting of brake pads in the calipers which is normal so they can expand in the caliper under race conditions. All 3 sets of brake pads (R4-S, R4, and ST-43) did this to some degree.

Since having control arms bearings replaced minor shifting sound doesnt bother me