Hello,

I have owned this 2007 Mini since its arrival on these shores. It only has about 14k miles on it and spends most days in my garage. Several times since I have owned it I have heard a clicking/ticking noise (reminiscent of tappets maybe??) coming from the engine when I get out of the car and leave it idling. I cannot hear it inside the car. And I am not sure if I have heard it every time I do this routine. I asked my dealer about it about 2 or 3 years ago and I can't remember exactly what they told me but something along the lines of "standard noise - no problem". I noticed the noise again yesterday and thought I would post here to see if anyone could explain it to me.

Thanks,


Jack

 

If you can't hear it in the car you're most likely not hearing a death rattle. If you start the car and walk in front of the bonnet, you're hearing the fuel injectors (as the N14 engine is direct injection)

No worries as long as it's not a true rattle or noisy while running through the gears!

 

Thanks - good to know.

Don't wanna know about death rattle!!

>>

 

Oh where to begin? This forum is stuffed to the gills with threads and posts about the strange noises these engines emit. Some are deemed normal, some odd, some dangerous, and some even earned the moniker of "death rattle."

Always amuses me that so many people can "accurately" diagnose the sound someone else;s engine is making through the internet, in a forum, without ever actually hearing the noise or the even the engine.

And what amuses me even more is that they are so often correct!

Best answer I can offer is let the dealer listen to it and advise you. Second best answer is to either spend an hour or so and go through the various threads in this forum and read the ones that talk about engine noise, or use the search feature with terms like "engine sound" and the like.

Good luck!

 

Not neccessarily a good idea. they have told many people with the Timing Chain problems that the noise is "Normal and should NOT be worried about it" The dealers are SO WRONG on this that I would not trust them to diagnose my car properly.

 

My engine is "clicky" as well. However, it doesn't sound like the death rattle I hear on YouTube, so I'm assuming I'm okay. Going to the dealer to try to figure out a stalling issue (perhaps HPFP), and I'll see what they say about the noise as well.

 

I suspect that you are hearing the same thing that I am hearing. I have concluded that it is associated with the dual mass flywheel and/or driven disk. Here was my thought process. First, I was concerned that it might be the water pump end of the supercharger (if yours is a base model this obviously doesn't apply to you) losing its lubricating oil and chewing up the gears. Or, perhaps tappet noise as DRobinson suggests above. However, I noticed that if I leave the car in neutral and depress the clutch the sound goes away; re-engage the clutch and the sound returns. To my way of thinking the only source for the sound under those circumstances must be with the clutch/driven disk/flywheel combo, perhaps including the throw-out bearing. But as my noise has been there for years and has never gotten worse I'm not worried about. Thoughts?

 

JAB - just to clarify:

If the car is in neutral, with the clutch depressed, minimal sound. Neutral with the clutch un-depressed, I get the sound. Is that how it is for you?

 

Well, first of all this is in the R56 section, so the issues specific to a 2002 MCS might not be addressed well here.

Second, think of what is moving with the clutch pedal released that stops moving when the pedal is pressed. In the early-1990s world, a clicking sound in those circumstances indicates a bad transmission input shaft bearing (ISB). I am not that familiar with the transmissions in the MINI, but I suspect something similar would be going on in this case as well.

Even with the transmission in neutral, the pressure plate and flywheel are still gripping the clutch disk, making it spin. This spins the transmission input shaft. If neutral is selected, the layshaft does not spin with the input shaft, but the input shaft still spins. When the clutch is pressed in, the pressure plate lets go of the clutch disk. The input shaft and clutch can then slow down and stop moving.

I hope I'm wrong, because an ISB would at a minimum require removal of the transmission, and could involve an extensive teardown of the transmission itself.

 

That sounds like the thrust bearing on the clutch - probably nothing to worry about, my previous car did it for years and never got any worse.

 

ORazor - you are correct.