Two new issues with the MINI. Background on the car – 2004 R50, I am the original owner, new coil-over front and rear at the end of September. Anyway, about a week ago, there is a heavy metal clunk started coming from the front right corner of the car. Now with me doing the work changing over the suspension bits, I thought that something worked it’s way loose.

Car up on jack stands, front left tire off. Front left end link slightly loose.

Clunk remains.

The clunk comes when the suspension is moving, every time when that corner becomes unloaded. When going over a speed bump, no clunk. There is the clunk after the unload then load, so a clunk-clunk. So, I have checked everything that I can, nothing moves, even when on the jack stands. I am perplexed. Another interesting thing, when the car is in gear, the wheels can freely turn – nearly certain this isn’t supposed to happen even witht an open diff.

So, could it be a bushing gone bad? Control arm bushings, motor mount bushings, transmission mount bushings? Any ideas?

 

IMO it sounds like a swaybar bushing or control arm bushing.

 

Is the clunk when turn and starting off or is it at random times under suspension compression? When a cv joint goes bad it will give a single clunk under initial turning or when starting from a stop

 

I'm guessing balljoint, probably inner, but check them all for play.

 

Disconnect the swaybar endlinks and see if it still does it. If not than probably the swaybar bushings. Not an easy fix. I learned to live with it...