Hi all,
I've been enjoying my first few months of Mini ownership, no major faults yet. It was making an annoying whine sound so I had the friction pulley and water pump pulley replaced. One of the lug holes in the hub stripped so my mechanic put a stud in. Seems fine for now. I changed the valve cover gasket myself because it seemed to have some oil leaking into the spark plug wells. Hopefully that's all it was. I also changed the spark plugs and ignition coils.

It's been doing this sort of jerky acceleration thing when I'm in creeping traffic, only really in 2nd gear. Sometimes when I go to accelerate gently it lurches. I'm hoping it was the plugs or coils. Anyone have any ideas?

The other thing is the steering will occasionally make a sort of crunching sound when I am turning the wheels while almost stationary, like when I'm manoeuvring into a parking spot. My mechanic says the suspension is all tight, nothing of concern. Any more wise thoughts?

Thank you in advance!

 

Hi RoxhamCottage,
I've experienced the same crunching sound in the situations you describe on my '10 Clubby S. I've had it looked over by a BMW certified tech and an alignment shop and they have found nothing. I'd like to hear if you get this issue resolved.
Good luck.