Hi everyone!! I am new to these forums, as I just picked up my '03 MINI in mid-August.

What I need advice on:

I just brought the car in to have the alignment checked and the slipping clutch. The alignment issue was very minor and I didn't notice it when I purchased the car. For the alignment issue apparently the car had hit a pothole or something, so a spring strut, wheel hub and pivot bearing was replaced. The clutch was 1mm to the rivets and that was replaced.

When I picked up the car after about 10 -15 mins of driving I began to hear a *whirring* noise in the drivers side of the engine compartment. I also felt the alignment was still off -- this time to the left not right. I took the car back to the dealership and they fixed the alignment but were not able to recreate the noise. I picked the car up again and took a service tech with me and I was unable to create the noise, so I dropped the tech back off and assumed the car had been fixed. Again, after 10 - 15 mins of driving I heard the noise again and again I feel the alignment was off. I immediatly took it back to the dealership and took a service tech with me right then. He was able to hear the noise same as me. It is now sitting at the dealership waiting for this issue to be fixed.

My question is are these issues (the worn-out clutch after 30k miles and the strut, hub and pivot bearing) indications of the car having been driven too hard or just wear and tear?? And what is the *whirring* noise?? Is there any inspection I can have the dealership do that will find problems from the way the previous owner drove the car?


Thanks for any help or advice!!

 

Firstly, the Mini comes with a 4 year, 50,000 mile bumper to bumper fully transferrable warranty. I have been told that this covers everything from windshield wipers to clutch, so don't be reluctant to get all this stuff fixed for free, or at least argue in that direction.


Secondly, the car makes some strange noises that are "normal." The supercharger makes whirring and whining noises at times. When I turn my Xenon headlights on they make whirring noises - I guess the self levelers and washers have to "arm" themselves or something. Electric fans cut in and out based on coolant temperature. Fans for things like the power steering pump cut on and off without your control. If these noises are just temporary and you can not reproduce them, I would not be too concerned.

 

I agree with Joe, except that you mentioned that the Tech took you back in when he/she heard the whirring noise. Did you bring the car to a MINI dealership? If so, then all service advisors and technicians who work on MINIs should recognize all the whirring noises they make. If it wasn't a MINI dealership, they may not recognize the noises. FWIW, the power steering 'whir' is quite loud and nothing to worry about. It's one of my favorite MINI noises, too!

 

The MINI dealership is the one servicing the car. The power steering *whir* is one I am familiar with. This new noise started only after I picked the car up. From where its coming from and when the noise is present (only in gear and louder when letting off the accelrator) I feel it has something to do with the clutch being replaced. The tech mentioned something about *the vacuum*??

My main worry is what else is going to go wrong because of the way the previous owners driving style. Thought there is little evidence other then what is being fixed this week. The breaks are actually quite good considering the clutch needed to be replaced. I am assuming the previous owner just downshifted, never breaked. The body and interior are imaculate.

Then again I may be just having major withdrawls from not driving the car for a week.

 

chances are if the body and interior are immaculate, then the previous owner took good care of the engine/mechanics too. Did you buy him from the previous owner or from the dealer? If the dealer, then you've got an extra bit of protection as they should have thoroughly gone over the car before selling it. If from the previous owner, and he/she loved the MINI enough to take good care of it, you should get in touch with them to get all of it's service records, and any other information they can give you. That will give you a better idea of how it was treated previously. Also, the dealer gets lots of info from the chip in your key; ask them to see the printout of all that info and maybe get a copy to keep for yourself. That will also give you a little more to work with...

 

Sorry to tell you this however, the clutch is not covered under the maintenance warranty .......you are looking at a bill of $1500-$2000 .
The clutch is covered only from defects and not "normal wear" It seems
like the person you bought the car from was hard on the car or simply did not know how to drive a manual properly.

Good Luck!

 

Actually the clutch was under warranty, they considered it normal maintenance and replaced it free of charge, they said it would have been about $400. The spring strut, wheel hub, pivot bearing wasn't under warranty. Even though they had been damaged by the previous owner I didn't notice the alignment being off and waited over a month to bring it in.

I was talking to a friend of mine and he suggested the *whirring* noise could come from over torquing the wheel bearing. We'll see what the dealership says.

I will see what previous maintenance info I can get from the dealership. The previous owner bought the car from this dealership and had traded it in for another MINI at this dealership.

Thanks for the suggestions -- keep 'em comin'!

 

Car might have been auto-x'ed or dragraced often. The previous owner
could have used different brake pads or bought used pads and replaced
them before selling it...(or the dealer may have replaced the pads
prior to the sale).

I don't think from normal wear the clutch would wear out in only 30k
miles. It had to have been driven pretty aggressively....considing
the slipping clutch and worn strut, I think auto-x.

Downshifting does not wear out the clutch any more than shifting up
if you do it properly. I downshift/heel&toe all the time on my MT cars
and never had to replace the clutch once while I had the car. :smile:

 

OK, I talked at length with my service guy today, I grilled him about what could cause the strut to bend and how the clutch could go at 30k. He said there was a *used car* inspection done before the car was sold. He said the clutch and the suspension system were inspected and found to be OK July 30th.

I have had the car since 8/17/2003 and put 3,000 miles on it.

I do not remember hitting a pothole or anything that would be responsible for the bent strut. Could I be that hard on the clutch to have it at 1mm to the rivets in 3k miles?? I do not downshift, I am actually more worried about the breaks going because of the way I drive.

I am I crazy or is the dealership giving me a line??

BTW, they still haven't gotten a service tech to replicate the noise. Luckily it was the service advisor who was the one who actually heard the noise and will bring a service tech with him in the morning with the car fully warmed up.

I just want my car fixed and back.

 

The whirring noise might be coming from the clutch release bearing. I sincerely hope that your dealer manages to ID and fix the noise before you get the car back. If not, and it makes that whir again, try depressing the clutch pedal briefly and slightly to see if it goes away. If the noise goes away with the pedal depressed, and returns with the pedal released, that's pretty good evidence that the release bearing is the source of the noise.

A faulty release bearing could also contribute to premature clutch wear, if it was not fully disengaging from the diaphragm spring of the pressure plate assembly. Any residual pressure on the bearing face could potentially have the same effect as the driver "riding the clutch" (using the pedal as a foot rest) does. I do not know if this condition is possible with the OEM release bearings used on the MINI, but it certainly is possible with the adjustable ones found on some racing transmissions. I have also seen it on older, cable-actuated clutches that were improperly adjusted.