Hey guys. So I rebuilt alot of the suspension on my girlfriends 2004 Mini Cooper S but I am still getting a clunk noise at low speeds. If I go over a speed bump I'll hear it but it's most common when taking a turn and hitting a bump in the road.

Here's what I have replaced already on the front-end
Struts, Strut Mounts (Bilstein B4)
Front Endlinks
Inner/Outer Ball Joints
CV Axles

What I haven't replaced
Tie Rods
Sway Bar Bushings
Front Control Arm Bushings (were Powerflex already and appeared they were replaced within last few years)

In my research I have read that mushrooming strut towers is a big problem with these cars and most articles I read about suspension clunks point to the strut mount. Could this sound possibly originate from the strut mount not sitting completely flush with the under side of the mushroomed strut tower? I have re-torqued all suspension bolts 3x now so I don't believe anything isn't properly torqued.

Another possibility is the wheel bearing since that is under load. The sound is not a typical wheel bearing noise though, where it increases/decreases in sync with the speed of the car. It is more of a clunk noise and does not sound "cyclical" in nature.

A 3rd possibility I've read about is a universal joint in the steering column. This sounds like it's worth checking out because I hear the sound when turning the wheels and going over bumps. On the highway the suspension feels great, but going in parking garages around tight turns is where the suspension feels crappy.

Lastly, I'm really hoping it isn't the sway bar bushings because dropping the subframe does not look like fun.

Do you have any suggestions/advice as to what I should check or what the cause could likely be? I'm trying to gameplan what I should do. Thanks

 

Could be sway bar bushings have a look at them for condition and play in the bar, helps with a lift and inspection mirror.
Tie rods will show play if wheels up, grab wheel at 9 and 3 and rock back and fourth.

Mushrooming towers can be seen if the three bolts don't point perpendicular, but away from each other. May clunk if bent or cracked bushing.

 

Thanks for the info. I’m thinking I’m going to detach the endlinks from the sway bar and take it for a test drive to see if the sound goes away. That should isolate if the sound is in fact coming from the sway bar bushings

 

How did you replace the inner ball joints without dropping the subframe?

 

Removed the CV axles (since I was replacing them anyway) to give me clearance on removing those 2 top bolts of the inner ball joint.
Then, with the outer ball joint popped free, the Powerflex FCAB bushings allowed the whole control arm to easily slide out and I replaced the inner ball joints with the whole control arm off the car

 

Damn! I wish I had known that. I had both axles out last year but didn't think to check whether that would facilitate removal of the inner ball joints without dropping the subframe.

 

If it's not the end links try spraying some Lithium grease at the top and bottom of your front springs. When turning they move ever so slightly and might be causing your clunking sound. Megan Racing used to have some info on it on their website but a quick look I can't find it now. I ran into this after installing their coilovers. Had to spray them about once a year and all was good...

 

SOLVED:

Just in case anybody finds this thread via Google, the noise was coming from an endlink that had a very tiny amount of play. I re-tightened and re-torqued that endlink and problem was solved. With the wheels off and the car on jackstands, you can literally grab the sway bar and endlinks with your hands and tug on them and it should be obvious if there's any play. And just FYI, if you need sway bar bushings, you have to drop the subframe (I'm not sure if you can lower it just enough to get in there)