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2006 MCS. I rebuilt the sub frame, all new bushings, CV, sway links, wheel bearings. New disks and pads too. About 6mo ago very little driving since.
Now when coming to a stop there is what can be best described as a “clunk” sound. It happens if I break hard. Only happens once until I accelerate and stop again. I can also predictably make it happen by locking steering edging forward in 1st and then again in reverse.
happens regardless of in gear (neutral), clutch depressed or not.
mechanic has had a look and said he touched every bolt under there (as have I). And nothing was found. Said the car is safe to drive.
she has 140kms never had suspension done.
I don’t think it’s the steering knuckles themselves. And I’m not feeling it at the top strut bearings (had a friend rock it forwards and back as above).
it sometimes happens driving if I go over a very rough spot. But cannot be recreated by rocking the car while parked. As said sway bar links are new. mechanic confirmed that.
his head was done in from it. Said he can recreate it himself but nothing showing up on the ramps.
suspect is one of those dynamic things. Once unloaded it’s not easy to recreate.
anyone have any thoughts/exp/direction as to how to locate this?
she’s an older car would love to get more out of her. But don’t want to throw good money after bad.
Check your retaining bolts for the front struts (in the steering knuckle) and your upper strut nuts, It's possible that one has backed out during all of the work.
Check your retaining bolts for the front struts (in the steering knuckle) and your upper strut nuts, It's possible that one has backed out during all of the work.
hmm good shout. Worth a punt these were not rechecked (by me - maybe mechanic did). But deffo worth a look.
Keep the ideas coming I’ll be checking any over the weekend.
From experience - had a shop replace the control arms. The inner ball joint on right side was LOOSE. Found it only when I lifted the right side up to do pads. I also tried to pull when the car was loaded, and nothing. Get a good alignment shop to look. I have powerflex bushings ( done in 2011 ). All weird noises gone after the ball joints were tightened.
From experience - had a shop replace the control arms. The inner ball joint on right side was LOOSE. Found it only when I lifted the right side up to do pads. I also tried to pull when the car was loaded, and nothing. Get a good alignment shop to look. I have powerflex bushings ( done in 2011 ). All weird noises gone after the ball joints were tightened.
yeah after I did the work on the sub frame. Replaced al bushings with poly. Then had alignment done. And as said since checked all torque on them again as well as recent mechanic who spent over 2hrs trying to diagnose it (not a mini expert) and the said he rechecked all those joints etc. so this is one area I’m confident it’s not. So while I won’t rule it out it’s what I’ve already checked and hence scratching for other ideas.
Check the end links. Mine clunked after a rebuild (in the back end) They were tight but not tightened enough and just had the slighted amount of play when I wobbled the car. When stopping a 3k pound car it's a little more force and they are likely a little loose. Once tightened up, the clunk went away.
What brand CV / Axle joints did you use? - any play in CV might make noise, also you comment about turning.
this was on the original list of culprits too. I’ve had bad CVs before. It’s only one pop, it doesn’t happen on continuous rotation. No play observed wrt splines either.
turning is the only way I can replicate the sound at low speed. But not continuous just one single clunk as I move forward and a single one again when I move back. On smooth level ground.
myself and mechanic have checked this over.
It seams more suspension related. But hey I’ll be jacking her up and it’s worth another look.
Check the end links. Mine clunked after a rebuild (in the back end) They were tight but not tightened enough and just had the slighted amount of play when I wobbled the car. When stopping a 3k pound car it's a little more force and they are likely a little loose. Once tightened up, the clunk went away.
ah reminded me.
1) I replaced the end links just in case they were cheap ones. There was a little play regardless. So they are new. Sound persisted.
2) The mechanic then disconnected them completely from the sway bar and drove around and sound was still there. same symptoms under breaking and rocking back and forth slowly.
but for sure I thought this was the original problem.
Maybe have mechanic put car on 4 post lift. Take it up a little and have someone physically rock and bounce the car around while someone is underneath inspecting.
Sounds to me like the engine mounts. The torque of the engine rocking it loose and clunking back down. Have you replaced any of them, especially the right side which is known to fail early and often? Or the dogbone underneath?
Kinda out there -
My neighbor complained of a similar noise under similar conditions as the OP. It turns out she recently had the front brakes done by her friend's dad.
Dad had forgotten to torque down one of the brake caliper brackets.
The car stopped fine but made a horrible sounding clunk once in a while.
Sounds to me like the engine mounts. The torque of the engine rocking it loose and clunking back down. Have you replaced any of them, especially the right side which is known to fail early and often? Or the dogbone underneath?
I’ve replaced the lower one when doing the sub frame. Have not replaced the others. It would be a long shot. I can create it in neutral and with clutch depressed. As slow or fast speeds when stopping. Or that initial roll forward a couple feet with our brakes or any change in rpm. Mechanic said they checked them all too.
Maybe have mechanic put car on 4 post lift. Take it up a little and have someone physically rock and bounce the car around while someone is underneath inspecting.
yeah so I usually do all the work myself. And threw in the towel to get the professional help $400 later no result other than confirmation that she’s safe to drive. Not saying hes a bad dude but I can’t afford to pay for no results.
Kinda out there -
My neighbor complained of a similar noise under similar conditions as the OP. It turns out she recently had the front brakes done by her friend's dad.
Dad had forgotten to torque down one of the brake caliper brackets.
The car stopped fine but made a horrible sounding clunk once in a while.
checked those. All tight. And can create it without breaks. Hard turn rocking her a few feet forward “clunk”, rolling back few feet “clunk” my drive is smooth and has a slight slope.
checked the right side knuckle bolts, forgot the left so will do that tomorrow. Edit both sides checked now - all tight.
Replaced both sides strut mounts and bearings. What a job with the spring compressors. Found a nice YouTube on how to do them without full strut removal.
anyways no luck. Noise persists.
On the plus side the idler pulley was shot, was easy to get at with the liner off. can actually hear the supercharger unimpeded again so that’s nice.
So I’m one out of two.
Last edited by Mini Putt; Jun 2, 2024 at 02:34 PM.
Man these persistent, intermittent clunks make you wanna gouge your eyes out with a fork....or they do for me. Mine had such a clunk for YEARS. I posted here about it. I crawled around under there a number of times. Never felt anything loose. I had replaced a lot of front end parts over the years cuz they wore out in one way or another. Mine was different than your though, not under hard braking but rather over large bumps, like potholes. Lots of advice for strut mounts and sway bar hardware, for good reason, but no play in these.
Until...one day, I grabbed the sway bar just right and wiggled up and down and, sho nuff, one of the D bushings had a little play. I can't fathom how I missed this all those times, except the play wasn't that much, and the D bushings are really buried.
Did I mention the D bushings are really buried? What a PITA to replace. But that solved the problem, no more clunk.
I would be surprised if this is your problem. The sway bar works on lean angles or single-sided bumps like potholes. Yours happens on hard braking, which dives the front evenly, side to side. But it's easy to check.
Man these persistent, intermittent clunks make you wanna gouge your eyes out with a fork....or they do for me. Mine had such a clunk for YEARS. I posted here about it. I crawled around under there a number of times. Never felt anything loose. I had replaced a lot of front end parts over the years cuz they wore out in one way or another. Mine was different than your though, not under hard braking but rather over large bumps, like potholes. Lots of advice for strut mounts and sway bar hardware, for good reason, but no play in these.
Until...one day, I grabbed the sway bar just right and wiggled up and down and, sho nuff, one of the D bushings had a little play. I can't fathom how I missed this all those times, except the play wasn't that much, and the D bushings are really buried.
Did I mention the D bushings are really buried? What a PITA to replace. But that solved the problem, no more clunk.
I would be surprised if this is your problem. The sway bar works on lean angles or single-sided bumps like potholes. Yours happens on hard braking, which dives the front evenly, side to side. But it's easy to check.
Oh man i know. Hair pulling. I know they are buried. I replaced them with polybushes when I had the subframe out. I don’t think it can be done without a frame drop. I’d almost sell the car if I had to drop the frame again.
I think it might be the struts themselves. I do get the odd sound over a bump too. 140k, 17yrs old.
140k on original/old struts?!
I think I had replaced mine 2wice (OEM Dephi & Bilstein B4's) within 90k.
I'm currently riding on Bilstein B14 adjustable coilovers.
But yeah - If you haven't replaced your struts....It may be a good time to do so.
140k on original/old struts?!
I think I had replaced mine 2wice (OEM Dephi & Bilstein B4's) within 90k.
I'm currently riding on Bilstein B14 adjustable coilovers.
But yeah - If you haven't replaced your struts....It may be a good time to do so.
Just a thought.
yep. The OG’s I think. Hard to know I’m the 2nd owner but I bought it 2017 with only 70k on it. Think the OG owner used it as a summer weekend car. On that note I just had to replace the battery and it was the OG. Over 17 years crazy especially in Canadian climate.
It’s becoming my leading suspect. I was looking at the bilstein B4’s. I’m not going to be adjusting the height. I like a spirited drive but ain’t tracking her. However assuming I ride stock height would you notice any diff in your adjustables worth the price to upgrade? They also have the B6 heavy duties but more $$.
B4's were equivalent to OEM (Delphis), affordable and nice firm handling but cushy ride. Like factory.
For a bit more, some other Mini owners go with the B6. Heard they are great. I had a hard time sourcing them at a reasonable price during the pandemic...
I had also installed a pair of Koni Yellow FSD adjustable dampening struts (w/lowering springs) for about 8 months. They were also super nice and the adjustable rebound/dampening was also nice to be able to fine tune the firmness.
I like my Mini slightly lowered so I ultimately decided to spend the extra $$ ($1,200) on a set of 4) B14 coilovers. I absolutely love them. Then again I like a lowered look and a firm handling ride. I don't think they are the right struts for your preference.
I would definitely recommend either the B4 or the B6. I think you'll be amazed at the difference in comparison to your 140k mi struts... and hopefully resolve the obnoxious clunk.
Just for bragging rights... B14 adjustable coilovers (Ride really nice but pretty expensive for stock ride height)
