I have an R52 Cooper S that I love, 2006 model. About 109K on it.

I'm noticing recently a squeak, sounds like a rubbery squeak, when I turn the steering wheel. Sounds like it is coming from the right side wheel or strut area. And pretty tough to diagnose with me behind the wheel, driving.- aaaand my wife doesn't know how to drive stick.

It literally squeaks as I'm turning the steering wheel, meaning, while the front wheels are turning, moving or not. I'd almost think it was "the tire on the ground" squeaking, but it's the same sound no matter what surface my tires are on, so it's not them.

Any thoughts on what could be squeaking, so I can check it out?

 

could be a number of reasons but without knowing where it is coming from its hard to diagnose, if it happens even when your not driving, just get your better half to turn the wheel and see if you can isolate the problem ie: front strut /steering column/ect
good luck
Russ

 

This may not be the issue, but I'd start with inspecting the strut mounts

 

The weather is turning here and this may need to be revisited in the spring when I get my car back out of storage - but I definitely feel like this has merit.
It's tough to tell for sure, but it does sound like it's on the passenger side, upper region. That could be an illusion, but it's feasible.

Two years ago I did install the Craven strut tower reinforcements - the caps that install on top of the strut tower mounts in the engine bay. I wouldn't think that would lead to any squeaking but possibly something loosened, or possibly I overtightened something and caused some rubber to be over-compressed somewhere. I'll have to see what's really tightened up by those three bolts.

 

They just hold the strut mount to the tower. It’s metal-to-metal contact.

 

Thanks, yeah that makes sense. Well the car does have about 108K on the odometer, so it definitely could be anything, just naturally worn out.

I usually have the philosophy of "Something broke? Cool, let's upgrade it while we're fixing it!" but I've been pretty happy with my stock suspension plus rear sway bar so I'll have to see what I do if it's the struts.

 

You might benefit from looking at Ireland engineering fixed camber plates, then. They are a different design than OEM and therefore don't suffer the same propensity to fail like the OEM strut mounts do.

 

Thanks, I'll check that out. I don't necessarily want to give this thing radical camber, but I wouldn't mind the adjustability for minor, functional handling benefits.

 

For what it's worth - I know exactly what your referring to as the squeak (creaking), noise while turning at low speeds.
It is indicative of worn top strut mount/bearings. You will be surprised at how squished/compressed they have become.
Trust me - change them out or upgrade to fixed camber. Regardless - worn top strut mounts are the squeak you are hearing.

 

I appreciate it and thanks.
I literally just put the car into storage for the winter at my nephew's extra garage space, but I've done suspension work on cars - I know removing and replacing the struts shouldn't be too terrible of a job. How bad is it to replace those strut bearings? I assume once the strut is out that shouldn't be too bad to replace?

 

It's actually a piece of cake once you pull the strut.
**That is; As long as you don't live in a rust region and wind up snapping the lower knuckle/pinch bolt. PB Blaster that lower pinch bolt beforehand is advisable**
You shouldn't require a spring compressor with these Mini springs (I never did), but if you have access to one - it might be good to have one on hand. Just in case.
Once you have the new top mount/bearing and the center 22mm strut nut threaded on; Feed the strut back up into the strut housing, secure the top Mount to the housing by loosely threading one or two nuts to hang it in place while you then line up the tab on the lower strut into the slot in the knuckle, feed and tighten down/torque the pinch bolt. After installation; lower the car back on the ground and torque the four top Mount bolts to: 25' lbs and the large 22mm center strut nut to 48' - 50' lbs.
Best of luck!

 

Thanks, I appreciate it.
I used to have a pair of spring compressors but man, it's been decades since I needed them.. I bet I gave them away.
Well the strut should come out as a unit, right? I can assess it then and if I need a compressor, there's shops super close that do that "free rental" thing.

Thanks for the tip on these.