Guys, first time poster long time lurker.

I have a 08 Cooper S and I think I'm hearing some very very light knocking (or so I think) coming from the engine.

I have always put 93 octane all of my life, and the car only has 37K miles.

I've heard couple suggestions for tools, but none have specifically mentioned knocking, even though they do mention timing and load (the ScanGauge II does)

Is this scanner good enough to troubleshoot if this noise is knocking?

What do you guys think?

TIA!

 

A nocking noise and engine nock are totally different.

 

I thought they were the same. Should I start with a scanner? Or should I take it to a mechanic to let him figure it out?

 

Engine nock is the premature ignition of the A/F mixture, it is extremely bad! If you have a CEL then a scanner might help if not a mechanic could be the best bet.

 

Do you have a CEL? If not scanning won't usually help. Do you know if the time chain recall was peformed?

 

Nope no CEL light at all.

Should I contact my dealer and see if I qualify for the timing belt recall.

I never got anything on the mail about this.

I remember like couple months ago I had some misfiring in some cylinders, but they went away after I had a friend of mine reset it.

He told me that if the codes came back he would take a look at it. I have not gotten any more CEL's since that day.

 

If you have a check engine light on then yes a scanner (buying one, independent shop or dealership) is not a bad idea otherwise I would start by checking your oil level.

 

I just replaced the oil, about 2 months ago. I put 4.5 if I'm not mistaken of Mobil 1 or Castrol Fully Synthetic oil whatever weight said on the manual.

I have no oil leaks, as where I park it everyday is clean.

I will look into the oil level tomorrow tho.

 

You need to check the oil on a regular basis, as lots of MINI's love oil. Also call the dealer give them your VIN and see what recalls were done.

 

Got it, I will do this tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

You can monitor knock via a cobb accessport. particular scanning devices need the correct PID's in order to monitor specific things in the DME. A basic scantool will not allow you to monitor intuitive parameters like knock correction, ignition advance multiplier etc... luckily though, the accessport is available for your car..so if you really wanted to you could use that to log specific parameters in your car. since the N14 engine's are loud in operation to begin with, I'd find it hard to actually hear detonation, in this case logging the DME's knock sensor would be a better idea, or purchase "det cans" which are cheaper than an AP.

 

R56es don't have timing belts, they have timing chains.

There is no recall for the chain. There is a service program, and parts that the dealer is supposed to install under specific circumstances (e.g., if the chain stretches enough they are supposed to replace it) but no recall.

 

Here is the SB in regards to the timing chain tensioner that you might have some luck getting covered. http://www.motoringfile.com/2009/05/...d-start-issue/