I installed a brand new OEM engine (long block) purchased from the dealer, in my 2008 Cooper S with 153k miles after two valves broke. See sig for link to Instruction on how to swap an N14 engine.

Side note: The dealer gave me 0-30W Mini-brand motor oil, which they told me was what the N14 engine was supposed to use from the very beginning, not 5W-30.

Turbo is stock, High pressure fuel pump has 50k miles on it, and is an OEM unit. Only non-oem parts are the belt tensioner and the friction wheel (Dayco). Vacuum pump, valve cover, water pump all pre-installed on new motor.

The engine has maybe 1200 miles on it now. There are three noises it makes which my old motor never made which have me concerned. 1. Valve train racket at start up. 2. Very loud ticking noise. 3. Something that sounds like rod knock.

What do you guys think?

1. Here is the valve train clatter at start up on 40-50F day:


2. Loud and fast ticking, almost like an electrical sparking noise on 40-50F day.


3. Listen for the slower and lower frequency knocking noise on 40-50F day. You can actually hear the other two noises in this video as well. This noise always starts last, after its been running a few minutes.

 

Those loud knocking noises certainly aren't normal. Besides suspecting that the new engine is bad, those loud knocks in the first video reminds me of an instance where a peripheral device wasn't screwed in tightly. I had this noise on an E90 3-series, later to find it was a power steering pump bracket bolt came lose, it was slight chattering noises at first, after a while it became some loud knocks at low RPM. I've gone through the whole drive pulley system rabbit chase, alternator, AC, tensioner, etc, later to find it was the power steering pump bracket having loose bolts. I know it is not the same vehicle, but I suggest you double check all motor/tranny mount bolting, side bracket bolting on the timing chain side, AC and Alternator bolts, etc. Those loud knocks in my opinion sounds external of the engine.

Then I also hear something ricketing on the valve cover from within, buy a new valve cover gasket (cheap part and easy job) and open it up to make sure the top chain guide is tightly secure, check your timing chain tensioner torque specs. Lastly, I've never done this before, but I hear Liquid Moly may help smoothing out some rough noises and hydrate most internal parts it comes in contact with. Also be aware to check for any possible vacuum leaks, a tiny leak will make the motor idle slightly roughly.

 

Thanks for responding Yupetc. I'm real particular about torquing everything to spec, so I doubt that's the issue but I'm happy to double check. Actually, who am I kidding, I'm not at all happy to do it, but I will.

This engine has a 2 year warranty so there is no way in hell I'm touching anything under the valve cover. I just need to know if its worth pestering the dealer about it. Hence my videos. My old engine didnt make these crazy noises and this SOB is brand new. Sheesh.

 

Both our 2009 fJCW and 2010 fJCW sounded like the last video. Not sure about the noise in the first two videos.

 

I had the wrong video in #3.

I put up the correct one. Listen for the slower, deeper sounding noise.

 

You're kidding? This engine sounds horrific as far as I'm concerned. The valve train clatter is atrocious.

 

the first sound is vacuum pump. check vacuum pump delete second vid is the hydrolic lifters ticking
third vid is tricky because if the engine has a misfire or weak compression, it might make that noise.

for *** and giggles, did you check the timing? how are the spark plugs? any codes?

 

Sheesh the vacuum pump is new.

Should the lifters be so loud? Could it be the 0-30w oil?

Check timing?????????????????????????????? Are you mad? Its brand new. The plugs were installed at the factory. The 4 coils and injectors are brand new too. HPFP has 50k miles on it. The only old part is the low pressure fuel pump in the tank.

Ya it threw a slew of codes the first few days: faulty knock sensor, downstream O2 sensor (both are new), throttle body. I cleared them and they haven't returned. Car runs fine. MPG is 30 mixed which isnt as high as I would anticipate for a new motor.

 

lol not mad but with crate type manufacturing, who knows what could happen. the oil weight may have something to do with it. if you change the weight, they might void your warranty. you may call them and check.

 

Well the oil is only at 1500 miles so I have no intention of changing it yet. I will have it analyzed by Blackstone at 5000-8000 miles.

 

Vid 2 & 3 sounds like lifters and injectors. My injectors also make the loud tick tick tick noise and if I have my ear close enough to the valve cover, I can hear the lifters.

Is it possible that your parts need to 'wear-in' and 'settle' before the majority of noises go away?

5w 30 Synthetic on my N12

 

Injectors....that makes sense given the frequency Amazing how loud they are.

Well, I have a 2 year warranty on the motor so Im gonna wait before I bring it in for a $135 diagnostic. Could you imagine if a new motor sounded like that on a new Mini? Id be worried. But maybe it needs to "break-in". Im gonna pretend like that's it.

I was told by the parts guy today via email, "0W-30 is the correct oil, MINI change the recommendation when they switched to Shell." Well now I know the 0w-30 is Shell rebranded.

Why they changed the recommendation, I dont know.

 

I remember reading in the owner's manual that 5w30 is absolute max recommended.

As for the noises, I've come to discover that if you've spent a prolonged period of time under the hood, you're more susceptible to hearing EVERYTHING and anything.

After removing myself from that position and re-acclimating myself behind the wheel, I've noticed that once the hood is down and secure, everything else goes away. The only noises I hear now is the exhaust and engine rev.

 

Oh for sure, I have a large sticker on the intake air cleaner housing that says Castrol 5w-30 recommended or something to that effect. But they gave me 6 quarts of 0w-03 Mini oil with the new engine and Mini Coolant. Im gonna try 5w-30 next and its not gonna be Shell. Its gonna be Mobil1, as usual.

 

What does "5W30 absolute max" mean? Sorry but i can't make sense of this statement.
To the OP, did you install the engine or the dealer?

 

He probably means, he wouldn't go more viscous than 5w-30.

Yes I installed the engine.

 

I showed the video of the loud ticking at idle to a Mini mechanic and he says he thinks its the tank vent valve making that noise to create vacuum. He says it’s louder than normal but not an issue to mess with yet.

As for the possible "rod knock" noise, he says:

o Doesn’t sound great, for sure, something probably going on there.

o First he recommends, removing the belt and searching for the noise again to rule out any pulley related issues

o The only other thing that he could thing of that may cause that type of noise is the flywheel mounting.

-I followed appropriate flywheel mounting procedure as per the Bentley manual with a quality CDI torque wrench and loctite blue on the threads.

As for the valve train clatter at start up, he said the noise doesn’t translate very well in the video but again, he said I should remove the belt to rule out accessory/pulley issues. All the accessories are brand new, I used dowels in the alternator bracket as needed. Maybe its the Dayco friction wheel or the aftermarket belt tensioner. Weird man, weird.

 

Take off the right side wheel liner.
Look at the crankshaft pulley / harmonic dampener..
Make sure all three bolts are tight.
Don't ask me why I suspect this,

 

Good thought! I totally forgot about that. I did use blue loctite, but I will double check!

I wont ask...but I want to!

You think this could be making the "rod knock" noise?

 

The pulley does make a strange thump thump at idle, if it is loose.
Or so i have been told...If loctite did not get on all the bolts.....or so i was told....

 

The thump only happens when the engine is warm. I find that very curious.

I checked them and all were at 21 ft lbs. The harmonic balancer has 153k miles on it. But it looks ok visually. Could it be failing?

I also checked the 3 friction wheel bolts (those only get torqued to like 70 INCH pounds or something minimal), the alternator (only one Torx bolt was accessible), the AC compressor (only 2 bolts accessible), the water pump pulley and they all seemed nice and tight. But they are all but impossible to get a torque wrench on with the engine in.

 

Sounds like the drive accessories are in good order.

Does a change in idle speed cause the sound to disappear? In other words, have someone bring the speed up from idle to just above idle.
I am thinking it sounds like something external rattling, and will go away when engine smoothes out.
If it is internal, bumping the idle speed up, while smoothes the engine, would still have noise inside.

 

Completely irrelevant; but I've come to accept that these fun little cars have a life of it's own and can be quite temperamental from time to time.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, there is no such thing as "perfect" especially when it comes to the mini. It will eventually settle into a rhythm of it's own and as long as you can hear her and keep up with her, you'll be fine.

Otherwise, you'll be chasing ghosts for quite some time and lose the enjoyment that is the driving experience and the smiles per gallon these fun mini's provide.

 

Everything is new. All peripherals are brand new, with exception of the harmonic balancer because it was $300 and its so easy to take off, I didn't wanna waste the money since I knew I could swap it easily at anytime.

That's a very logical question. I'm gonna do that next. Ill have someone raise RPM and I'll listen for it. (duh!)

I'm freaking out thinking about the flywheel being the cause. Having to R&R the flywheel would be a nightmare and hard to swallow considering I just paid for a transmission to be put in AFTER I put in the engine myself. Yes you read that correctly. Trans leaked endlessly right after I put in the new engine. I dont remember hearing that noise when the old trans was in, but it wasnt in for more than a couple dozen miles before I knew I needed a replacement trans.

 

I see your point but some of these noises don't make sense to me or the mechanic at Mini. And since I have a warranty I want to make sure I get any issues resolved before the 2 years are over. Additionally I dont wanna destroy a new motor if one of these issues is serious enough to do just that, if I can intervene. I just put $6000 into this car between the new motor, new peripherals and transmission.

But ya maybe I'm being unnecessarily sensitive.