Hi guys,

I recently bought a 2011 Cooper S and I'm doing some investigation to see what might be wrong with the car. I'm now listening to the engine noise but I never had any other R56 Cooper S to have a reference. I only had a R56 Cooper D.
I made a video with my iPhone and tried to go around the engine to capture different points.


What do you guys think? I see a lot of people in YouTube with timing chain noises and I'm wondering if that's the case here. Around 25 seconds there is a clicking noise.

Thanks for the help!

 

I always find it pretty tough to diagnose noises from a recording unless it's something pretty serious. If you're concerned a noise, your best bet is to get a mechanic's stethoscope (they're very cheap) and try to isolate exactly where it's coming from.

There's a ticking noise that seems to get louder as you move to the left side of the car (your right in the video). Could be coming from the vacuum pump that's located over there. Can't tell you if that's indicative of a problem or not.

 

Without any claim of expertise: I hear nothing unusual in the video. IMHO, the ticking is not abnormally loud.

Whether or not the phone captured all noises is another question...