Mini Cooper R56 1.6L NA - Noise from the engine right side
 

Hello all,

We just bought a nice R56 NA 1.6L (N16 engine) 3-door hatchback and we really like it. (https://www.car.info/en-se/mini/hatch/one-10731168). We are from Sweden, but Swedish forum is a bit empty.

While I was digging for info, I liked this forum since the people around is helpful and interested.

So, here is the story:
Noise is heard from the engine, from front right side, under the engine mount. I'm a little worried about that. Do you know what it is? It's a metal whistling sound. Probably from a bad bearing or belt. It gets louder with the rpm and can be heard in the cabin.

I took it to a workshop and they said it is perfectly normal but I still suspect.

Please watch the video in the link:

I can record other videos if you want.

Thank you very much,

Ömur

Sounds perfectly healthy to me.

Hello! How are you, how is life?

Yes, it is highly likely the case as it seems. Though the sound is exactly like this:
I think, I will wait for it to get worse, evolve into knocking and then I will act on it.

The noise in the second video you linked to is made by the friction wheel's bearing. If that bad (or even worse), I would think about either replacing the friction wheel (available separately in Europe via a Peugeot/Citroen part number) or the entire friction wheel assembly. If the bearing seizes while in operation, it will stop driving the water pump and the engine will quickly overheat.

Note: the friction wheel itself cannot cause a knocking noise. Hence, the absence of a knocking noise is no indication that the friction wheel bearing is fine. You should go ahead and check yourself whether the friction wheel does indeed emit the noise you hear.

All right people, dealer accepted to change the friction wheel assembly and the belt at no cost. Friction wheel had a quite bit of play on it as well. By the way, these are 144000km old components. Here are the parts taken out:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...b55b12ace.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...565259d1f.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...fd435a1e9.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...775327c61.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...ee3301e52.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...76086890e.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...781581e0f.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...c60f2e61d.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...9627be003.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...28e70b640.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...885e4e780.jpeg

The condition of the belt is, considering its lifetime, not bad at all. Especially if the little piece missing in its second picture is the only one.

The friction wheel on the other hand looks damaged by the oil and grime that flowed over it. Make sure you get to the bottom (or rather, "top") of the oil leak. Besides the long term damage the oil does to the innards of the friction wheel assembly, there is also the danger that it causes the belt to become slippery (whether the outside, affecting the waterpump or the inside, affecting the air conditioner and alternator).

One thought comes to mind, "A picture's worth a thousand words!" I know the car is new to you, but shame on the previous owner for not cleaning/maintaining the moving parts! I found it a good habit to once a month check under the hood and under the car to see if there's fluid or stuff outta place (on the driveway, garage floor, or all over other parts!)

Enjoy your Mini - Congrats!

Rick

So did that solve your problem?

The one-point high-pitched sound is 9/10 gone. Now on the right side, engine-minding-its-own-business-noise is left. So yes, it is solved! Thank you for the follow friends :)