I am working on a 2011 Mini Countryman with the 1.6L non turbo. There was a very loud knocking sound coming from the upper end of the engine near the camshaft phasers. So far I have taken the oil pan off and verified that it was not a rod knock. I have also replaced the timing chain tensioner, but that did not solve the problem. The timing chain seemed pretty tight, and none of the guides looked like they were broken. I put on new camshaft phasers today, but the engine isn't completely assembled yet so it hasn't been started. Here is a link to my video of the sound: What is your opinion of the sound? I really hope that replacing the phasers solved the problem.

Thanks.

 

I had a friend who had something similar to this. I found out the serpentine belt had a missing chunk and was slapping like that. other also reported a missing chunk from the water pump pulley,

 

That is exactly what the problem ended up being with this car. Just the belt Too bad I didn't find that out until after replacing the camshaft phasers. Honestly, it was harder to get to the belt than it was to take off the valve cover and replace the cam phasers. I've never heard a belt sound like that, so it was kind of hard to track down. The shop that it was taken to first actually said the engine would need to be replaced.

 

I'm amazed by the number of posts I read here in which a dealer/shop suggests replacing the engine. I don't think that used to be the go to diagnosis -- am pretty sure no-one ever told my grandfather that his engine needed to be replaced.

 

In this day and age where everyone wants to be rich overnight while spending most of their time on social media and be lazy, this is the type of service you'd expect. The days of actual hard work and head scratching are almost over...I think we'll come to times where replacing the car is solution for flat tires!!!