Hello!

My 2015 paceman all4S has had an on and off whining sound going on for about a year now. When I brought it up to my dealership, they informed me that it’s my valve cover. They told me that as long as it’s still running okay it’s not a necessity- hence why it’s been about a year.

I now have a CEL for the engine rubbing too lean. Car is completely stock with about 97.5k on it.

The dealership, mini of dutches county in NY, quoted me about $1,000 to do the replacement. I’m sure I can get it done cheaper elsewhere but I don’t know where.

anyone in the Hudson valley ny area know of a good mini shop for this? Would also like some type of warranty with it too if possible..

thanks!

 

hello,
With some simple tools you could do it yourself. Here is the DIY. And of course we have free shipping and a lower price.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...placement.html

 

I had this annoying whining sound when my 2013 Countryman was cold as well. I bought a replacement membrane instead of buying a whole new valve cover. It worked great. No more noise and much better fuel economy.

https://vanos-bmw.com/product/pcv-n16-pcv-n18

No affiliation, just a satisfied customer. It was pretty easy to install too.

 

If the valve cover has a hairline crack you have to replace the whole cover, those are good for the membranes. We should have those similar soon also, ours includes the black plastic cap top so it snaps in secure.

 

Less than $30 with shipping versus a few hundred for a replacement valve cover and a valve cover seal. Fifteen minutes versus 90 minutes for the repair. I wouldn't replace the valve cover unless there is oil leaking through it.

My mechanic told me it was the water pump pulley making the noise. In fairness, the rubber had mainly come off the pulley.

After I had the water pump, the pulley, the belt, the water pipe, the thermostat, the thermostat housing and the starter (the housing leaked onto the starter which made the repair absolutely necessary), the noise was still there. I also had the timing chain tensioner and timing chain top ramp guide replaced as well as a preventative measure. The timing chain tensioner was completely shot (I had a bad oil change at a different shop and the oil pressure light had gone on earlier in the car's life). My Countryman is older and likely has more mileage (160K kms which is 100K miles) than your Paceman. A good shop is worth their weight in gold. All of the above repairs for $3,000 inclusive of parts (except for the rubber membrane and the timing chain parts which I ordered myself).

 

Yep, you do things yourself and save $$$. I do all the work myself. A good shop helps as most places I heard that work on MINIs like to charge them BMW+ rates.