Oil starvation is the cause and it is a design flaw.
The engine is not getting lubricated fast enough in certain conditions.

 

I have been doing the same, apart from the fact that my car has never been parked at an angle when the noise has occurred, so I have just been recording the date, time, temperature, whether or not the noise occurs, how severe, and for how long.

Same here, though being very cold doesn't guarantee it will rattle, it is definitely more likely to occur the colder the conditions. It has never happened (yet) when the temperature has been above 3.5 Celsius.

 

We will need a new engine prematurely due to high wear. The noise is happening at the cost of friction, you know..

 

Definatly sounds like oil starvation to the upper engine regions.

Another thing which I have NOT seen in this thread is "other things" that get lubricated at the top of the engine: The TURBO!!!! I dono if its being fed by the same upper cyl system but if its not getting oil it will fail quickly, especially if people are driving while the engine it clacking.

Maybe oil pressure is bypassing the cylinder head through the turbo??

Does anyone remember of a product called "Marvel Mystery Oil"??? Its a special top cyl lubricant which is readily available and was 'advertised' to be effective for overhead cam'ed engines. I used it in many of my cars for years without any pro/con effects but since stopped after engines went to Synthetic formulas. Perhaps we should add a few ounces to the engine oil?


Also, I just read this entire thread, ALL 15 PAGES, and I have not seen a confirmation on a model your 2008 Mini having these issues. Only 2007 S models (and I guess the 207c peugots).

 

You're right...no reports on 2008 models having this issue, but that is because the first 2008 models were delivered in very late December '07 and early January '08. Most folks here report the issue at a few thousand miles into their driving. Folks with 2008 models don't have many miles on their vehicles yet.

 

What can be done if the engine is mechanically flawed? What will MINI do?

 

i know i am considering going back a generation to the 2006, don't know about you. i am concerned with the longevity past the warranty (36k-100k)

 

Here Is the link to the thread...

 

As mentioned, most of us do not have it occur right away. Mine hit at around 5k. BUT, that was also the first cold day for me, prior to that the coldest day was in the 50's. So I can't say for sure if it occured becuase of the mileage, or sololy from the cole temp that first day (which was around 20 f).


PS- What is "celcius"?

 

I've got an 08 MC on order and wonder...
Anybody out there with an 07 base cooper with this same problem? I know that some have said that the MCS versus MC engines are different enough that it's not (not right now anyways) a problem with the MC-nonS. I've got to say, it's got my attention.
Greg

 

Please refer to this thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121761

I have heard that some MC owners have heard this noise before. However, it is much more prevalent in the MCS.

 

I just had the high pressure fuel pump replaced and have not had any problems/stuttering/sounds etc.,. I will keep you all posted, but so far so good. Also seems like I am getting better MPG avg as well even with my heavy foot.

 

Sbutler,

Did you purchase your MCS at Niello as well?

update on my cold start
I just had the high pressure fuel pump replaced and have not had any problems/stuttering/sounds etc.,. I will keep you all posted, but so far so good. Also seems like I am getting better MPG avg as well even with my heavy foot.

 

Did they say why the fuel pump would make this noise ?

 

I did purchase it as Niello.

On the other question, they said they were getting irregular pressure readings and did not measure up against some standard measurement of fuel flow.

However once my car was warmed up, I couldn't tell anything was wrong. It was only when it was cold (temps external or internal).

 

No, but it does make sense that it was not getting enough fuel causing the shuttering/clattering. But they did not specifically state such.

 

So I'm taking my car in Friday because the CEL came on the other day with sputtering during start up. The CEL is gone now, but I was going to talk to them about this rattling problem since when I brought it in, I had already changed the oil with 0w-40 and have not had the problem since. Should I point them to the motoringfile article and mention that they probably couldn't reproduce it because I had changed the oil with 0w-40 or will they kill me for doing that?


I"m still very much so on the fence as to what to do about this whole thing. I had it twice before I changed my oil, now I'm wondering if I should just keep using 0w-40 or change back to reproduce the problem. We've had negative temperatures since I changed my oil and no sounds. For those who have rattling pretty consistently, maybe a quick oil change is all you need, at the very least it will shut down one of the theories/fixes.

 

What brand of 0w-40 oil are you using?

 

Castrol

 

Great idea TK76911S - I've stickied that post in the R56 forums so it gets high visibility.

 

After hearing it today for the first time, first-hand on my car, I'm changing my vote to a complete lack of top-end lubrication.
Holy crap.

 

It was 21 degrees this morning in Kennesaw, Georgia. I started my car, no odd noises, idled fine, and no stalling. I'm really beginning to think that 0w-30 oil is the way to go.

 

I noticed that for sbutler20, they replaced the fuel pump and that solved his problems. I don't quite understand how that helped at all if the problem is oil starvation in the upper valve region. can someone explain this?

 

Watching this very closely....

 

Is this something you can hear from inside the car, or do you need to have the hood open?