I have a 2002 mini cooper which I bought used with around 80K miles. There is a scraping/grinding noise in the front drivers side while cornering right. This happens on windy roads or on freeway ramps. It almost sounds like something scraping on the ground, but I know it's not. It is affecting the steering slightly...pulling the car straight when I am turning right. The front pads and rotors were changed, the hubs were swapped right to left to rule out a wheel bearing. I am thinking it could be a CV joint or something, but the boots look intact, and nothing else under the car is visibly wrong. Please....any ideas would help. I don't want to keep changing expensive parts just to find out the problem. My mechanic hasn't been able to duplicate the noise because there are no ramps or hills near the shop.

 

Have you moved the wheels to a different corner? Inspected all of the ball joints? Tie rods? Is the inner brake sheild bent at all and rubbing on the rotor? You might have to make a recording for your mechanic or let him take the car up to the ramps.

 

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have moved the wheels to opposite sides. I don't know how to tell if my ball joints or tie rods are bad. All I know is that nothing is loose. The shield behind the rotor is not rubbing.

 

To check ball joints and tie rods, feel around the rubber boot for any tears or grease coming out. Though this will not really be the cause of your scraping noise, it is a good idea to check these things on a car with your milage. If there is a tear, get a new one to replace it. If they get moisture inside them, they can wear out and get sloppy or fail in as little as a week. I just had to replace one of my ball joints because it was torn. Not sure how it got torn, but I inspect them from time to time.

 

Were the pads and rotors changed out because of this? I'm with Nabeshin on this one...Dust shield hitting....?

 

Yes, the pads and rotors were changed because I thought it was a brake problem. The shield was checked at that time, and was not contacting the rotor at all. I was tempted to take it off, but I figure they are there for a reason.

 

Silly question, but when they changed your pads and rotors did they also replace the brake lining wear sensors?

 

I changed my pads and rotors, and there was no wear sensor there. I have the part, but decided not to put it on since it's easy for me to look at the pad wear. Why do you ask?

 

Because the old (worn) ones make a grinding/rubbing noise when they are in need of changing. Rules that out I guess.

 

Don' know what your noise sounds like but in asking my local dealer about the control arm bushing I was told that it could make a bit of noise when it wears out. Mine are not worn out totaly but in kicking the tire from the front I do get a bit of front to back movement which is not there on a new car. These bushings do tend to ware at milage in your range depending on driving habits. If the rubber is that far gone that could be something to look at. This is the point that rear most part of the front control arm attaches to the subframe. Hope this is of help.