Hey guys!! sorry for another post about a knocking engine noise..
its just..that, there arent many threads that seem to relate to mine? (pretty hard to find) and have no sound clips to show wat it sounds like.

So, here i go..

i have an 06 S with about 43k miles or so. I got my pulley installed about a 11 months ago.
it made a knocking noise after i got it installed. but it came and went mainly on cold starts and i didnt think much of it..
until recently, it's MUCH louder and it bothers the hell out of me..
i got it installed at induktion motorsports, i took it in yesterday for them to take a look at it..and when i went to show them the sound..they looked puzzled and said "wat sound?" which i then tried to explain but to no prevail..they did not find it odd that it was making that weird knocking noise.
I asked them if it might be cause of the pulley install. but they said its coming from the valve? which is on the same side where the pulley is..but is right near the intercooler? (i'll post pics tomorrow) so basically he's saying that it sounds fine and that its normal? i left of course..as they cant really do much if they dont think it's making any weird noises..

but anyways..to describe the noise....
it starts as soon as i start the car..louder of course when it's first started in the morning..it's mainly at idle..but it does go up with the revs.
as the engine vibrates, the sound matches with the engine..(if that makes sense)

i did take it to the dealer about a month or so ago. and they said the noise was made because of the pulley..and said they could not work on it because of the aftermarket part..YET..induktion motorsports says that it's not the pulley but the valve?

please help!! as i hope it's not a serious problem yet i hope it is an easy fix..and i do really want to get rid of this noise as it does bother me like crazy..

here's a clip of it in action..(its mainly a vid for the intake..but you can hear it in the back..) sorry for the low sound..i'll try to take a better video of it tomorrow after i go to school..



and thanks in advanced for any help as i do GREATLY appreciate it

**Edit**

here's some more vids!!






****UPDATE 9/29****

here's another video..engine ticking/knocking got louder recently but luckily i already took my car to the dealer today
well anyway here's the vid and once they find out wat the cause of it is i'll update again!



****UPDATE 10/3****

(copied and pasted on post#32)

the dealer called me right before i picked up my mini, that they also had to replace the timing chain tensioner..they said it had too much slack.
and also, i decided to pop open the hood and take a look in the engine, and to my surprise..
they didnt push in all the wires all the way in..2 of the wires that attach to the spark plug, and another 2 that plugs into the ignition coil
which then led to me check the torque on the spark plugs..they were off..
so i re-torqued them to about 24
the engine also still makes a slight ticking noise still..now coming from somewhere else..

i'm getting my car tuned on tuesday (giac tune), and i guess we'll see how it goes..hopefully some engine noise goes away..which i doubt..
if it doesnt go away..another trip to the dealer..*sigh*

here's a vid..i hear three different engine noises..
hope you can hear it in the vid..definitely gotta let the dealers take another look at it hmm..

 

sounds like mine. I have run 50K miles with this sound. It seems to be 1 of 3 things and they all sound similar. Water pump gears going out on back of supercharger, Idler pulley bearings going bad, or timing chain tensoner. So far I have 117K miles on mine and will be tackleing the sound soon. I will be replacing my idler pulley/belt tensioner,and supercharger.

 

I've had that sound since new, not consistently, but it comes and goes. After 4 1/2 years, 32k miles, 4 Driver's Ed track days, and all of your basic bolt-ons, the sound is exactly the same. It used to bother me, but after several mechanics that I trust have checked it out and said it was no problem, I've just gotten used to it. I guess since my car is somewhat loud from the header and catback, I don't even notice the sound unless I open up the hood. I recently had my trusted tech change the cam and he told me everything looked to be in perfect shape.

You might want to go to some of the other recognized MINI places around your area to check with them and get a second opinion. Although several people have expressed "mixed" feelings about them, I think Behe Performance is located in Maryland. Check with them to see if they agree or not.

Good luck!

 

yeah maybe i'll go to behe performance..but it's about 45-60 min drive from where i am..i have work and school
maybe for now i'll make some time to take it to the dealer and see if they can fix it..as it should be covered under warranty no?

but thanks for the input so far guys!!

hopefully some other people could chime in..maybe they had a similar sound and got it fixed..that way i could ask the dealer to check up on those things, such as gpwpat mentioned..

 

sorry but i cant hear crap but the revving . some tapping in background but nothin else . the one with the heavy tappin sounds like top end but tough to tell less you move mic around .

 

well i did get a chance to record it better..but because i've been driving it for a while it wasnt as noticeable..hopefully i can get a better sound tomorrow..

 

The tapping is just the fuel injectors, nothing to worry about there. There is a bit of a rattle too, which is probably coming from your timing chain. This is most likely the result of a bad tensioner, which isnt that big a deal as far as a replacement goes. That said does it sound like it is coming more from the passenger or the driver side?

 

well whenever i heard it..i was always sitting only in the driver seat and never popped open my hood..i always thought it came from the driver side..
but it's definitely coming from the passenger side..hopefully i can get a video up tomorrow to better show the sound.
but hm..could it have been cause of the tensioner? maybe they bent it while installing the pulley? o.O

i do see something shaking vibrating down there..not sure wat it is..it's def below the pulley..maybe it's the crank? it's the bigger one but all i see is the belt..and i do see it kinda shaking side to side in a wobbling motion..
is that normal as well?

 

i added some videos to my original post

 

If the noise is coming from the passenger side, I'm almost positive its just a rattle coming from the timing chain. Since a few other people reported having the same noise with no problems, I wouldn't immediately worry about spending $$$$ to replace the tensioner because its a real pita to get to.

Here is a video of my MCS knocking, but as you can hear from the sound, it was much more serious of a problem .

 

It sounds like the timing chain tensioner. Not a big deal, its a $40 part, the fact that you are hearing now that the pulley is installed is pure coincidence.

 

hmm i was thinking that maybe it could have been a coincidence that i started hearing it after i got my pulley installed..
thanks for the help Some Guy!!
but is this a part i could easily install or is it a part that i have to lift to engine and such? if so. i'd rather have my dad's mechanic friend install it..
hmm..wat to do wat to do..

 

also..in the pt.2 vid i posted..i feel like that piece where i shine the flashlight to is vibrating/shaking? is that normal? i also kinda hear wat sounds like a light screeching from the belt i guess? very faint..dunno if that's normal either..

sorry for all this ranting and worrying..little things like this tend to bother me unless it's something that is fixable or normal?
i just like having not to worry about anything

 

That part you were shining the light on looked like the crank pulley, which could also be the source of your noise. The reason being is that the crank pulley is actually 3 peices, an inner piece that is attached to the crankshaft, a layer of rubber on the outside of that, and then a layer of metal over that which the belt rides on. That layer of rubber is known to degrade over time, so much so that it can actually cause the two metal pieces to completely separate in sever cases. Theoretically this could also leave to the "vibration" you are seeing (although I didnt see anything abnormal in the vid).

The best way to check the state of your crank pulley is to put your car up on jackstands and remove the passenger side wheel liner. Doing this gives you direct access to that pulley allowing for closer inspection. Coincidentally you also have to remove the wheel liner to get to the chain tensioner. The tensioner is a job you can tackle with basic hand tools and a torque wrench. A crank pulley swap is a bit trickier simply because it requires renting or buying a pulley puller.

 

i guess if i install a crank pulley..they'll be able to 'fix' it?
but in the vid you can't really see it but in person, it does seem to 'shake' a bit..
and also..which part would it be exactly?
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...=11&fg=25&hl=3
number 3 and 6? and if those are the right parts..how much does it usually cost around to replace? O.o
and as always..thanks for all the help!!

 

actually..wont the dealer replace it for free under warranty?
they wouldnt tho unless somethings wrong with it right? hmm

 

The part that usually fail is number 6. If you are under 50k the dealer will fix it under warranty if you can convince the there is a problem.

 

My 06 R53 is "new to me" with 19K on it. And mine sounds pretty much just like what I hear in your vids. I figured it was mostly just valve train/timing gear stuff. I have chalked it up to these aren't the quietest cars in the world at idle.
But now I'm starting think, starting to wonder, starting to worry like a new parent........AND Now I'm going to have to go listen to ALL the other clips in ALL the other threads until I fall asleep at the keyboard...super.

 

thanks again for the help Some Guy!! im nearing 50k little by little so hopefully i can get the dealer to agree in replacing it..
i doubt it tho..but i'll take a shot! and gotta get every little thing else fixed too..

and to orcadog..yeah cars get loud eventually..but i honestly dont think it should be loud to the point where it bothers me..even more with the fact that i had it since new and it was pretty darn quiet..
guess im spoiled cause of that fact but hey..its my mini and i want it as perfect as can be

 

I couldn't really tell the knock from your videos, but here's one kind of knocking you don't want to hear from your engine bay. This was what mine sounded like a couple months back at 102,000 miles on my '05 MCS. The culprit was a frozen supercharger.

 

Dont get to paranoid orcadog. A bad chain tensioner (one that has completely gone) is going to be making a lot of noise. That said, these engines arent that quite when idling, I once left the hood open and came back and thought I had a diesel.

 

oo ouch..that definitely doesnt sound good at all..hope mine never gets like that..

but on another note..my knocking is actually very quite..almost gone..?
wat's up with that..
it comes and goes but is barely audible..weird eh?

 

ok..so i heard a new sound tonight and thought i'd record it real quick..i thought it was coming from where the pulley was..but to my surprise..
it was coming from where the intercooler is..so therefore the supercharger??
sigh..wat's up with my car..
the sound did go away before i could record another one directed at the supercharger..so this vid isn't directly near the noise..

here we go again..

i hope it isn't anything as bad as OctaneGuy's.. (no offense..haha just dont want more troubles than i can take.. )

wat exactly did you have to do OctaneGuy? get a new supercharger?

 

I dunno that tapping doesn't sound so abnormal. If you press in the clutch, does it go away?

The SC is on the right hand side...facing the front of the car. The intercooler is on top of the engine.

For me, it was an SC replacement, which if I had to buy a new one today would have been a $1000+ fix, but I had purchased a spare off a NAM member a couple years ago for $600 so that was a worthwhile investment.

I wouldn't worry so much about your MINI, these cars make all kinds of noises, and unfortunately most of the time the fix is to keep driving them until something breaks, the you'll know what to fix, lol.

Richard

 

i guess that's true..i still love driving my mini..its just i guess im just over worrying? cause it's more that..i'd rather fix something before it breaks only cause im always short on money..
but i dont think i mentioned it..that it only made the sound after the car was sitting for a couple of hours and then i started the car..(cold start?)
so i didnt even have time to press in the clutch or press on the gas..i did look at the youtube vids that were up..it seems like it would def be the timing chain tensioner? i guess i'll go bug the dealer in getting it fixed..
i am only 7k away from 50k..

hopefully its not my supercharger at all and hopefully the dealer can duplicate the noise..therefore able to replace wat needs to be replaced..

gotta call them first thing monday morning to make an appointment..i gotta get a loaner tho..

also!!..probably either monday or tuesday i'll be changing out my spark plug and spark plug wires with brisk 12's and kingsborn wires!! maybe that might help a tad with anything? who knows?