I became very interested in this thread last week when I started getting a "chattering" noise from beneath the bonnet. My sympotoms matched many of what have been decribed here, only that the sound came primarily from the driver's side. I brought the Mini (Aug 2003 Cooper) in yesterday & they ended up replacing the transmission! They simply said it was an internal failure that they could not locate the cause of. Replacement was covered by warranty. I wasn't doing anything funky before the noise started. I don't auto-x. I will admit I drive it pretty hard, but certainly not to the point of abuse.

 

Wow, it's been about 2 years from my first post and I'm glad to see all the dialog. Gmack, glad to see you had the problem fixed. When I took my Mini to the dealer, I had the same old "can't repeat the problem". I was even told that I may have exceptional hearing and that I was hearing the injectors. Of course I was frustrated and I still have the problem at 21000 miles. It sounds just like a playing card in the spoke of a bike wheel. Is that what you guys with the HB problem heard? I've seen "pinging" mentioned in this thread and that's not what I said in the original post. I've got some ammo now to take to the dealer shortly. Thanks gang for all the patience and info.

 

Well, after being completely cured by replacing the HB, my ticking has slowly returned. I have been told that the design of the HB has been recently changed. Perhaps the latest style won't degenerate into the "ticker" over time. Somehow I doubt my dealer will want to visit this again. I am tired & I'm just not gonna fret about it..
Best - Bodinski

 

Thanks Bodinski. I'll let you know what they tell me when I take it in. I'll probably get tired with it as well. Thanks again for the info.

Kind Regards....

 

bump

 

For what its worth, my dealer gave me the same **** and bull story that can be seen over and over in this thread , so since I am out of warranty (other than their 30 days from date of purchase deal) I am going to take this opportunity to "improve the situation" myself.

 

Yet another trip and the same response from the dealer as they "all do that" - "attributed to supercharger impeller noise" this time..

 

Like I mentioned in another thread - No dice or help from the dealer, but a little self service maintenance with the Alta lightweight pulley cured the problem. The click is gone....

 

Bump - the clattering has become progressively worse over time, still no success in gettting the dealer to address my concerns (have been asking them to look at it with each trip to the dealer since purchasing new > 3 yrs ago)..

Thanks for any insight..

 

Well I've spent the last 30 minutes poring over these posts and reading possible fixes.

I mainly wanted to add my '03 MCS to the list of chattering engine bays. My car has the exact symptoms of everyone elses, but it's only a chatter. I've heard others mention clanking, banging, knocking, and other types of noises that definately DO NOT describe my noise. It sounds to me, like the tensioner pulley, but I have yet to verify this. I will replace the tensioner soon, as my Mini is approaching 100k miles.

I suppose I do have one question though:

Is it DEFINATE that the harmonic balancer change (aftermarket or stock) was the fix?

Thanks for any advice,
Josh F.

P.S. My wife's '99 E36 328is makes a very similar noise during similar rpm and engine load. I'm thinking this is possibly something that isn't only related to Mini's. I'm going to check some E36 forums and see what I can come up with.

 

When I first bought my Mini, used of course, I had a tapping in the engine because the oil was very low, and it went away completely after I put a nice batch of fresh expensive oil in it. If you aren't the type of person who checks their oil often, do it and see if it's low. If you already thought of this and it's a silly suggestion on my part, then feel free to ignore me.

 

Thanks for trying, but its definately not valve noise. I mean you can hear the valves tapping, but this is not valve tapping. It sounds like if you put a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle. It only happens under pretty aggressive accelleration, and only from about 3k rpm upward. Its something rattling but nothing feels loose when I poke and prod around in the engine bay. I will keep at it and see what the verdict is.

By the way, has anyone changed their tensioner assembly? I read, and read, and read through the posts, but most people thought it was pinging or the exhaust heat shield rattling.

 

I have mine being looked at for the same thing.They think it may be the hydraulic valve tensioner.They replaced the belt tensioner first saying this was the problem,even though it had already been replaced previously.It happens at all engine speeds,clutch in or out,in or out of gear, sort of a clatter sound,worse when warm.I suggested that if its an interference engine,(it is)that if it lets go it could be an expensive problem.The fix is pulling the engine to inspect and replace,its also an expensive solution for MINI.I feel they know the problem but would rather let the engine detonate out side of warranty.Mines still under warranty.

 

on the earlier cars (pre - 05 ) i believe this was found to be the harmonic damper (crank pulley) . bmw redesigned the part and it's said to be fixed . i replaced mine with an 05 and it is waaaay better .

 

Is there a specific service bulletin or case number one can reference to get the dealer's attention? I've been pushing this issue since the first month of ownership in late 2003 and have yet to get resolution - I have one last shot before the warranty expires - thanks in advance for any insight!

 

well you could ask them why they redesigned the part.

 

Has your mini been making this light chattering noise for a long time? I wonder if it is just something that will not cause a problem and we can just live with the quite chatter? From the sounds of it you have put a lot of miles on your mini w/ a chatter and its okay.

If lots of BMW's do this and they are running well for many miles then is there any harm w/ us just putting up with the noise?

Thanks,
k

 

"Put up with it" I guess is the only way to put it - I've owned a number of BMWs over the years - none made this sort of noise. Took the car to a different MINI dealer, their shop foreman heard the noise immediately, said had no idea what it was. I mentioned the pages of postings and waited over a week to finally hear back from the dealer that "they all do that" which is interesting as this was in direct conflict from what I was told by the head technician when going for a ride just a week prior. While the noise doesn't appear to have any impact/degradation on performance, it has become noticeably louder since I purchased the car new.

 

Worked my way thru this whole thread, and since my problem mimics the original post that started it all: (Anybody experience a tapping sound (sounds like putting a playing card in the spokes of a bike wheel, you know, when we were kids) above 3000 rpm under mild or heavy acceleration?), and the dealership has been no help, I'll be crawling under the car tomorrow to look at the harmonic balancer. '02 MC, 5spd, 60k miles, recently replaced tranny; it's not just a MCS issue, tho I'd like to hear from anyone with the CVT.

I'm a reasonably skilled motorhead - been a service writer, mechanic, parts dept. manager - and have eliminated all of the obvious things that 30+ years experience have steered me toward. The level of frustration in this thread is heartbreaking - we love our cars, but this leaves a bitter taste and really sucks the fun out of driving.
I'll let y'all know what I discover. If looks like the HB, the dealer is in for a little nose-to-nose confrontation.

 

Any news, updates on this?

 

Talked to the shop forman today about the problem (I've known him for some years now; he used to be the shop forman at BMW - same owner).

He's always been straight with me; no BS, no cover-ups and he agrees that the noise is most likely the Harmonic Balancer. His take: if it was his and he didn't want to spend the money on the replacement, just live with it for now. It's not going to be a serious issue, just an annoyance.

The standard check: Remove the serpentine belt and take it for a quick test drive. If the noise is gone, that pretty much nails it.

***Just remember: with no belt, you're running on the battery (no alternator) and most importantly, you're running without the water pump so no cooling! A short test drive, only!
Do this ONLY if you are comfortable with the process, and you understand what you are doing.
I don't recommend it unless you have some serious qualifications as a mechanic. *******

If you're under warrenty, press them HARD for a replacemnet. It's about $375 for the part, but I'm not sure what the shop time is - it definetly is not a major repair, the engine doesn't have to come out or anything like that.

It's something a reasonably talented home mechanic could do in an afternoon.
-s-

 

Thank you for confirming that. I have actually been reading up on many threads regarding this issue and they all seem to point in this direction. My car is still under warranty and I already emailed the dealer with my research and the symptons in order to get this fixed, with your help this might just be another annoyence in the back burner. I will print it out and keep it with the other threads that point to this part, i even found pictures of it already. Much aprreciated!! I tell you if you ever want to get something done, do a little research online and find everyone in the mothers that is a manager or GM no matter what department their in at your dealer and write an email to everyone, o yeah someone replies quickly!!! Emails are traceable and a legal document!!!

 

Keep us posted on the results, please. Really curious to see how your
dealer handles it. I think it is a problem the badly want to go away.

 

Oh, and btw, does anyone have an '05-'06 stock pulley they want to sell? I'm looking and not really interested in an aftermarket version if I can help it.
Thanks.

 

Hello, looks like I might be a member of the club. I had a broken exhaust manifold and headers replaced about a month ago, and about a week ago I noticed a very faint tapping sound from the engine. It seemed to be consistent with the revs but very faint, most people didnt hear it, and I wasn't really sure that it was a new sound or something I'd not noticed before.

I had to make a 2 1/2 drive out to my mother's yesterday and took my fiancee along to make a daytrip out of it. The tapping/rattle sound got a little louder to the point that she heard it too, but again nothing I was worried about. When we left the noise was noticeably lounder so I stopped and looked around the engine bay. I found one of the screws on the intercooler cover was missing and figured that must be the rattle and improvised a tie for it till I could get home. No luck, the rattle kept getting worse as we drove.

Played around with the noise - seemed to come on around 3-4k rpm when sitting in neutral, and seemed to come from the engine and not around it. While driving it seemed to be more pronounced the harder I accelerated and the worse the road conditions were. It almost sounded like something stuck in a high speed fan blade...

By the time we pulled into Nashville it was so loud that you couldn't listen to the radio comfortably. We were cresting a hill a block from home (under acceleration) when a loud noise came from the engine, it started running rough, and all the pretty lights came on on the dash. I killed the engine and coasted to within yards of my driveway, where the car now sits waiting for a towtruck to take it to the dealer on weds.

A mechanic friend of mine diagnosed it over the phone as being something mechanical in the engine, probably a bad rod or another exhaust manifold issue. Also said it is likely the engine is toasted if it is as bad as I described it.

Anybody got any comments? What are the chances that the mechanic that worked on it last month didn't put it back together properly and that it caused my current problems, as well as the likelyhood that they would own up to that and cover it?

Worst case scenario, if the engine has to be replaced what else should I have done when that is getting done? Are there any other components that have been updated since June of 2002?