Hello,

It seems after 45k miles I am hearing "the noise" from my engine compartment.

It was almost un-noticable until today and now its almost un-bearable!!!

Assuming this is the problem, how much will this cost out of pocket to be replaced?? (I am assuming it isn't covered by any waranty, we have no maintanence contract)

Also, how long can I drive safely before having it replaced??

Thanks!

 

isnt the warranty 50K miles??...or 4 yrs... Dont you qualify?

This problem is very covered under warranty

 

You guys are going to shun me for this I am sure... but I actually don't know... I can't seem to find the paperwork on the warranty.

Is 50k the standard warranty??

It was purchased in January of 2008, and no extra warranties were purchased.

 

ya its the standard.... just take it in

id try and record the noise for them and go in knowing whats going on... you dont want to just be thier regular' confused non-knowing pissed-off' customer lol

 

Questions here:

are U under 50K now?

does it sound like a VeeDubYuh diesel when the noise is at its worst? Does it scare small children like my noise did?

does the noise go away when the car warms up?

does the car operate normally otherwise once warm (no codes, stinky exhaust, sputter, cels etc)?

If yes to all (except scaring small children), time for a chain tensioner check. take it in to your dealer and offer to leave it a couple days to duplicate the noise if they need to. Or, record the sound but do it inside windows closed radio hvac off and glovebox door open because the tensioner is on that side.

seems the latest fix did it. BTW, assuming it was just the tensioner my service record said 1.0 hours at local rates (mine is $105/hr) plus the part, I dont know what that is--if that's all that's needed. "Full monty" fix (chain, guides, tensioners, sprockets, hlas, vaccuum pump) will be a lot more, like a couple days.... hope U dont have that, but most don't

That's why I asked if you were less than 50k. You should be covered.

PS as to whether you should drive it: just let the noise subside before doing so. Mine subsided anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

 

It has no cels, and no other wierd things, seems to perform fine..

It is BAD at idol, and then when you are in gear and let up on the accelerator it sounds like some one released a bucket of rocks in to the engine!!!

actually, it doesn't start untill after it warms up... and it doesn't seem to go away at all...

could it be something different?


I will be calling South Atlanta MINI tomorrow... I wish it could get towed in... its so hard to get down there with no back-up car and no one to go with me... 2+ hours away...

(I wish BMW of Chatt had MINIs....)

 

I just had the chain tensioner replaced in my 2008, but did not have the cold start chatter problems. Like yours, mine only started up after it had been running a while. If not covered by warranty, cost will be ~ $1,100.

 

my 2008 MINI says it's covered for 3yrs or 36k whichever comes first. 4yrs of roadside maintance.

 

That's for the free maintenance.

The warranty that covers engine issues, like the timing chain, is 4 yrs / 50k.

 

Sounds more serious than the tensioner. I'd get that car towed in post-haste.

 

+1 - if the chain stretches enough, the timing will slip enough to let the valves crash and cause much more significant damage. I had the rock tumbler sound as well, which was caused by the bad tensioner and damaged timing chain.

 

Ok, so per all of your advice, we just had roadside assistance come pick it up. (2 hour drive, and the sound just kept getting worse)

They looked it over today, and it was the timing chain tensioner.

They are replacing it, and the timing chain.



(and in the meantime I am borrowing my dad's Mk5 VW R32... darn lol)

 

Good you got it fixed!

 

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE!

I was thinking... "chainsaw?" "electric toothbrush?"

Bucket of ROCKS - perfect

Ugh, I'm in the same predicament right now, my friend! I feel you - ::fist pound:

 

At last year's MOTD My 07 mini had to be towed the dealerships in Greenville Sc b/c the timing chain tensioner snapped and it was making the exact same "Bucket of Rocks" noise or "Bucket of Marbles" as I called it at the time. I had problems off and on and had the chain tensioner replaced 2 more times following that incident and it was adjusted once before. It seems that they Just came out with a good fix for it around dec 09 or Jan of this year. The last time I brought her in was Mid March of this year and it was making the Horrible noise again and the oil light came on (First time any lights came on). Long story short, they were going to replace my engine, BMW told them No to find the source of the problem and they found oil being burnt by the engine but all the seals and everything was fine. 2 of the cylinders were misfiring according to the key when they read it. They took the head apart and cleaned all of the carbon build up out, added oil and the noise went away. That was the last I heard since my lease was up April 9th and I just bought a 2010 Cooper S instead of purchasing my 07 like I had planed and washed my hands to it. After the 3rd time, that was enough for me. After 4000 miles and a dragon trip down, there is a definate difference in the way the 2010 drives from the 07 so they had to have made some small changes b/c overall, it sounds a lot less like a diesel especially at start up. If I remember correctly, before Mine started acting up it would occasionally sputter and blow a puff or 2 of black smoke out the tailpipe. My suggestions would be that since your mini is under 50,000 (all models come with 4 yr 50,000 mile warranty) Is bring it to the dealer! If it is making the noise that bad and not going away, most likely the tensioner has snapped. The noise you hear as described to me by 3 different mini Mechanics is the chain slapping the top of the guides since there is no tension on it. Over time, the chain would loosen up and the tensioner was a flawed design so the fix entitles replacing the chain, guides (Top and bottom) and the oil piston. It Definatelly is the timing chain or the tensioner and there are MANY threads on here with more info on it.

Check them out and let us know how everything comes out!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-replaced.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-chatter.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ner-noise.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...n-clatter.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-database.html

and the one that explains alot about it and what Mini did or is doing to fix it

http://www.motoringfile.com/2010/01/...problem-again/

 

Well - I'm on my 3rd time with Chain Tensioner problems. Weee.

The first time they told me all I needed was an oil change, which I knew was BS but hey they are the mechanics.

6 months later I went in with a video of the sound when it came back and got the change tensioner replaced (this was just 6 months ago -- or less)

Now, it's that time of the year again. My car sounds HORRIBLE when i first start it for about 10 mins and also it feels like it's "slipping" when it changes gears. Ugh. This thread makes me sad because it makes me realize I'm not alone.

I'm at 44k miles almost and I think after this fix I'm done. I can't afford to go past 50 and put 2k into the car twice a year because of the chain tensioner and who knows what will happen next. I've also already had to have the entire Nav system replaced.

I looooove my car but sometimes I swear it's not worth the headache.

 

We all feel the same way

 

3X's to fix the same problem (chain tensioner)!!?? Bummer!!

So now it can be said at least for your car that it's NOT the oil (assuming you're getting it changed regularly with new filters and using the right oil, also maybe assuming you're having the dealer the changes and that you're keeping the proper levels?).

G/L with the car.

 

The thread may be a little old for a bump, but I'm in the shop as I type getting the tensioner replaced out of warranty so its relevant. Estimate was about $350 iirc, I will update when complete. If they have to do the timing chain though it's about 1700 extra. That I remember. I'm at 60k and I don't think it started until after 50k and it's still intermittent. It was happening last winter but just barely, and was gone all year until it started getting colder.

Edit: Had to leave it overnight, they're having some trouble getting the computer flashed. Got the timing chain replaced as well. I'm in an R57 loaner overnight. I REALLY, REALLY wish I could swap audio systems. SA showed me where the chain had been grinding into the guard rail. Not a pretty sight.

Late edit: Total for the job was just over $1700, total was a bit more than that as I was having some other routine stuff done.

 

are the timing chain tensioners oil pressure fed? i take it they don't have a ratchet mechanism to keep them from retracting? as a jag mechanic we went through all of this with the primary and secondary timing chain tensioners with the 4.0 v8 motors... they didn't fix it until the 4.2 v8 engine was released. :( (jag 4.0 v8 has 4 timing chains! primary for each bank that goes from crank to intake cam, and secondary that goes from intake to exhaust cam) the jag fix was to not make the body of the tensioner out of plastic (duh) and for the primary tensioner to have a ratchet mechanism that as the chain stretches enough to reach the next click on the primary tensioner it can't retract a step back. these motors now will keep time even without oil pressure (same as a timing belt car would). does bmw/mini use the same type of system?

 

No, not the same system but it sounds like it should......

 

Well correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like most of these problems are on the "S" models. So do the Justa's have the same problem? Since we just wanted a cruising car, we didn't get the S model, and now I'm darned glad I didn't. It seems like the S models give more problems than they are worth!

 

So, is $1700 what it costs for this fix basically? My car seems to get louder the more I drive it. Not sure if it is the Cold Start issue or something else. I thought the two were related. I really don't have an extra $1700 to fix this, but I need to get it fixed if that is truly what the problem is. It sucks because I took it in for Cold Start issues when it was under warranty, and they said nothing was wrong. Now I am out of warranty 55K miles, probably a few months also....

My car has never thrown a warning light or anything, so maybe it is me being paranoid.

 

Here's what I did.

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

 

my 07 cooper s was starting to make noise like that too. so I took it in. the service manager checked the oil and it looked a little low. kinda hard to tell with the way the dipstick is. so he added a quart of oil and so far the noise has gone way.

this post is making me a bit nervous as i am just over 46k miles and the warranty is about to run out. I'm debating rather I should buy the extended warranty.

for $3k to extend it for another 2 years. is it worth it?