Just purchased 05 R53 MCS a month ago and am sorting out a few issues.

Here is one:

Rattle on startup coming from bottom of driver's side engine bay. What I noticed, which I haven't seen on any "Rattle Threads" is that -

"The Rattle Goes Away When I Step On The Clutch, But Comes Back When I Lift Off The Clutch"

It also goes away when warmed up.

Do I have a tensioner problem, or a clutch problem or both or something else?

Any input is appreciated, or point me in the right direction.

Thank you.

 

May have something to do with how your clutch slave cylinder meets up with the transmission throwout lever. The slave is right behind the driver's side bumper - you'll see the metal feed line coming down to it. It's made of plastic but depending on what the noise/rattle is, check that it's mounted tightly.

Also check if the shaft coming out of the slave is tight up against the concave spot on the trans lever. If this is where your rattle is, you'll have to bleed the clutch system (at least) if not change out the slave completely.

 

I'm slowly getting to know the Mini. The good and the bad.

 

I have the same problem on mine. I have an 03. I haven't researched the noise yet and it doesn't do it all the time.
Let me know what you find out!

 

I was wrong, it is intermittent like yours. Does not go away when warmed up.

Will keep you posted.

 

Sounds as if it could be your throwout bearing/clutch/pressure plate. As long as all are working fine I wouldn't worry about it. If it's time to replace a clutch then you'll be able to fix it.

 

I think the rattle is one of the aging features of the dual-mass flywheel. Mine was replaced at 30k, dealer warranty issue. Now at 55k it is rattling again. Supposedly a noise-only issue.

 

+1 For the throwout bearing

 

Right now the clutch engages fine.

It is my wife's car, and being a new-to-her car, she has a tendency to start off in 3rd every now and then.

I'll check out the slave first and then wait for the clutch to start slipping before doing anything drastic.

Does that sound like a decent plan?

 

The sound you described is the dual mass flywheel. Nothing you can really do about it except replace it, and it will eventually come back after some time.

If you ease the clutch pedal out slowly, it will minimize the noise it makes.

 

i second this.. i find this works

 

With all your help pointing me in a different direction. I've been researching clutch/flywheel and throwout bearings, instead of tensioners etc.

The threads I have read all seem to be non-definitive. clutches, flywheels, throwout bearings, slave cyclinders have been replaced, but the noise just seems to come back.

There doesn't seem to be a permanent fix except maybe to use an aftermarket upgrade to the flywheel etc etc.

I'll now research threads on aftermarket upgrades..........and start saving now.

 

Xtrackdog, all the research I have done as well from people, even those that update it years later say they just live with it and clutch was still fine 50k later.

 

In addition, I am going to have a manual transmission fluid change. May not help, but sure can't hurt. Car has 53K+ so it will be interesting to see how much stuff is flushed in the fluid.

There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer/fix in any of the posts.

Thank you all.

 

I have an '02 R53, 125,000 km, and mine's been doing this for a good 5 years or so. Rattle in neutral when the clutch is out, goes away immediately when I step on the pedal, and goes away completely once it's warmed up.

No further issues with mine - I think it's the nature of the beast. If shifting feels good and the clutch is actuating normally, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

All your comments are helping me feel better about the purchase, and noise.

Despite the mini's idiosyncrasies, it all goes away when you get behind the wheel and step on the gas.

 

I believe it is completely normal and as stated above is the dual mass flywheel. Mine has been doing it for well over 200,000 miles now and I have no problems at all. You'll get used to it. It does help if you let out the clutch slowly when in neutral.

Nik

 

It could be that the previous owner replaced the dual mass with a lightweight flywheel and solid clutch, which rattle no matter what. It could be there is nothing wrong with your clutch at all. A lot of people replace the dual mass setup because the throw out bearing starts to give an ungodly screech when it wears out and seems to wear out prematurely. Some people have likened the sound to a "Chewbacca" noise. Do a search for that and you will find a ton of info. The trade off for the early-in-it's-lifespan screech is a solid clutch that rattles. Pick your poison.

 

Yup yup, got almost 200k on my stock clutch, annoying as hell noise.

Mine doesn't always go away when I ease the clutch out nice and slow, very annoying.

 

I have an 05 R53 with 43K miles. I am the org owner and mine does the rattle noise too. Still seems to engage fine. It's been doing it foe 3-4 years and I dont worry about it. It's just a build qurk. Just keep driving it...

 

Same here on my 04 R53, I have 96K on the original clutch, it started to rattled around 40K or so, shifts fine, and is not slipping, but is rattles when in Neutral until the Pedal is pushed. When the Sc goes I will do the clutch, SC and waterpump all at the same time and get it over with, but so far all seems well except a bit of noise

 

I have an R50 with an R53 6-spd, lightened flywheel and performance clutch. Rattles exactly like the stock setup.

 

Apart from the noise, there has been NO hint of slipping or anything negatively affecting the performance of the clutch. A "non-mini" mechanic friend of mine took an objective look at it, moved some linkages etc and concluded that it was not an issue to worry about now. I'll wait until it starts to slip before I start to worry.

I did change the MTF, and WOW what a difference it has made. The shifting is sooooo smoooooth now. So much for the MTF being a "Lifetime" item. The old fluid was dark and very thin. I used Redline. Wonder whose "Lifetime" the factory was referring to?

The car has 54K now and changing the MTF has been one of the most noticeable improvements.

 

Nice to come across this thread....my 05 MCS w/ 40k does the same thing. Nice to know it's nothing big....

 

My '03 R53 did this, and it turned out to be the input shaft bearing in the transmission. Thank goodness I bought a warrantee with the car!

In my case, the rattle didn't go away until the clutch was fully depressed, and then it spun down to a stop, so I knew it wasn't the throwout bearing rattle that some folks have.

The warrantee made a $5000 repair into a $500 repair--$200 of co-pay and $300 of new clutch (because when it's that much of a PITA to get to, when it's staring you in the face, you replace it!). I got my new trans and clutch at 49k miles.

I hope you've just got the rattly throwout bearing!

C ya,
Dutch