Hello guys, I have the following problem: when driving slowly with the windows down, I hear a "clicking" noise from the front wheels. If I drive faster, the frequency increases but because the noise is not really loud you cann't hear it when going fast.

On cornering the noise becomes much more apparent and it appears to be coming in succession from both wheels (not at the same time).

I lifted the car using the jack and turned the wheels by hand to try to replicate the problem, but I could make it happen with the wheel on air. I could however liste to the clicking when lowering the car as the wheel started to get loaded.

Any ideas?? Could it be the bushings or are they the wheel hubs?

 

Mybad...I thought this was for a gen 1 haha...I have no idea..Sorry.

 

I would try lifting the car and putting it in drive, then check for the noise. It could be several things, but I would hate to speculate.... If it comes from both wheels, i would think its an actual wheel problem.... do you have stock rims? Are they bent? I guess its possible that its the CV joints, but thats a push for both to be bad at the same time.... Is there gravel stuck in the tires? I know that sounds stupid, but its not the first time i've come across that issue..... also, check your axle nuts, make sure they are tight. Usually thats a clunking noise when turning, but who knows..... Have you had any work done recently? Damn my A.D.D......

 

Thanks for the reply... I did lift the car up and turned the wheel by hand, but there was no sound coming from either side. No it is no gravel, was the first think I checked for...

The only recent work was typical service work which included changing the brake pads, but not the rotor. I will try to check the axle nuts...

 

The noise could be the wheels themselves if they are two piece like the cross(R90) or web(R98) spokes.

 

if it sounds like 2 Pool ***** hitting each other, my guess is the cv joints as I had this on my 04 also

 

Thanks for the info but I have the R97 Flame spokes...

 

are the bolts tight on the caliper? that COULD make a clicking noise when driving, but would be more present when braking. What if you take the wheels off, and run it in gear? is he noise still there?

 

Problem is, it does not matter if I brake or not... What matters is if I turn the wheels or not. And if there is no weight on the wheels (i.e. when the car is jacked up) I cannot hear a thing.

 

Sounds like CV joints are bad. Check if the boots are torn, usually they tear, the grease leaks out, the dirt gets in and the joints fail. You did not state the year and mileage of your car, the older and more mileage the more likely you have a bad CV joint, wheel bearing, transmission output bearing etc.

 

Classic CV joint failure noises on any car...
clicking sound....especially when turning....varies with speed.

 

The car is an 07' S with 39000KM (about 25000mls) on it... I did check the boots and they appear to be fine, but who knows what's going on underneath them. I may be lucky and only need re-lubrication.

I will be taking the car to a local mechanic sometime this week to have it checked.

 

UPDATE: I took the car to the mechanic, but he couldn't even hear the clicking sound. He made it clear to me, that if it was the bearing I would hear it when travelling at high speeds, whereas the CV-Joint would make a much louder noise when accelerating from a standstill.

So I kept on searching for the problem and found a couple of videos on youtube with my exact same problem! SOLUTION? It was the god damn wheel bolts! Not even the drive axle nut (which is secured against unfasteting by bending its flange).

I dont have a torque wrench, but 140Nm (MINI's specification) must be quite a moment. I didnt believe it at first, but there is absolutely no clicking noise anymore!!

The question is, in case of a wheel cahnge, how does MINI expect you to unfasten the bolts with a wrench 30cm long?

 

Many years ago I had a wheel almost fall off due to a mechanic failing to tighten the nuts properly. We heard the loose nuts and broken wheel studs rattling around inside the hubcap! Only one was left holding the wheel on the car!
On another note, using a torque wrench to tighten the bolts also ensures they are evenly tightened all around which reduces the chance of getting a warped rotor from having one or two bolts much tighter than the rest. The uneven force on the rotor will eventually make it more likely to warp. Go buy a cheap torque wrench that goes to 150 pounds, a small extension and the proper size socket. Get an impact socket so it can take the stress an not crack.

 

140 Nm (103 ft.lb) is not very hard on the arms to accomplish.
The problem with unfastening the bolts with a 30 cm wrench is that the
nuts have often been previously tightened by someone to way more than 140 Nm.

 

That's correct; the force require to overcome a 140 N-m (~103 ft-lb) torque-down on the bolts using a 30 cm (~12 in) tire wrench is only 100 lbs or so.

 

A lot of Minis have encountered this problem but dealers don't know how to fix it.

My 2006 Works car has done it since 3K miles & it's still doing it at 17K because no one (including me) can figure out the cause. We replaced the axles & that wasn't it. Removed the Wilwood brakes & the noise disappeared for a while, then came back. I can't see my 1 piece SSR wheels making any noise since there are no interference marks on the inside of the wheel.

One owner said he loosened the axle nut & retorque'd to spec and the noise disappeared. I'm skeptical but will give it a try when I have time.

 

But if you are still concerned they sell a lug wrench that will expand its handle outward to give more leverage. Not a bad idea anyways as it just makes the job easier. Just make sure when you tighten that you do not over tighten.

 

Any updates on your problem Alex?

 

Did you notice if someone has cards with clothes pins attached to the lower control arms? ;-} Seriously, I had an Acura in the shop with what sounds like your noise. The wheel was lose, all 4 lugs. I think his future ex-wife had something to do with it....

 

Yeah... I fixed it myself!!! Honestly, it was just the wheel bolts. The axle nut is impossible to come loose, as it is locked into place after being tighten at the factory by a groove on its flange.

But to do it right, you need to lift the vehicle, remove the wheels and clean the contacts from rust. Then tighten each bolt lightly in opposite manner in successive steps. There is a lot of play between the holes and the bolts and if you dont do it properly there is shear transfer at a single bolt.

Since you are removing the wheel, also knock a bit on the metal dust cover behind the disk brakes and maybe a bit on the axle nut. No need to retighten, as you would be breaking the flange.

The problem probably is more pronounced on cars with just 4 bolts per wheel, as the play there is larger and correct tighting more important than 5-bolt wheels.

 

"Since you are removing the wheel, also knock a bit on the metal dust cover behind the disk brakes and maybe a bit on the axle nut."

FYI- There is no metal dust cover on our cars- The nut's exposed.

 

The dust cover is behind the disc brake, towards the engine. have a look here. I am talking about part number 4 (protection plate).

 

Oh...

The dust cover for the brake rotor (not the axle nut).

I removed those when I installed Wilwood brakes so I know that's not my problem. However, I could see that causing the problem with a stock car if the shield was bent in some way.

 

Hey everyone, I,too, am having this concern. I have been doing some research and found that no one had something similar to my issue. For me, I hear a click by the driver side wheel when starting from a stop. Like if I let the clutch off a little aggressively, it'll give me 1 or 2 noticeable clicks. Both when I do it in forward OR reverse. It will only do it from a stop though. The lug nuts are tight, I just do know what it is, cv joint ya think?