Start from the beginning I left my house tonight went an got gas 93 octane as required. I'm waiting in drive thru an I hear this god awful noise. It sounds like a hose or something blew off air rushing out or something to that effect. Pop the hood see nothing feel nothing other than the fan. I get further down the road it has a whining sound. I'm starting to panic now I'm at work an my nearest mini dealership is an hour away my regular mechanic is 20 but I'm scared to drive it now :,(

 

is your car a turbo? if it is maybe a boost tube blew off... But i am no expert...

 

No it's a supercharged mini idk it's sounds bad a real loud chatter really I've noticed to power loss an runs just fine just sounds bad!!

 

How many miles on the car and where is the whining coming from? Driver's side, passenger side, up front or to the rear? Just whining, no more chatter?

 

Passenger side 57,000 do you think the supercharger is out of oil?!

 

Could be but you may just have a bad idler pulley or A/C pulley. If you have a long dowel rod or long screwdriver, try holding it in various places and put your ear to the other end to localize the problem. Be careful of moving parts!

 

Ok ill try that thanks

 

If it is my sc do you think the 20 minute drive to work destroyed it

 

Really can't tell. If it is the S/C, oil can be added on the passenger side w/o too much trouble.

 

Ok awesome! I'm gonna have it towed towed bout ten minutes across town to be safe I really don't wanna drive it

 

To be safe, best thing to do. Can tell a lot more in daylight. If the S/C were failing, it would be a constant clattering. Bad chain tensioner sounds like the same kind of clattering. Think positively...Good Luck!

 

Hopefully my mechanic can get it figured out

 

OHhhhh first generation section lol... i didnt even notice obviously.... I still would say loose boost tuibe or something like that...


Good luck though.....

 

If it were unmetered air, they'd get a SES light and it'd go into limp mode. Apparently, it's running o.k., just making a bad noise.

 

Oh yea it's running like a champ called the dealer this morning told them what was going on told them it only has 57,000 miles on it an if it were possible the supercharger was out of oil said "anythings possible but just not probable" they seem to think its another common problem of the timing chain tensioner being bad.

 

Let's hope that was it. Common failure item, fairly EZ fix. Let us know the outcome.

 

10-4 is it easier to access on the ground or on a lift? I'm debating on doing it myself

 

The easiest access is from the rt. side by jacking up the rt. front, removing the wheel and the inner wheel well liner. You can also get at it from the top as well. Will need to remove the heat shield over the exhaust header as I recall. Locate by using an inspection mirror and a flashlight. If you do a search for "timing chain tensioner", there's plenty of info. on the change-out. When removing the old one, remember that it's spring-loaded and will come outa there pretty fast!

 

Haha I do love when something is spring loaded I have a bentleys manual bugs its kinda vague on how to just the tensioner what worries me is just bad those plastic guides have been torn during this mess

 

Before you remove the tensioner, be sure it's out of gear and don't let the engine move before you install the new tensioner. You should be able to install it compressed and, once you start the engine, it should immediately fill with oil and release. Or you can release it prior to installation but it will take some strength to get it in. I seriously doubt you've done much damage to the rails in such a short distance. If you change the oil, look for pieces of plastic.

 

10-4 it was a good 50 miles before I was able to park it :/ so ill for sure be looking in the oil I can't thank you enough for your help

 

Well I know it's been a bit since we discussed this but apparently what the sound ended up being was my alternator I never would have though that by the way it was sounding it running but sure enough was 1200.00 later fixed