Hi folks,

Just did a bunch of work on my 2003 R53. Powerflex control arm bushings, new radiator, supercharger oil, JCW plugs, new wires, belt, 15% pulley, axel boot, top hats, tranny fluid, probably a bunch of little things I'm forgetting. My AC has been failing for a few months now. You can feel the compressor turn on and off when you're driving, roaring when AC is on, trouble taking off with AC on, but it's still cold, woo! (as long as the compressor is on)

After doing all of this maintenance on my car, I noticed that when I'm accelerating from a stop, there is a mosquito whine as I'm taking off, up until about 3rd gear. It gets higher as the engine works. It's not a SC whine, my other MINI has a 15% installed and it doesn't make that noise.

The other day I was idling in traffic with my AC on and smoke started coming out of my hood. My temp gauge was right in the middle and it didn't smell hot. Turned off AC and smoke stopped after a second. I parked and pushed my car back and there were leaks on the ground. Touched them and they were oil but not motor oil, much thinner and yellow-ish.

Assuming this is what AC compressor oil looks like and my compressor just went kaput???
Also would this whine noise I'm hearing while accelerating have to do with a failing compressor even though my AC wasn't running? The noise is constant, AC or not.


Please help a girl out! Thanks!!

Sara

 

A few suggestion before you tear into anything....
Check your powersteering fluid level....while the color does not match (compared to new) the lines can leak, and the pumps can whine, especially when low on fluid. Next, look, try to see where the oil is comming from....
If the ac started to leak "oil" that is uses for lube, it is circulated with r134a gas at very high pressure...a sudden leak means that a cloud will usually form momentarily, and the ac will stop working....it is much more common gor the leak to slowly reduce the psi of the gas, till the sysrem cannot be turned on....

 

That was another thing that I just replaced. My PS reservoir. My lines are good but my reservoir leaked. My PS level is spot on. It's sort of like a PS whine but more high pitch. I turned off my AC when I noticed the smoke coming out of my hood. I noticed it evaporate soon after once I was driving and it never showed back up. It smelled a little electrical when I got out of the car but again, no clue what it could be coming from.

 

What size belt are you using? Maybe the belt is slipping which will cause it to burn and can cause smoke and a rubber like smell.

 

The A/C compressor does have a clutch on it....it can fail, leaving the compressor on/off at all times.....Does it still work?
Did everything get cleaned up from the prior leak?
I'm wondering if a few drops of oil from your PS leak blew back and hit something hot...like the PS motor, exhaust pipes, etc..
Both cars are S's from your signature....
I'm going to suggest you try to locate where the whine is....a mechanics stetchope, or even a stick, touching some parts and your ear (carefully, think about the size of a broomstick) at the same time can help determine WHICH item the sound is coming from....so you can determine if the sound is coming from the AC compressor, alternator, or even the SC (if the PTO is low on oil). The sudden burst of smoke is interesting thing to go with the noise IMO.

 

Good thought....
The OEM belt is SOMETIMES reused...but even a NEW one will begin to slip with a reduction fairly fast....

 

It's a Gates K060539, from researching, this is a little smaller than the JCW belt, and is suggested for the 15% pulley reduction. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-goodyear.html
I haven't turned my AC on since I saw smoke. Beforehand, it would turn on and off while my car was running, and you could definitely feel the kick of it being turned on. Also the AC would get colder. Yes, everything was cleaned from the PS leak. This was maybe two months ago. My alternator was replaced 4 months ago and my SC was not empty of fluid (both reservoirs) when taken off of the car, but I did put new oil in both sides anyways since the car does have 135k on it. The noise is only audible while accelerating in lower gears and it gets higher pitch as RPMs rise.. I honestly don't think the burst of smoke has to do with the whine noise, but they are both two new problems with my car. Noise came after I did all the maintenance on the car, and it doesn't matter if the AC is on or not. The AC problem has been going on for a while but again, I could just tell it was going bad but my AC still worked so I didn't care too much.

 

@Redline.. do you guys make alcantara steering wheel covers, shift boots and ebrake boots for the mini? please pm me

 

 

Sorry... I replied to the wrong thread.... Or the app decided to not work correctly... Likely I replied wrong place... Sorry

 

Could possibly be the crankshaft pulley failing. I had a similar sound, mine made the sound for a couple years before completely failing, definitely worse when AC was on. This could explain the smoke also, as the rubber in the pulley fails. Fluid leak maybe an unrelated issue.

Jason