Hi - I have a 2013 Mini Cooper N16 (100kkm or 62k miles) that recently developed a strange sound when warm - seems to be from the passenger side. Seems to be like a bearing - alternator?, water pumps? Tensioner pully? The belt was replaced in January by the dealer.

Thoughts?

ill try to post a video with the strange sound.


https://1drv.ms/v/s!AqL5to3ffxX1g1ML4-UKSd4Jq71p

Hmmm..... I’ll bite. Lol
Thats a noise alright! My first instinct from the side it’s on, was to think timing chain or tensioner. But I’m not sure.... it is hard because it’s a video, not there in person, but it doesn’t exactly sound like the well known “Death Rattle “. It almost sounds like it may be related to a valve.... dang... hopefully someone else who knows what this is will chime in soon.
Are you getting any diagnostic trouble codes or dash lights?

Thanks for the reply.

Absolutely no dash lights.

I previously inspected the timing chain guides and they were in perfect shape - new tensioner added as well.

The sound isn’t present when cold only when warm - it’s a random sound unlike the death rattle.

the sound seems external to the engine like a bad bearing in the alternator or belt tensioner.

Hopefully someone has heard this before.

Ok, more info is good! It sounds external to the engine then? That’s a good sign for the wallet, hopefully! Lol. That changes things. It could possibly be the belt tensioner, or several other things as well, unfortunately that doesn’t help you much. Is it louder with the hood open? If it’s possible, you can try to narrow down the area that it’s coming from, then see what’s there that could be making the noise and start inspecting from there. Automotive stethoscopes are sometimes helpful to find the source of noises like this. You can get them from somebody like Harbor Freight for under $10. That’s where I would start. Try narrowing down the area that it seems to be coming from.
Good luck, and post what you find out.

Thanks so much for your reply!

Ill try try one of those stethoscopes from harbour freight.

I may also put the front of the car on stands, remove the passenger wheel and inner wheel well to hopefully isolate it.

No problem at all, I wish I could be more helpful. Those sound like a good place to start.
good luck

Interesting as I remember the service records the previous owner had referenced a noisy alternator....the owner declined service...

I really appreciate all the replies - I spent a few minutes starting from cold and letting under the hood - I could not make out the sound however when I leaned down by the passenger wheel, I could hear the sound - it is there when cold too however I didn't hear it as the engine revs a little higher (louder) until warm then settles down.

certainly its one on the pullies touching the belt - alternator, tensioner, friction. Wheel?

if it is the alternator, I will try to source new bearings....

lets see what turns up!

hopefully I'll have time to pull it in the garage and release the tensioner and friction wheel - rotate them all manually and find the culprit.

Just wanted to post an update on my investigation - fortunately the mini is a 3rd car so it can be disabled for a few days without someone screaming at me ;-)


I've been humbled to not make assumptions and there is no substitute for rolling up your sleeves to isolate the real source or sources....

I was preparing to put the car in service mode in case I had to replace the alternator however I found some articles that it may not be neccessary.

I decided to first try to release the friction wheel and tensioner, spin the tensioner, alternator and friction wheel by hand ....I removed the inner fenderwell, headlight and top radiator brace. I was surprised that I was a able to use a large adjustable wrench from the top to release the tensioner and push the pin in !! No. Special tool!

I did this and they all seemed smooth .....no play...no unusual sounds.....next I put the tensioner back in position to apply tension while the friction wheel was released. I had someone start the car while I lightly held the friction wheel away from the crank pulley - seemed normal. I then pressed friction wheel against and there was a sound like a dry bearing or metal rubbing....so I have determined that the friction wheel at minimum will need to be replaced! Ideally it would be nice to be able to simply replace the bearing than the whole mechanism. The water pump pulley looked good as did the belt (it was replaced in January).

I'll replace the friction wheel or its bearing and take it from there.....

key learnings:

1. No special tools required...to release tensioner.
2. Don't assume you have a timing chain issue...

More to come....

Good deal, glad it’s not something serious. Good job diagnosing it

Thanks everyone....I have a feeling it's not over...;-)

I found what seems to be the perfect solution on amazon! The dealer want about $150us +tax for the whole assembly yet just the wheel is being offered at $15.... this is a great idea. The only concern I have is what is the quality of this wheel and bearing ? Any one try this?





This wheel is inside this $150 assembly :

No guarantee that the whole assembly has a better bearing. I’m going to remove the wheel from the assembly and see if I can press out the bearing. I’ll freeze the wheel then heat up the wheel and press t out. If successful I’ll spource a top quality sealed bearing like skf, ***, Mtm...etc.

That way I know the bearing is top shelf.

Not sure if I’ll be successful in removing the bearing ... will see..

Well forget replacing the bearing as the friction wheel has some unusual wear on it - I’ll likely replace the whole friction wheel unit.

It was a major pain removing the friction wheel but I’m glad I did it. I followed the pelican parts process and dropped the one side of the engine however that didn’t give me enough clearance. I managed to get the theee 10mm bolts out. What a pain. Not sure yet how I will get them back in but I’ll deal with it when I need to.

I’ll be calling my insurance company to take insurance off the mini as I’m likely going to be working on it off and on for the next 2 weeks minimum.

So upon inspecting the friction wheel once disassembled, I spun the bearing and I didn’t hear any loud noises or clicking. There was a very little play but my experice with precision bearings is there should be zero lateral play. Either way I’ve take the decision to replace the friction wheel assenl

Now that the friction wheel assembly was off, I took the time to inspect the water pump pulley more closely.

It seemwd ok previously however I started rotating it to see the complete surface and I found a chunk missing.





These minis are inherent lemons.

Now I have to replace the water pump pulley as well.

Thw investigation continues.....

Another picture of the missing chunk from the water pump pulley - no doubt contributing to the strange sounds.

I also managed to take the tensioner pulley off.

There was a lot of oily/greasy residue on it - I suspect seeping out from the bearing. That said it seemed in good shape. No lateral play, no sound - I connected it to my cordless drill and spun it up ;-). I



Tensioner pulley. I put penatrating oil on the treads, let it sit over night and it came off with a little force.

The good news for everyone is these tensioner pulleys are available on their own so you don’t need to buy the whole tensioner assembly which from the dealer is $250cad ....I’ve seen aftermarket on Amazon $60-80USD.

I found a dayco one for $15 on amazon with an NTN bearing. I’ll be replacing this pulley as well. Might as well for $15.

Not impressed with this Peugeot engine.


Bearings are not easily sourced.





I decided to just get the factory parts

New parts put in ....

Dang, what a pita. On the positive side, there’s no substitute for being able to do some wrenching yourself! Think of how much $$ you are saving on labor!

No more strange sounds .....