Hi guys! I'm new here but I was a member many many years ago what I had in 02 Cooper s. This is actually my third, an 06 British racing green 6-speed. I've loved it for the month that I've had it but as of yesterday I've got a huge problem it seems?

When I'm accelerating everything seems okay, but as soon as I let off the gas pretty much at any speed (and it's quite a bit more pronounced at highway speeds) - I get a knocking and mild driveline vibration that seems to go in relation to the speed of the car. It's basically as soon as I remove my foot from the gas, head it's anywhere from 1,800 to about 2,500. it almost sounds like it's a loose exhaust banging back and forth, just not quite as loud. When you get back in the gas everything seems to be fine again. I've coasted with it in gear and in neutral and I've even shut the car off at speed to see if the noise went away, and no matter what when your foots off the gas as you're slowing it will make the same rotational knock knock knock knock knock!?

I have heard there something called a dampener on these that's known to fail? The car has about a hundred thousand miles, and I don't have the maintenance history of it so I can't say how well it's been maintained, but from what I can discern it has been a well-kept car. Bone stock, mechanically.

Possibly related I am having an issue with random fan operation as well that seems to coincide with this. The coolant temperature stays right where it should, but then if I come to a stop in the car idles for a while the fan will kick in and the temperature gauge starts to rise to the red area! If it does this (randomly, it's happened about four times in the past 2) I'll shut the car off immediately and the fan will stay on until it cools it back down to the middle area of the temp gauge. There's no consistent pattern and it's definitely not hot out. It just seems to happen randomly.

I do have an appointment to get it in tomorrow, but in the meantime so I can stop worrying about it freaking out about the potential cost to fix it, does anybody have any idea what this could be?

Cheers!

 

Sounds like your universal in one of your driveshafts is bad. Get under there and grab hold of them and give it a good tug. If it moves you found the issue.
Good Luck!

 

Thanx! As it is going in today I guess I'll know soon enough, but for now I can do a little digging online to see if anyone else has the same type of problem. Seems there are quite a few potential causes.....funny how it came on so quick! Within one day it was very noticeable.

By the way, I saw where you're from. Say to to Punxsutawny Phil and wish him luck for me

 

 

Well I brought it in and sadly it's not going to be a quick cheap fix.... Though being a Mini I didn't really think it would be!

Turns out I've got a faulty thermostat, so that was causing my random overheating issues (luckily caught well before any damage was done) - but turns out I also have a leaky rad, so that will need to be replaced alongside random upprr hoses etc.... So figure this job's going to be pretty close to a grand. :P

But the biggie, the thump thump thump, they couldn't find anything amiss externally in the suspension, so they figured it had to be coming from the transmission. they couldn't get to it today so I left it over for the weekend, but Monday they'll be pulling it out and seeing if they can find out what it is. Figure 2 hours re and re each way and whatever has to be done, this probably won't be a cheap fix! Happily the car does drive beautifully otherwise, so I pray it isn't needing a complete transmission rebuild. The car only has 148 km (less than a hundred thousand miles) so I can't imagine it's a catastrophic issue, but when you read the random things online of what can go wrong with these cars..... I'm expecting the worst and hoping for the best.

I did actually get an inspection about a week after I bought it and I tended to a few minor things that needed to be done. I've only had to car about six weeks and these two things have happened within the past week. Just getting old I guess?

I'll probably post up what transpired on Tuesday or so...... Wish me luck!

 

The poor wee green fella!