6 replies to this topic

[CooperLover]

Driving my mini back to work this lunch and the annoying squeek that has been on and off for a couple of months now (never able to find what it was) has turned into something more serious. Suddenly there was a clicking from the car, which then developed into a serious sounding knocking that is quite loud and seems to be constant no matter whether the car is being driven straigh, turning etc...

The noise sounds really loud and has sh*t me up a bit as this has made me thing it's really seriuos.

The squeeking that it progressed from was only when the car was in motion and not just sat there revving so don't think it was any belts. i thought originally that it may have been a wheel bearing, but the guy who services it for me says there was no play in any wheels...

Just looking for help - if anybody thinks these symptoms describe anything in particular please let me know! I'm gonna try trundling it home, but don't want to hit any kind of speed with that kinda noise.

I had a look under her when I got to work, but couldn't see anything hanging or anything around the wheels that looks any different.

Any help appreciated!

[dan__wright]

does the knocking get faster as the car does?

[CooperLover]

To be honest it only started knockin 2 mins before I got it parke up, bit I think yes - the squeeking that preceeded it went faster or slower depending on how fst I was going...

any ideas?

[Steve@RetroDash]

squeaking is probably a wheel bearing, does it get louder when cornering?
if not then it could be your water pump as this will spin faster the faster you go.
this is often caused when the fan belt is over tightened causing premature wear on the pump bearings. new pump is very cheap and easy to replace


causes of knocking could be any number of things

1 ball joints (need greasing or replacing/reshimming)

2 subframe mounts (loose or corroded)

3 engine mounts

4 cv joints worn (inner or outer/both)

where abouts in east anglia are you some one on this forum might be able to come and have a look

what age is the mini?

[Jammy]

if not then it could be your water pump as this will spin faster the faster you go.
this is often caused when the fan belt is over tightened causing premature wear on the pump bearings. new pump is very cheap and easy to replace

If the noises aren't there when they are stationary its very unlikely this is the cause.

[Steve@RetroDash]

my pump only squeaked when i was driving over 30. was fine on normal A roads. replaced the pump and all was fine. just from my experience really.
was worse under hard accelleration though

[ianbunyan]

head gasket! what do i know... lol... minis, they're the best don't yu think? things go wrong, but pennies to replace... dangit why am i selling?!