18 replies to this topic

[shedonwheels]

Model:mpi
Year:1999
Any non standard parts: 10 inch wheel conversion with 7.5 discs, group 2 arches, hi-los.

There is a high pitched squeak, which sometimes sounds like a scrape, coming from the front passenger wheel.

It comes and goes-sometimes I don't hear it for weeks at a time then it comes back.

When the noise is here it seems to be very bad when doing left hand turns when the mini is heavy laden either with passengers or luggage in the back.
I also hear it lightly when I slow down, either using the brakes or just easing off the throttle.

Every time I take it to a garage the noise disappears but recently I had it in to be looked at and they fitted some longer wheel nuts at the front and also replaced the tapered pin bit that goes through the cv joint. It disappeared for a while after that but now it's back.
I don't think it's the wheel bearing as I had that replaced 6 months ago after it completely crumbled on me.

It's driving me mad, any ideas what it could be? Drive shaft? It doesn't sound like the drive shaft though

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

could it be the CV joints or how long ago did you replace you brake pads, they mightve been worn down too much and are scraping, i dont know if thats possible im just trying to think of what it could be or your wheel bearings might just need more grease?

[shedonwheels]

I did think maybe the cv joint had gone. But I would have thought the garage would spot that, especially when they were replacing the tapered pin thingamijig?
Maybe it's worth getting a second opinion from another garage?

[amarcd]

Stone in the brake pad?

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

I did think maybe the cv joint had gone. But I would have thought the garage would spot that, especially when they were replacing the tapered pin thingamijig?
Maybe it's worth getting a second opinion from another garage?

you would be surprised with some garages, you tell them to inspect the wheel bearing for example and thats all they will do, some people dont care enough lmao, theres only one place near me that my dad goes to and i will go to when im actually driving lol and ive just had a thought of what it might be, on my dads toyota yaris theres a scraping noise that we thought was the wheel bearing and it turns out, its the gearbox spindle has started to go, causing the scraping noise, we thought it was the front passenger side aswell but the scraping noise is always there though

[shedonwheels]

Hmm.
The reason I think it's somewhere around the wheels is because the speed of the noise changes dependent on what speed I'm driving at, and it sounds intermittent-like it's every wheel rotation.

Other times I have gone to another mini friend with a garage and he has just tightened up the hub nut which had come loose. I have had the hub nut tightened up twice now and each time the noise goes away and then comes back again. Could the hub nut being worked loose be a symptom of something like a cv joint going? or maybe something is bent out of alignment down there-a radius arm or tie bar?

I pretty much always go to the same garage which is my other half's dad's so I do trust them.

[danrock101]

I'd still check the wheel bearing, I've heard of a alot of people had to change theirs after not a long time.

[shedonwheels]

Stone in the brake pad?

I wish! Would it not make the noise every time I braked though? It doesn't at the mo.

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

are the hub nuts not meant to have a split pin or whatever its called to go through the bolt it bolted to so it cant come loose? and if something was bent like a tie bar, would that not just make the car pull to the left and affect the handling?

Edited by Mini Mad Drakeley, 05 January 2011 - 08:39 PM.

[shedonwheels]

I'd still check the wheel bearing, I've heard of a alot of people had to change theirs after not a long time.

Yeh I know what you mean. But 6 months?! Maybe it's a lack of grease as suggested above...

[shedonwheels]

are the hub nuts not meant to have a split pin or whatever its called to go through the bolt it bolted to so it cant come loose?

Yeh this was what was replaced and also a washer last time it was in. I tried to describe it but I'm not too mechanically minded sorry.

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

i really dont know, i would take it to your other halfs, dads garage and get him to pump it full of grease, cant do bad anyway, then just go on a straight road and let go of the steering wheel and see if it pulls to the left, if it does you might have a bent tie bar or something which i think if it pulling then it puts pressure on the wheel bearing and can wear it out faster than normal and the CV joint aswell but im not sure, im new to anything mechanical lmao and even your tyre pressures affect handling and if your front left tyre has seriously reduced pressure im guessing it would have the same affect on wheel bearing etc due to it pulling to the left, thats the way i would go about it anyway though and if that doesnt work i wouldve lost patience and repolaced wheel bearing, CV joint and every other moving part on it to try sort it lmao

[The_Mistro]

Hmm.
The reason I think it's somewhere around the wheels is because the speed of the noise changes dependent on what speed I'm driving at, and it sounds intermittent-like it's every wheel rotation.

Other times I have gone to another mini friend with a garage and he has just tightened up the hub nut which had come loose. I have had the hub nut tightened up twice now and each time the noise goes away and then comes back again. Could the hub nut being worked loose be a symptom of something like a cv joint going? or maybe something is bent out of alignment down there-a radius arm or tie bar?

I pretty much always go to the same garage which is my other half's dad's so I do trust them.

i had this and it turns out it was the bearings and the CV joint. The shaft that the bearing sits on had worn when the bearing had gone, meaning that the new bearing that had been put on moved slightly and that soon wore that one out (less than six months)! bit of a pig, but might be worth popping the brake disc off and inspecting it for wear

Edited by The_Mistro, 05 January 2011 - 09:01 PM.

[shedonwheels]

I get annoyed to the point of replacing absolutely everything quite often but then the noise goes away again!

[shedonwheels]

i had this and it turns out it was the bearings and the CV joint. The shaft that the bearing sits on had worn when the bearing had gone, meaning that the new bearing that had been put on moved slightly and that soon wore that one out (less than six months)! bit of a pig, but might be worth popping the brake disc off and inspecting it for wear

You know that really does sound like it might be what's wrong. Before my wheel bearing failed my mini was making The Noise for quite a while, then when the bearing went it went it really did, it just crumbled to bits. The Noise suddenly became a horrendous metal on metal scraping vibrating noise. It happened on a bad bend so I had to limp about 1/4 mile down the road to a layby to wait for recovery so that might well have done some damage to where the bearing sits.

I had the wheel bearing replaced and then on the way back home (about 70miles) it started making The Noise again. My bf's dad was in the area the next day at a car auction so he came and picked up the mini and took it back but I'm not sure what he did to fix it-he mentioned a washer or a shim but I'm not sure what exactly sorry. He said something was moving? Maybe what you described is what happened. Thanks!! I'll ask him what he thinks...

Edited by shedonwheels, 05 January 2011 - 09:16 PM.