4 replies to this topic

[martin24]

Hi Guys,

I have a Rover Mini Italian Job, 1275cc, 1992. It started making two very strange noises and for the life of me i can't figure out what is the cause of them!

1. Grinding noise.
When the car is in motion then turning left there is a rather loud grinding noise coming from the drivers front wheel, it seem as though every time pressure is put on it from turning, it makes the noise, i think it could be the disc, the pads or the drive shaft...!

2. Clicking noise.
When in motion every time i put my foot on the accelerator pedal a strange clicking noise comes from what sounds like the footwell. Its almost as if something is caught to create this clicking noise...!

If you have any ideas what these strange noises could be please let me know, it would be most helpful.

Kind regards

Martin

[ZKruly87]

wheel bearing and or outer CV joint. grinding would be the wheel bearing. clicking is almost certainly the CV joint. So they could both be related or two seperate problems. has it been in an accident recently. or just bumped the curb maybe?

[martin24]

Hi ZKruly87,

Oh right thats sounds like a good place to start, cheers. No it hasn't been in any accident or bumped into high curbs or pot holes as far as i know, it's mostly keeped in storage.

Cheers

Martin

[Gulfclubby]

Put it on a lift (or jack it up so that the front wheels are in the air, use axle stands) and check whether there is any sideways or vertical play in the wheels.
If the wheels wiggle when you grab them top and bottom and rock them, it's the bearing or the ball joints. If it wiggles only from left and right, it's either loose steering arms or a worn steering rack (which can make a lot of noise on load change if there is too much play in it. Just replaced mine for that reason.)
Also with one wheel on the ground, the one in the air should not wiggle left/right. This could be an indication for too much play in the ball joint of the steering rack. This way you can also judge how much play there is in the CV joints, maybe even reproduce the clicking noise you hear. Good luck.

[book]

re problem #1

it could be just a bit of gravel stuck somewhere. I've had this twice and thought it was something serious because of the racket.

it was solved the first time by driving (stopped pulling into the garage to sort it out)

second time it was resolved just be reversing and going forward a couple of feet several times.

i'd try that before doing anything drastic!