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Mini R53 S Engine Rattle - can anybody identify? (Including video)

3K views 29 replies 7 participants last post by  Spacemonkey... 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello Boys n Girls,

after browsing through posts in the R53 section for weeks trying to find a solution for my problem i thought i´d now create a post to ask some help from you guys.

After having owned a R53 S (which i gave to my mother) and a R56 Works ( which sadly blew up) , i was browsing the web for another R53 S in good condition as these are getting rare and also slowly goin up in price. ended up finding myself an 2006 R53 S Park Lane with around 100k kms on the clock. First owner, full paperwork, lots of replacements, really good condition, blah.
Plant Vehicle Vehicle registration plate Car Hood


After buying the car i somewhen noticed some rattle at idle . apparently coming from the left side of the engine, as far as i can hear. its not constantly there, coming and going. sometimes louder, sometimes not. it rises when the engine is revved up.

what i did so far but didnt help:

  • replaced idler pulley
  • took supercharger off for service and WP change (which both were in very good conditon)
  • took cam cover off to check condition of chain, sprocket and guides (didnt see anything faulty apart from the fact that the chain had a bit of slack on the non - tensioner side when i lifted it with my fingers. had the cover off one more time after that and this time i could not lift the chain with my fingers, no slack at all :unsure:)
  • replaced chain tensioner (which also was good)
  • changed Oil and filter, plugs, air filter

Thought about rod knock but i checked the old oil filter and there was nothing to find. when my r56 blew up, i found metal shavings in the oil filter and it made quite a diffent sound compared to the sound that can be heard in the video.
i did not have the oil pan off so far bc the car is now standing in a garage at my parents house which is not around the corner.

When the engine runs without aux belt, the rattle is gone ,even when revved up....

with the good old screwdriver method, the sound can be heard very clear on the housing of the alternator. i checked the alternator when the charger was off, bearings seemed to be fine when i turned it by hand...

so i´m a bit lost. it also doesnt sound like a chain rattle to me.

i think i might notice a lack of mid range power compared to my mums R53. oil pressure shown at the chrono pack - which they both have - also seems to be lower than on the other Mini. when changing the oil, i found two small tiny black pieces, barely noticeable on a fingertip, when in checked the oil after draining. with a lighter flame, they melted straight away, so this might be plastic? at idle it seems to run a bit "rougher" than normall, respectively i got the feeling that the car vibrates a bit more at idle than it should.

heres the video link:


maybe someone experienced similar noises or has a good idea to point me into the right direction. bit of a bugger now but i like that mini and its condition so it would be sad to let it go.

appreciate any help, thanks in advance (y)

Tim
 
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#4 ·
simply because it spun freely without any noise or play when i had it removed and i didnt want to replace a 300 quid part "for nothing" plus the screwdriver method is not that accurate so the noise could be from somewhere else eventhough it is heard very clear at the alternator.
 
#5 ·
yes thats what i thought, unloaded vs. loaded. but i was wondering if an alternator bearing could even make such rattling noise?

havent changed the tensioner so far, my holidays are over so i do not have much time to work on the car right now.
belt tension seems to be fine apart from that..
 
#6 ·
You appear to have possibly missed a clue with that loose chain imo

Check the front guide, both really but the front ones break more

Then review


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#7 ·
You appear to have possibly missed a clue with that loose chain imo

Check the front guide, both really but the front ones break more

Then review


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, thats what i also had in mind, the front guide. Wann to drop pan soon to Check. But what confuses me is the fact that the rattle is completely gone when the engine runs without aux Belt :unsure:
 
#10 ·
I'd do the top first, pull the rocker cover, top mount off, top sprocket off, or forward, end cap/s off and guide/s out and you'll see, it has to come off here anyway to check/swap the guide/s.... if intact maybe no need to do the sump \O/
 
#12 ·
you don't really have to mess with timing to do this, the sprocket is pinned so there is no adjustment to make, and you can cable tie the chain to the sprocket so it doesn't lose position, but you should use the tool to hold the cam still and avoid loading the chain tightening it etc. It is best to check the timing mark lines up first but that's up to you, only needs the motor turning over until the sprocket arrow and chain link aligns, at the same time the pistons will all be equal heights, just remove the plugs to make life easy, as it's a lot of rotations to get there sometimes, then carry out the process knowing you're protected should the cable tie break or something else unlikely, it doesn't take long at all, there is nothing to 'set' if you do this.
 
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#14 ·
sprocket will obstruct removal

honestly it's no big deal,

this mark to align.... just keep turning until it meets up....

Household hardware Auto part Machine Engineering Metal


and even if you didn't, and then even if the cable tie broke and you lost all timing references, there's still another way ;O)
 
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#16 ·
Small update. Maybe somebody can shoot in another idea of whats going on with me engine..

I lately also replaced the Alternator and belt tensioner, both brand new parts. So basically every belt-driven part replaced. And yeah, Rattle still there (n)

when i unload the belt with the tool while the engine is idling, the rattle stops and then engine seems to run a bit smoother. as soon as i put load on again, idle revs drop a bit (i guess thats normal) and the noise comes back..

Could it be a worn main bearing on the chain side which knocks when the belt is on because the belt pulls one-sided on the crank pulley? Bit confusing that there is no noise at all without belt even when i rev the engine up to 3,4k ...

thanks again !
 
#21 ·
Small update. Maybe somebody can shoot in another idea of whats going on with me engine..

I lately also replaced the Alternator and belt tensioner, both brand new parts. So basically every belt-driven part replaced. And yeah, Rattle still there (n)

when i unload the belt with the tool while the engine is idling, the rattle stops and then engine seems to run a bit smoother. as soon as i put load on again, idle revs drop a bit (i guess thats normal) and the noise comes back..

Could it be a worn main bearing on the chain side which knocks when the belt is on because the belt pulls one-sided on the crank pulley? Bit confusing that there is no noise at all without belt even when i rev the engine up to 3,4k ...

thanks again !

could be the vibration damper starting to split, leaving the outer ring (belt run) to make some noise when loaded perhaps
 
#20 ·
yes but there's not much to them
 
#25 ·
To me it sounds like a knackered bearing in something. I had a bearing go in an aircon clutch pulley before. IN that situation, the part was not available so I took the bearing out and took it to a bearing supplier and got a match. When I've had idler pulleys go it's more of a whine/screech than a knocking rumble.
 
#26 ·
yeah thats my guess also but WHICH bearing headscratch

basically i have replaced every outer belt driven part. so thats not the cause. and as it appears / disappears with the belt tensioned / untensioned, i fear that this is crank related.

so i just might replace the big end bearings and see if its gone. is there any proper way to change the upper bearing shell without removing the crank?
i saw some fancy video on youtube with something put inside the oil hole and then rotate the crank and so get it out / in.. is this a proper method ? :unsure:
 
#27 ·
On my olde Mk1 MX5 there was a common problem that the crank pulley came slightly loose which caused the woodruff key to wear it's slot. This caused a knocking but was also apparent bya slight wobble in the pulley, but not always obvious. The cure I did was new woodruff key fitted into the slot with chemical metal and smoothed in. It showed no sign of letting go for the next 100k that I knew of. Dunno if you've checked that? Have you checked the aircon clutch bearing?
 
#28 ·
thanks for that hint. i did not have the pulley off so far so i could not check it in detail. but i slightly doubt that it could / would make that specific noise at all. well, you never know, cars often are a miracle..

i checked it by hand and theres no movement, seems to be rock solid, no seperation, no wobbling, just the center bolt has a slight "wobble" when the engine is running...

i did an aircon delete with a shorter belt, so i can exclude that as well.
 
#29 ·
these don't have a woodruff key
 
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