My go-to forum for my mini...

I've got a speed related ticking noise that sounds like it's coming from the pedal area. I say speed related because it ticks faster was speed goes up. It's not engine related. I rolled down a hill with the engine off and the ticking continued and accelerated as speed increased. During my last annual inspection, I was told my left A-arm needs to be replaced. I've bought the parts for both sides and am ready to replace them. Any thoughts on diagnosing the ticking noise before I get the car up on stilts so I know what else I need to fix? any chance it's related to the A arm?

 

If you raise the front end and turn the front wheels by hand, do you hear the ticking?

 

I'll check tomorrow, thanks

 

Well, I jacked it up and spun the wheels and no sound. Took it for a drive and nothing. It's been intermittent, but yesterday was the loudest. Another symptom is that you can feel a slight tapping in the clutch.

Dumb question, do R56's have a mechanical speedometer cable or are they digital?

 

I believe the R56 gets the speedometer signal digitally from the wheel sensors via the ABS module.

Do you hear the ticking with the transmission in neutral or in gear or both? Does depressing the clutch affect the ticking?

 

Thanks for hanging in here with me. When I coasted down the hill I had the engine off and the clutch depressed and it was still ticking.

I'm going to take a drive today to see if I can get it going again. If I do, I may have my wife sit in the car rolling down the hill and walk beside it to see If I can isolate the location. I'd like to figure it out before I start swapping the UCAs.

 

One possibility is that the transmission is ticking. Have you checked or replaced the transmission oil?

In your rolling downhill test, it might be interesting to compare three different conditions: (1) clutch depressed with transmission in gear, (2) clutch depressed with transmission in neutral, and (3) clutch NOT depressed with transmission in neutral.

 

I got it up on my lift and this is what I found...CV seal is toast.

Likely culprit?
Do I have to replace the whole CV?
It looks like it was rubbing on the brake fluid line. Is that where it's supposed to run? I should probably bend it out of the way...

 

If the CV joint had no grease for a while, then the clicking noise was likely the dry joint. In this case, replace the axle rather than just the boot.

Is your picture showing the right inner CV joint? I presume that a brake line bracket was disconnected or broken. You may also need to replace that brake line.

 

thanks? The photo is the inner driver’s side next to the trans. Is parts geek okay as a source?

 

I haven't used Parts Geek. Have you compared the prices and selections at RockAuto?

 

Your Mini has a manual transmission. In this case, members of this forum highly recommend the use of this tool to dislodge the axle from the transmission. Luckily, AutoZone includes the axle popper among its loaner tools, which are FREE to rent.

I wasn't so lucky as my Mini has an automatic transmission, where there isn't enough space to fit the axle popper between the inner CV joint and the transmission. :(