When turning my car is making a metalic clicking noise. The car has to be warmed up (driven) and when it's turning there is a clicking. Like there is something on the wheel hitting something. It happens both left and right. It's similar to back in the "old days" (no offense to those growing up in the 50-60's) when people put baseball cards on their bike frames. Unlike baseball cards this is metalic sounding. The car can be in or out of gear...no difference. It's been in once and while the service guy heard it, the techs couldn't get the sound replicated so as everyone knows, nothing was done, since they couldn't replicate haha...(I don't know how many times over the years at Mercedes I had that on a service bill - now MINI?!)

any ideas?

 

I have the same problem on my R53!

It started around 8K miles & the dealer said it's my Wilwood Brakes (It's not). They also said it was my wheels (It's not).
Now they won't do anything about it & my car only has 12K miles!!!

It has to be an axle or loose wheel bearing so I'm going to take it in again once I'm done with an interior project.

 

what are wilwood brakes? a brand?
i'm all stock

 

My two cents here.... check the sway bar end links. they have been know to crack. best to remove and inspect, because on the Mini they might "look" ok.

 

Does the clicking cadence change with the speed of the car in the turn?

 

Google Wilwood for more info- It's an aftermarket brake system.

My sway bar endlinks are adjustable aftermarket pieces as well & they're in fine shape.

The clicking cadence on my car does change with the speed of the car & makes no noise while driving in a straight line.

 

The clicking sound usually happens when CV joints go bad, check and see if any of your rubber CV boots are split.

 

CV joint/boot?

I once had a small rock stuck in the rotor vanes and it caused a clicking noise.

 

that varies with speed is a classic sign of CV joint problems. There is a rubber boot over the joint that hold the lubricant in. Best case is it's only dry and a new boot and lube will fix it. Worst case is the CV joint is shot, and it's time for a new axle. This shouldn't be happening at low mileage at all.

Other things to check are the front wheel bearings, but I'd be guessing CV joints....

Matt

 

The boots are mint on my car- Again only 12K miles.

I also looked for a rock in the rotors since the Wilwood calipers are really close to the rotors but no rock.

The dealer said they replaced one of the axles when I initially reported the problem at 8K miles but it didn't help. The new axle doesn't look any newer than the old one so I wonder if it was actually replaced.

They also told me they bolted on the stock wheels & the noise went away so they deduced my 1 piece wheels were making the noise (Wheels don't make noise if they're not rubbing on something). I know this didn't happen because stock wheels won't clear my Wilwood brakes W/O spacers (I scratched a caliper when trying before I bought my SSR wheels).

The Service Mgr also told me wheel bearings don't click when turning & go silent when driving straight so he said he would have to charge me if he replaces an axle or wheel bearing if the problem doesn't go away. I'm probably going to have to escalate the situation...

 

they do have access to 18" wheels.... But I'd be guessing that since the axle isn't looking any different, that maybe they're not being entirely truthfull

That said, only way to call them on the BS would be to pop on the stock brakes and show them that the issue is still there with the stock wheels.

Matt

ps, I have heard of multi-piece rims doing this when some of the bolts were loose at the rim.

 

I sold the factory JCW brakes so I can't do the swap back for testing : (

I know about multi-piece wheels making noise but my SSRs are 1 piece.

The shop forman also tried to tell me that 2-piece rotors are illegal in the US so I asked him why Corvette, Porsche, Ferrari, etc... are selling illegal brake systems- He didn't have an answer for that.

 

My old R53's CV joints clicked for a couple of weeks before they broke down.

 

+1

Classic symptom of worn/broken CV joint.

I had a '71 Mini 1000 long ago that used to go through CV joints often - so I am intimately familiar with that sound.

(Funny how sidestepping a clutch in 1st gear with the engine revving 5000 rpm at a stoplight will cause undo wear of a driveshaft/CV joint!)

(Also funny how you can get some big clouds of smoke from those tiny 10" front tires if the axles don't break. Very entertaining!)

Sorry about that - mini-flashback!


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One other possibility - - -

Are you using the stock wheel bolts? If they have a different taper than the holes in your wheels they could allow a little movement - it wouldn't take much to cause a sound like a worn CV.

Not likely, but worth a look maybe?

Wheel spacers can cause these noises too, if they don't fit perfectly. Are you using spacers?



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I'm using aftermarket lug bolts made for aftermarket wheels & I used a torque wrench. I don't use spacers because I made sure my wheels had the perfect off-set/brake clearance before buying them.

I also just bolted-on a new set of Wilwood Calipers since the dealer left brake fluid on my old red calipers when flushing the brake fluid at my last service. I now have polished calipers that won't be damaged by brake fluid but the $#*!@!! clicking is still there...

I'm going to call the dealer next week to see if they'll look at the axles or bearings again.

 

By any chance did you use hub centric rings with your aftermarket rims?

 

Yes to the hubcentric rings.

They seem like a good fit- Any ideas?

I guess I could remove the rings & drive around the block as an experiment before calling the dealer again...

 

My guess would be CV joint. Check the boots underneath. They may have come off altogether or there may be the slightest crack in one. All it takes is a little dust/dirt/debris and it's ruined. Once the integrity is compromised, it's just a matter of time until it goes out. A gradual decline and the clicking will get louder. To avoid the clicking, lay off the accelerator during turning and coast. The clicking should stop as long as you aren't hitting the gas. If it's still under the service warranty, you should be okay. I'm sure boot inspection is listed in the service checks.

 

i had this problem with my (already problematic) R53. It was diagnosed as a defective axle shaft.

 

As I said before my boots are mint with only 12K miles.

The problem is constant wether accelerating or deaccelerating or coasting: Clicking when ever the wheel is turned in either direction & silence when going straight ahead wether the brakes are applied or not.

Over the last year, I've visited the dealer 3 times & they said it's my brakes one time, then my wheels the next, then my brakes again. They also said they will charge me for axles if they replace anything & the problem doesn't go away- Sure feels like "blackmail" to me : (

 

I pronounce it, "don't mod".

 

if you're someplace with only one dealer, you're kind of screwed. If this is turning into a real problem, see if someone with a stock brake kit that they still have after upgrading will lend it to you for a while to "go back to stock" for the diagnosis and warranty stuff.

It sad but true that there are dealers that will use every excuse in the book to not fix a problem. Seems to me that if it's a warranty issue, and they're the ones to mis-diagnose the problem, they eat the costs!

Another thing that might help is to find another local Mini person who has wheels big enough to fit over the brakes to see if wheel swaps do make a difference, just to be sure.

Matt

 

i'm not modded

so if it is this cv joint, is it safe enough to drive? i'm leaving tonight on a 350mile round trip for the weekend. i assume i'll be fine?

i'm going in next week (2nd time) to get it fixed(?).

 

Thanks for your "helpful" feedback Dan. You probably didn't notice the guy that started this thread has a stock 2008 car- Hope this never happens to your stock car.

Good idea about borrowing wheels to eliminate one variable Matt ; )

PS. It's not really the size of the stock wheel that causes problems- It's caliper clearance.