Strange noise coming from my MCS engine. Help!

[tenderidol]

While in the parking lot last night -all the windows and the sunroof open- I heard something different coming from the engine of my 03 MCS (28K miles). Here are the detailes:

After the accelerator is pressed and released (as low as 2.0-2.5K rpm), while the engine is going back to idle, there is a "humming tone" coming from the engine. It seems to originate on the passenger side, next to the supercharger. It is NOT the power steering pump whine for sure and it only appears when the engine is going back to idle. It sounds like a "horn" playing 2-3 bass notes. Very weird... I cannot describe it very well, but it is similar to when an air opening is block with something. Weird.

I repeated the same thing clutch repressed; no difference. It is also the same while driving or just stationary.

Any help would be appreciated to diagnose this noise. Anybody else had this?

Sorry for starting with a problem with my first post to the MINI2. I should have posted many happy days with my MINI before.

Thanks!

[Hammer]

Take it to the dealer, one would have to hear it in person to even begin a diagnosis.

[tenderidol]

Thanks. I AM taking it to dealer on Tuesday morning. Just wanted to know what the source of this problem might be... Besides, if it is something serious, I dont want to drive the car around until then.

Have you had a situation, where you actually "tell" the dealer what you think is the problem and they confirm it later on? It happened to me quite a few times. In fact, I practically found the solution to my "squeaky windows" problem by searching MINI forums and gave my dealer the part numbers to order... After 7 trips with the same problem, that was the final solution!

Thanks in advance for any other comments regarding my engine noise problem.

[duboy]

tenderidol,

I had the same problem on my 2003 MCS, it ended up being one of the hoses coming from the PCV valve. Upon release of throttle, the hose would collapse a bit (like a garden hose with no pressure) and make the noise. Easiest thing to do , is pop the hood, and blip the throttle. The hose on my MCS that was flaky was right next to the intercooler, the tech saw it right away. Oh, and to test it, have a friend blip the throttle for you while you hold the hose tight, it will stop making the noise. Hope this helps! let us know if that's what it is. :-D

[tenderidol]

Thanks duboy!

It definitely sounds similar to what you are describing (both the location and the nature of the noise). I will check it tomorrow under day light and report back here

In your case, was that something that you could have fixed it yourself? i.e. was it a "loose" hose that needed to be tightened, or a defective hose that was replaced with a new one?

Little off-topic: I see that you are in Atlanta. I went to school there before I moved to California. I actually bought my MCS in Atlanta and did a cross-country to west coast. It was a blast! I missed many aspects of living in Atlanta, although CA has its own characteristics. There is a good MINI community there.

Cheers!

[duboy]

T-idol,

no, i my case it was not a loose hose, but rather one that seemed to have lost it's rigidity. it seemed like it flexed too much and was restricting flow. It was something they took one look at, and determined it was defective.

off topic reply : funny, i bought my MCS in NJ, and took a Road trip to Atlanta (I was also in school at the time...I'm a Ramblin' Wreck...you?). Unfortunately, I had to trade in my old MCS (reliability issues...many of them), but I am now going back to one in a few months. I graduated less than 2 years ago, so i've been discovering Atlanta very much recently.

keep me posted on the outcome!

[tenderidol]

Duboy,
I could not wait till morning, and I went to the parking lot with a flashligth to check it. Yes, I have exactly the same problem as you described it! The hose that is located at the left top corner of the supercharger is not rigid at all and it collapses when the throttle is released. If I hold it tight in my hand, I can block that noise.
Thanks very much for your help! I will get it replaced on Tuesday (assuming that it does not hurt to drive it like this). What's the function of that hose and what happens if I drive it like that for 2-3 more days before it is replaced?
Lastly, can anybody help locate the "part number" for this piece?
Thanks!
I posted a picture that shows the hose that we are talking about in case anybody wants to check the rigidity of theirs

[duboy]

T-idol,

The hose feeds into/out from the PCV valve, which has to do with emissions I think. something Crankcase Ventilation...Pressure maybe? I'll Googlewhack it later. Anyway, apparently, the PCV valve takes any unburned gas (?) and feeds it back into the air intake so it can be burnt up instead of spitting back out into the atmosphere. I think. someting along those lines. I don't think it's BAD to drive with it this way, maybe it wouldn't pass inspection?

I had my PCV valve hose replaced when I got my coolant expansion tank replaced at the same time they re-assembled my crumbling passenger door :-D. yeah, i don't have that MCS anymore :-(. Has your 03 been good to you otherwise?

keep us updated, and thanks for the pic!

[tenderidol]

Thanks for the reply duboy. This may have been going on for a while, since I remember hearing this noise about a week ago (I ignored it at that time); so, another day should not be an issue before I go to dealer on Tuesday.

It's good to know what that part is called (i.e., PCV valve hose). It will help me describe it to the MA.

Well... my car has been "so-so" I guess. Not any different than most of the MINIs after reading several threads on MINI2, NAM and Roadfly. It has been to the dealer quite a bit and several MAs know me very well Just to include some of the items that were replaced:
Steering column
Power steering pump
Power steering rack
Window regulators (both sides)
Sun wisor
Glove box
Oil filter housing
Upper right strut mount
Shifter knob
Sunroof rails
Master and Slave Clutch Cylinders (the problem is still there, so they are waiting for an approval from MINI to raplace the entire clutch -and possibly the transmission).

I guess you can say that I've had my share of the MINI legacy I love the beast, though

[tenderidol]

Since I know what the problematic part is (i.e., the PCV hose), I was able to locate SEVERAL threads with this problem on MINI2 (of course, using the "right" keywords helps). Apparently this is somewhat a common issue for MCS.

I wonder if the PCV valve also needs to be raplaced, along with the hose

[GTmini]

Does anyone know if the replacement hoses will suffer the same problem in time? (I also had my PCV hose replaced a couple of months ago for the same reason/problem).

Apparently duboy has also discovered that the MINI can often be considered a worthy replacement for the ramblin' wreck...it's quite an appropriate description at times. Maybe MINI just needs some GT MEs.

[tenderidol]

!!! I have to google "ramblin' wreck" to figure out what it was... Sorry for not knowing this. Well, I went to Emory for graduate school; so, that explains

GTmini... I just checked your galery and saw the buzz on your window. Cool

[duboy]

GTMini,

after I had my PCV hose replaced, I drove for another 12K miles until i traded the MCS in, and I did not have any problems. I have a buzz waiting to go on the window of my soon to be MCS (whenever I get around to ordering a 2005 that is). I'm excited to be going back to it :-)

T-idol,

Emory is cool, but if you were a UGA person, i'd have to talk trash :-P Sounds like you had a lot of the problems I had with my 2003...the last straw what when my tranny needed to be replaced :-(. But i must admit, none of my problems were lingering, once they fixed it, everything was all good. Good luck, keep us updated!

[tenderidol]

I just called the dealer and they have the PCV valve and the hose in stock. Someone over at roadfly forums mentioned that last week his "crank case hose" was also replaced with the same symptoms (gets mushy over time) as part of a recall (dealer also has this in stock). I will also ask about that tomorrow and post an update here, as to what they decided to replace...

I have been to Tech quite a few times actually. Do you guys know where "under the couch" was? I have played there with my band 2-3 times a week (I am a drummer) for about 2 years. I was the only non-Tech student in the band

[jcsinnh]

Careful guys, there are bulldogs out here and though we be old, we bite. Good thread and good info sharing.

PS I used to see this new band play for free in Piedmont Park on Saturday afternoons....think their name was Allman Brothers or something like that