FRUSTRATED....Can anyone help!!

[SiNNeD]

Recently I have noticed that when I come up to a curve (left) in the road at a low speed and I start to turn the steering wheel to the left to go into the curve I hear a metal scraping noise coming from the left rear brake. I then took it in to the dealer and they as usual told me that they could not duplicate the problem and it was down to my aftermarket wheels.....Go Figure!! So the next step was to take my MCS out and test things. In doing so I have noticed that when I hear the noise emitting from the rear left brake and I pull the handbrake up the noise stops. I then dont hear the noise for sometime. It seems as tho when I travel down a bumpy road and when getting to a curve after a long period of driving I hear the noise. I have myself taken the wheel off to inspect for obvious wear but have found nothing. Like I said before it sounds like it would if the brake pad was worn and it is metal on metal not really a grinding noise just a metallic noise. The noise seems to appear when there is a torque put on the rear left wheel. Is this the Disc....could it be bad bearings...could it be that my calipers are not releasing properly after I have had the handbrake pulled over night during it being parked. Also I know this may sound like a dumb question but when you apply the front brakes during driving is there any application that goes to the rear brakes cuz if there isnt then somethins wrong cuz my rear brakes get warm not HOT but warm. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated!!

I will be puttin factory wheels back on tomorrow to see if this persists with those as well.

Thank you in advance

SiNNeD

[Malin Dixon]

The rear brakes are operated by the foot pedal, just less than the front. There may be less cooling of the rear brakes so they may still get quite hot.

If the rear brakes are a similar temperature, they are probably working OK.

I think that you have a failed wheel bearing, and the wheel is twisting a bit, with the top moving to the inside as you corner. When you apply the handbrake, the brake pads hold the wheel in the right place so the noise goes. Also the rotational force on the brake pads has to be opposed by an opposite force on the bearing. This change of force may cause the bearing to be quiet for a minute or two.

My experience of main dealers is that bearings are not diagnosed properly:-

http://www.malin.me.uk/audi/bearing.htm

[SiNNeD]

Quote: Originally Posted by Malin Dixon

The rear brakes are operated by the foot pedal, just less than the front. There may be less cooling of the rear brakes so they may still get quite hot.

If the rear brakes are a similar temperature, they are probably working OK.

I think that you have a failed wheel bearing, and the wheel is twisting a bit, with the top moving to the inside as you corner. When you apply the handbrake, the brake pads hold the wheel in the right place so the noise goes. Also the rotational force on the brake pads has to be opposed by an opposite force on the bearing. This change of force may cause the bearing to be quiet for a minute or two.

My experience of main dealers is that bearings are not diagnosed properly:-

http://www.malin.me.uk/audi/bearing.htm

Thank you for your reply....I was wanting to narrow it down to the bearing but I was unsure. Like I have stated before I have checked EVERYTHING near that area and it has to be internally. When I get my MCS back from gettin color coded next week I will take it in to the incompetent dealer near me and demand they look at that bearing...Thank you again you have been a big help

[A13EX F Cooper S]

if you are thinking of getting it fixed under warranty even going back to them with standard wheels on wil be a problem.

Almost all dealers will try and avoid paying for warranty work, the easiest way for them to do this is to say your aftermarket wheels caused it.

You may be lucky and when you first went in there they havn;t noted on the system that you had modified wheels. More then likely they have noted that you had wheels on it and will not fix it under warranty.

[SiNNeD]

Quote: Originally Posted by A13EX F Cooper S

if you are thinking of getting it fixed under warranty even going back to them with standard wheels on wil be a problem.

Almost all dealers will try and avoid paying for warranty work, the easiest way for them to do this is to say your aftermarket wheels caused it.

You may be lucky and when you first went in there they havn;t noted on the system that you had modified wheels. More then likely they have noted that you had wheels on it and will not fix it under warranty.

Or I could just put my stock wheels back on and take it to another completely differant Mini Dealership
Would anyone know if it is a bad bearing then why I dont hear it ALL the time only when I turn my steering wheel to the left. If its a bad bearing why wouldnt I hear it driving straight and or in a right turn?

[A13EX F Cooper S]

I dont know how mini computer systems work but i have experience with vw systems in the uk.

they actually have all car details on a central computer which every dealer can access.

maybe mini dont record info like that on a central computer, but maybe they do i would advise you to put standard wheels on and try a different dealer, it'd be worth it if it saved you the cost of a repair.

[SiNNeD]

Would anyone know if it is a bad bearing then why I dont hear it ALL the time only when I turn my steering wheel to the left. If its a bad bearing why wouldnt I hear it driving straight and or in a right turn?

[Eelke]

Driving in a straight line or in a turn puts different forces on the wheel, especially those perpendicular to the direction of the car. The wheel will be pushed in different directions when in left turns than when in right turns or in a straight line, which can cause problems like this to manifest themselves only when turning in a certain direction.

[SiNNeD]

Ok well the sound that this makes would be like if you were to take two frying pans and rub the bottom of one another against one another in a circular motion...this noise is when I turn my steering wheel to the left going around a bend or somethin of that nature. So would this be a bad bearing. I dont think it would have anything to do with the brakes cuz the noise dissapears when I pull the handbrake up throught the turn to the left