1st Gen R53 Cooper S Help: Passenger side engine noise under hard acceleration

OK so here is what I know....
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to drive my MINI on the Indy 500 track, and in doing so noticed an engine noise coming from the passenger side that seems to most present around 3000 RPM under load.

I have since recreated this noise at home driving next to buildings or along road barriers.

The steps I have taken
1. checked the tensioner. The shock bushings looked good, neither were cracked and the rubber was still good condition. Tensioner seemed to be doing its job without any complaints
2. I have listened to the car and start up and at idle numerous times since and have not heard anything out of the ordinary, and have revd the engine, but nothing to indicate the supercharger is at fault. Most of what I have read and searched seems to point to the supercharger making noise even at idle. I even bought a stethoscope from the autoparts store to be able to listen more carefully, thinking that my trusty long screwdriver might be feeding me false information.

So this is where I am......
I think it might a timing tensioner, or still could be the supercharger. I am even planning on changing the belt because threw my searching I had read that it might be the issue. I guess I am looking for some other educated guesses, as I am running out. I always try to start with the least complex and cheapest solution first, and have yet to solve this mystery

Also, I forgot to mention I do have the typical throwout bearing noise that graces most our cars.

Thanks for any help
John

 

No performance difference, i can feel, and I can not recreate the noise when parked in neutral and accelerating the engine. This past weekend I took the pass. wheel off and took the fender liner out to look at the the crank pulley and reved the engine and there was no noise. This is why I am confused, thought too it was the crank pulley giving way.

Milage on the the Cooper is 71, 000 so I am sure there is going to start being a long list of things that need replacing in the coming miles.

Tonight I think I will take the belt off again and see if there is any play in the crank pulley. I guess there is really no way to check to see if that is bad visually is there?

 

no burning rubber smell. And as far as describing the noise well it does get faster as the revs increase, but for an actual sound.......I dont know, at first I thought it was an exhaust leek somewhere, if that helps describe the sound. I am afraid one mans ting is anothers clang. Describing sounds is not that reliable. But to humor everyone I will try.....
It sort of sounds like cardboard on a bike wheel....but tin-ier......I guess maybe I should post a video or a sound clip


I am trying to diagnose this as soon as possible I have an Autocross event this next week and would like to be able to go.

 

By the way thanks for the reply's. Its nice to know there is at least one person trying to help me out

 

just relieved the tension on the belt and tried to "wiggle" the crank pulley, it does not have any lateral movement to it, suggesting the rubber is failing. I dont even know if that is an excitable test to do on a crank pulley, seemed logical. If the rubber was failing there should be some sort of movement hence the noise it could be generating.,......

 

My other thought was a bad motor mount i believe they are original to the car. I don't have any bracing under the car so I don't think it could be the exhaust hitting anything. And as for the cv's, the boots are still looking really good, are they known to fail while still sealed?

What is the best way to check for a bad motor mount?
And what is an acceptable way of checking the crank pulley?

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas.

 

Motor mount failure is starting to make the most sense. I am going to change the belt, and since the part is cheap going to change the timing tensioner as well. I will look at the motor mounts and if there is a lot of play change those out as well.

I planned on servicing the supercharger this fall, since according to most of the posts my current mileage is when it should be looked at.

I really wish I was closer to a more active region of DIYers so I could glean some MINI knowledge first hand, but I guess thats why we've got this forum.

Thanks everybody for the ideas, hopefully I can get this thing worked out. I may end up having to drive an two hours north to Detroit Tuned and have them listen to it. ROAD TRIP!!!!