2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Intake Valves/Lifters/Vanos Solenoid/Injector Failure Symptoms?

  1. Motoring Magic

    Motoring Magic New Member
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    #5 Motoring Magic, Oct 26, 2014
    how fresh is the oil? I ask as a posible diagnosis tool-the vanos movement is oil pressure driven and dirty oil could cause it to be lazy/noisy. AN oil change then test drive is an easy test.
    Aside from that, we have NEVER seen a bad injector or lifter on an R56. That does not mean it can't/won't happen, but it is certainly rare.
    I would point my finger at the usual suspect, timing chain tensioner. They fail indiscriminantly and often, I keep 3 in stock. it is now an inexpensive parts and easy to change.
     
  2. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    #4 MCS02, Oct 26, 2014
    I would pull the valve cover off and see if I can see the problem. Your sure it's not a bad timing chane or tensioner?
    Sorry not much help I'm a R53 guy. I'm sure one of the R56 gurus will be along soon.
     
  3. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    #2 MCS02, Oct 25, 2014
    What kind of mini and year? Mods?
     
  4. Systemlord

    Systemlord New Member

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    #3 Systemlord, Oct 26, 2014
    It's a 2007 Mini Cooper S, Forge DV and Borla S-Type Exhaust as far as mods go. If you were to lean over the cylinder closest to the passenger side it's easy and clear to pinpoint the sound, so we have the intake valves, lifters, Vanos and the injector to choose from as the culprit.
     
  5. Systemlord

    Systemlord New Member

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    #6 Systemlord, Oct 26, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2014
    Lets rewind back to when I first started hearing this tapping noise in June, at first it was loud enough to easily hear from across the street, it was that loud and only occurred maybe 3-5 times during the Summer. It went away by shutting off the engine for 30 seconds.

    On the 25th of last month before changing my oil (RP 5W-30 to M1 0W40) I poured BG's EPR or Engine Performance Restoration into my dirty oil, it does exactly what it claims to do! So as per instructions I added it to my oil before my oil changed, revved the engine for 12 minutes at 1200 rpms and shut off the engine. I then drained it and I saw pure black swirls mixed in with the dirty oil, that's the crud in your piston rings and throughout your engine.

    After draining that filthy oil I grabbed a fresh 5 quarts of Mobil1 0W-40 and added it to my engine, than ran the engine for a few minutes at 1200 rpms. I then drained the oil again and saw more of that black crud mixed in with the oil, I drained the oil a second time (the flush) and installed the new Mini oil filter and added a fresh 5 quarts of Mobil1 0W-40 till it measured at the max line on the dip stick.

    It was after this I started hearing the tapping noise again except it was much more quiet than it was before. I'm thinking I need to pull out the vanos solenoid and check it's screens for debris.
     
  6. Systemlord

    Systemlord New Member

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    #7 Systemlord, Oct 30, 2014
    Would I cause any damage while idling with the electrical connector disconnected from the vanos? I promise to record the noise next time it gets loud, for the life of me I don't understand why I didn't record it when it happened for the first time because it was somewhat loud! :mad:
     
  7. Tigger2011

    Tigger2011 Member

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    #8 Tigger2011, Nov 2, 2014
    Sounds like it's probably vanos noise. Dr. Vanos makes rebuild kits for other BMWs but I'm not sure if they make them for the R56. If over 100k miles I'd look at the oil pump as well. It's pretty easy to replace once you drop the oil pan. Replacing the solenoid isn't too difficult either once you get the retaining bolt out. I'd go easiest to most difficult, solenoid first, pump then vanos.