Just a bit lost as to finding the cause of a very bizzare problem that has emerged from Candy lately. I've been getting a sound like chirping birds comming from the front of the car but only when accelerating through 1st and second gear.

Thought it may be wheel bearings but rolling down hill doesn't make noise.
Checked alternator drive belt, but doesn't seem to be slipping and tightened it anyway.

Greased all the greasing points especially on the hardyspicer uni's... stil no joy?!
Gearbox seems to be a little noisy? and when rotating the drive shafts, only one side moved. I thought both sides would spin in opposite directions?!

Anyone had a similar problem? Any ideas apart from taking it to a workshop?

Cheers guys...

Ray.

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1972 Mini Clubman 1380
previously 1330 85 bhp @ 6000 rpm new engine no idea?

My00 WRX
190 bhp @ 5800 rpm

likely to be the alternator bearings - and only doing it in 1st and 2nd because you don't rev it out as much in 3rd and 4th. Try dribbling some oil (off the dipstick is fine) on the fan belt and into the alternator while the engine is running and then see if it still does it

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

try the little pegs that align the front, front subframe mount...oh, hold on, do aussie cars have those...? they can cause chirping sounds though.

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speed costs....how fast do you want to go...

Bird caught in the grille?

i was going to suggest a kazoo..

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LMAO - you goats...lol

Alternator is my bet - I had my old one whistling, then chirping, then howling...finally started smoking and that was the end of that...lol

Hooroo

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Rob Forsyth
Miniot!!

hehe

Checked for that the first day I heard the noise. I thought I had a bird that had gone in under the bonnet!!

I'll have to check the alternator then.... I have noticed that the battery has been a little flat for those early morning starts lately....

Cheers guys.

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1972 Mini Clubman 1380
previously 1330 85 bhp @ 6000 rpm new engine no idea?

My00 WRX
190 bhp @ 5800 rpm

Have you tried adjusting the fan belt???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

The speedo cable on my Hi-lux used to chirp but would stop once I got over 40km/h.

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When I first read this post, I thought yep...alternator bearings or bushes.

Then coincidently the same thing happened to me.

The symptoms are as originally posted by Candy (noise like a bird chirping), however I have my doubts that it is the alternator. I have removed the belt and spun the alternator (and water pump) by hand, there is no noise, they spin freely and there is no play in the shafts.

With the belt removed I started the motor and could not hear the noise whilst car is stationary, even revving motor. I put the car in gear and with foot on brake released the clutch with a few revs to put a bit of load on the engine. Still no noise.
I know this sort of points to the alternator or water pump, but, I must point out that this test doesn't produce the noise even if the belt is fitted.

I know I should have taken the car for a quick spin around the block with belt off to check whether noise had gone with belt removed but was in a hurry at the time. That will be my next test.

However, to me it seems to be to do with the clutch. The noise seems to be related to engine speed rather than road speed and also related to how hard you are accelerating.

The noise is also a bit louder than what I would expect an alternator bush or bearing to sound like. It could be my imagination but it also sounds as though the noise is coming from the drivers side of the car.

Can anyone think on what could cause this noise in the clutch?

Has Candy identified the cause of his noise?


Cheers,

Dave

We had a similar thing with mum's car. But it sounded like a midget was cought in the grill and was tappng to be let out when she accelerated. Something to do with the tappets apparently...

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Talk is Cheap because Supply Exceeds Demand

Definitely not a rattly sound.

Candy's description of the noise sounding like a bird chirping is spot on.

Sounds like a metal rubbing on rubber.

does this only happen when the car is in gear and the clutch is engaged (IE drive going to the gearbox) if so, it'll be in the region of your primary and idler gears... after the clutch and before the gearbox - it's probably the idler gear grinding a lovely hole in your gearbox casing or the flywheel housing

put the car up on stands, tie a big rope to the rear subframe and the other end on to something very stationary and run the engine with it in gear

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

A little development on that prob for ya's all

Have not found the source of the problem yet, although it did stop the other day and 2 days later the gearbox started making lots of noise and has now got a really bad chattering sound when it is in either 1st or second. I stopped driving it as soon as the noise started which luckily was 100m from home. Box is comming out tomorrow so I can insect the damage. I'll keep you posted. Once the box is fixed, I'll be able to tell if this was the cause of the problem or not.

Cheers, Ray.

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1972 Mini Clubman 1380
previously 1330 85 bhp @ 6000 rpm new engine no idea?

My00 WRX
190 bhp @ 5800 rpm

I was going to agree with jbeenz and say to check all the subframe mounts. The ones under the bumper bar are metal-on-metal and can make those noises. I have also found that incorrectly adjusted bonnets can make the same noise too. But in both cases, the noise would happen when driving over bumps. Not as much with engine vibration.

Maybe you should check the engine mounts too. If the engine is loose, the 1st and 2nd gear torque can change all the alignment angles resulting in strange noises such as pot joints or the fan rubbing on the radiator, and possibly other noises too.

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs