Does the wrap on the header help with noise, or is it on there for another reason?

 

Mystery almost solved.

Lance (smurf) kindly messaged me to say he had a car with this just a few weeks ago.  Because his other calls have been 100% spot-on, off came the header.

Voila, the mother of all Hardie Spicer/Maniflow contact gouges.  Really surprising it hadn't gone all the way through the pipe, it's about 1/8" ground down.

I initially dismissed this as the problem because it was starting to make noise out of gear also, through the 2-3,000 RPM range. Other suggestions offline ranged from broken valve springs or a stuck valve so I'm glad this is the culprit instead.  

Jeg, esmith, Jemal and Dr. Dave, thank you guys again for all your great help, this had me going nuts.

Todd, doesnt your car have the inboard cv pots, not the QHs, nor the Hardy Spicers? I dont think you're getting header rub, if you did you'd have a noticable exhaust leak by now. Check the bottom of the upper engine steady mount at the bulkhead. They can crack and give way slightly under deceleration. I think I had a similar issue like 15 years ago. It's nothing a grinder and some angle iron can't fix. If you are running the Hardy spicers, Jemal is right, the u joint is probably screwed. I think those u jounts are used in triumph tr6s as well. Jack the car up and give the drive shafts a wiggle. dr dave

You can clearly see in your picture the hardie joint is hitting the exhaust.  You lower exhaust mounting bolt is gone.  Lots of scuffs on the hardie joint.

Yeah, Todd, use a bicycle grip and maybe shim it with a bit of Coke bottle.  Get on with it, what are you waiting for?  A bit of tape and a stick and you can VVS the result.

you can check the shift rod while driving, use your cellphone camera, just be sure to secure it properly.  use sturdy celphone holder and a little common sense im sure youll be able to video your rod change in action.

your rod change has a lot of play... have you seen my video about rod change? i used bike handlegrip and black rubberized silicone , now my rod change is so tight and no play at all. 

I believe that this is the bush Jemal was refering to - same bush as is used in the C-AJJ4009 rear anti-roll bar kit.  Look where the Rod-Change steady rod is attatched within the fork-like ears on the gearbox.

13H7286 

 

 

Looks like some play in that rod change bush, and I hope this is the one Jeremy is talking about, not the one on the shifter end ... And you can see the diff is not hitting the pipe, at least at rest.

//www.minimania.com/part/13H7286/Bush-Rod-Change-Box-In-Differential-Cover_-Mini--Cooper-S

Well, VERY easy to check 'rod-change bushing'... reach under the car and try to wobble the shift rods.  The 'steady' rod is NOT the one that goes to the stub-shaft, but rather to a bushing installed in the 'ear' cast into the diff cover.  You'll feel wobble in that rod if that bushing is gone.  As the engine 'bucks' a little at low throttle, you might hear that rod slapping the housing.

Or it could be something else.... Is the frequency of the noise RPM dependent or road-speed dependent?  The former would be engine related, the latter drive train... such as diff out to the wheels...

As moderator, I feel compelled to suggest you DO NOT try checking the shift-rods while driving! I don't know too many people who have managed to run over themselves with a car, but as one of them, I can tell you it's not fun! 

Jeg, yeah the ride is great with the Swedish bumps. Thank you for all your advice there and  I copied your setup.

I agree the noise sounds like the valves but only happens in gear when lifting.  It won't do it in the garage just revving the carb.  In the video the red text appears only when Dave is lifting off.

 

That noise sounds a like lot the noise I'd had when my valve cover was hitting the valve train.  I found that one of my CAM6822 valve covers needs carefull adjusmtemt and can't be torqued down as firmly as the other one, otherwise it'll strike. 

Other than that, have you checked for excess metal bits in your oil?

Car seems to be riding nicely - how do you like the hydrolastic-type bump stops?

Thank you guys very much, I posted this vid above that should help.  The noise is getting pretty worrisome and has been increasing over the last week quite a bit.  Worried something is going to happen...

A friend has a Mk2 Cooper S, it developed this noise during deceleration, was fine under power.
It turned out to be 1-1/2 teeth missing off the diff pinion. I fitted another CW/P, all good now. 

Jemal, Jeremy says it could be a rod change bushing.  I am going to guess that this rythmic rattle is faster than I think one of the U-joints would rotate.....?  This noise is really bad, I gotta Youtube it for you guys.

But If I remember correctly, we set your 5626 up with Hardy-Spicer outputs which aren't as tight on clearance as the 'stock' U-joint to the header.  Make sure you don't have a bad u-joint...

 The LCB header is made by Maniflow not RC, sorry bout' that

  I learned the hard way that there is a LCB RC header specifically designed to clear hardy spicer u-joints.  It was designed by Dountain[sorry about the spelling] Eng. long ago. I got one after I trashed the first header I had on the car. The header does not look that much different, however once installed the differcnce is plain. The cost was about a 100$ more than the standard one. I don't have the part number but it listed on there web site.

You haven't had the valve cover off by any chance, have you?  I've got 2 identical slanted CAM9822 valve covers, one interferes slightly unless I slide it rearwards with the engine running to listen for interference; something I don't understand, but that's the way it is.  I use the other one... 

Seems to me that the problem wouldn't have recently appeared if it were your coupling bolts.  How's your gearbox diff to exhaust bracket?

I'm also using 4 engine steadies - 2 x rearward to subframe, 1 lower forward and the standard dogbone.  I removed the dogbone recently to check the poly bushes (am using C-STR630 on the dogbone and lower front stabilizers and C-STR630RACE underneath rearwards) and found that the dogbone's road-spec poly had worn.  Engine still felt solid, but I changed them to the race-spec anyways.

Ive had a probelm with clicking from the driveshafts before when using an lcb/Ql5000 combo

U shaped clamp bolt too long and touched the header

put a dent in the header and trim the U bolts shorter

 

Hi Lance, correct.  And the header just barely clears it.  

I will *guess* the engine tilts forward during decelleration, but maybe that's not guaranteed.  Since the header is just behind the joint I can see the pipe being pulled slightly forward to hit the u-joint.

However this noise is faster and I don't think this is the source, but still I should go under there and somehow try and bend the header away...somehow.