A small problem...

My MINI is sick. I first noticed a grinding/ticking noise at idle on Sunday from the near side of the engine bay. I figured it was maybe the air-con or something. However, by Mon it was loud enough that K noticed it and you could hear it inside. It dissapears when you press the clutch in indicating it may be the flywheel, cluth release or clutch thrust bearing. A few digs on the net shows this to be a common problem - sometimes on cars straight from the factory. What I cannot find is if it is safe to drive or not (i.e. will my 700 mile trip to Cornwall this week make it worse or damage it further).

I called MINI Stevenage who were the most unhelpful service dept. ever. "Can I bring it in for a 5 min lookover", said I. "Absolutely not" where the actual words I heard back. "We are fully booked due to the bank holiday weekend". I then called MINI Bury St. Edmunds where the service guy talked to me for 5 mins trying to diagnose over the phone. He then offered to look at it if I could drop it in. After explaining I was 60 miles away he suggested I call MINI Emergency Assistance to get them out to look at it. I am now waiting around for then to arrive.

Will let you know what it turns out to be...