Suspension Brakes 1st Gen Most liked posts in thread: Installing new camber plates resulted in a new problem!!!

Yeah that was the first thing I checked lol. And Way from Way Motor Works thinks that my suspenion might be old and sagging. I might just scrap the IE camber plates and get new suspension instead. It might just be a better solution to my problems.

 

just took a picture of both struts. both were taken from a level angle and both are the same distance and everything. the driver side strut looks to be leaning a lot more than the passenger side does. i'm not going to get a chance to actually take it apart until saturday unfortunately so i was seeing what options i have and any ideas as of this point to check or try to do on saturday. if i can't fix it then, i'm scrapping the whole thing and getting new suspension!

 

not yet. i barely have time to even take the pics. i've been doing it when i have a free couple seconds. i have 2 jobs i work so there's not much down time for me. i have saturday off so that's the only time i can get the chance to do something about it. i'm just trying to get any and all ideas about it right now so i can cover everything when i start working on it on saturday

 

if only i could do it now, i would. i just don't have the time to do it right now unfortunately. the suspension is something i'll end up getting no matter what, but if that is the problem, then i'll replace it. and i'm with you on figuring out what exactly is wrong. i need to fix that first before anything else. i'm just really trying to get every single option out on the board because lets face it. no matter how much you know, you can't always think of everything. and i'm not saying i know a lot either. i just want to have every angle covered and have every bit of knowledge about what could be wrong so i can find the solution fast on saturday.

 

lol Jeff man, that's why you need to move back! I need another MINI owner here! Jon’s useless for helping out and I’m always working when Shane’s not (shitty that we work at the same place for the same department, but different shifts lol) so I never have anyone who would actually help work on my car. My girlfriend has helped me out more than anyone when working on cars lol. She’s even helped me rip the engine out of my CRX the one day! She’s actually willing to help me out! She’s 1 in a 1,000,000! As for it being out of my mechanical ability, you're probably right, but I want to learn how to do this stuff. I have an understanding of it from other cars, but this ain't no Honda lol. I have a decent amount of knowledge, just not with a MINI. And I love working on cars. I fortunately won't be having to work 2 jobs for much longer. Just went officially full-time at 1 job so the 2nd job will be gone soon enough. Money is not that big of an issue but I’m also not going to be spending ridiculous money on stuff, lol. I’m not like "Nitromini" (no offense intended, your MINI is SICK!) and can't just try new stuff out all the time. I also don't want a "driveway MINI" (again, no offense intended). I want to learn everything I can about them, and I, along with most (speculating) of you guys, learn from experience. I really appreciate everything that you guys have been throwing out there. I appreciate every bit of information I’m given, and I take everything into consideration. When I get the chance to take it apart tomorrow, I’m going to be making sure to do everything right this time (I have the whole day this time, not just 1 hour) and I’m also going to be checking everything that you guys have been telling me to check. I’m just not use to the MINI's mechanics yet. If it was a Honda, I could rip that thing apart and put it back together! But this isn't a Honda, so I need to re-learn everything over again lol!

As I progress more and more with the MINI, I’ll be deciding what to do as far as upgrading it. I still do want to get into racing it. But that probably won't happen until next year unfortunately.

Again, I just want to thank EVERYONE for you're input here. Information is valuable and opinions are greatly appreciated. I take everything into consideration, regardless of what you guys say (being good, or bad, or telling me to go f*** myself lol). I hope to have my camera with me tomorrow so I’ll be definitely taking lots of pics. Maybe even video tape it if my video camera is charged.

 

LMFAO! That would be pretty nice! But unfortunately she doesn't know a whole lot, but she doesn't mind helping out at all. So I have to walk her through everything but she definitely is learning along the way!

 

So yesterday I jacked the front end up and put it on stands. Took the wheels off and checked everything out. Everything seems tight and then I took a look at the springs to make sure they were seated properly. Found that the driver side upper plate was about a 1/2 turn off. So it was basically no where near where it was suppose to be. Here’s what it looked like. You can see the plate knuckle where the spring end is suppose to sit, and the spring end itself is basically on the other side.





So I decide "well let me do it the right way and drop the suspension...." :idea:





The bolt for the wheel carrier (or steering knuckle) broke off :mad5: where it bolts to the strut, even after I sprayed the s*** out of it with BP Blaster (mechanics best friend) and letting it sit for a while and I kept spraying it to ensure the bolt would be saturated. New England sucks for under body parts! The salt and other grime really does a number on your nuts and bolts! And I figure it probably has never been removed before!

I did manage to do what I did last time and just drop the strut down and I spun the plate to the proper place and fix that, but I couldn't get the flatten the rib inside the wheel well and now it's definitely rubbing! :mad2:

So here's the question. Should I take the whole assembly out and re-drill it, or do you think it would be wise to replace the whole thing (~$100 from ddmtuning.com | part # 31216757497). I still would need to drill out the old carrier to remove the strut either way, but is it going to be a huge pain in my a** to drill it out and still be able to use it? I do have a 114k miles on the car as is. What do you guys think I should do? What would you do if this happened to you?

 

So I figure that since I'll be having to take the wheel carrier off to try and get the bolt out and replace it, (or just replace the wheel carrier itself, which sounds like a better and easier plan), I might as well replace the bearings and bushings since I'll have access to them at this point. I want to start auto-xing next year and this would be a good idea to replace them now.

So this is the plan so far (unless a better option is available)........

I'll replace the wheel carriers (steering knuckles) along with replacing the wheel bearings, control arm bushings, and sway bar bushings and pick up some suspension. As for what suspension I'll be going with, I'm not too sure yet. I'm gonna do some research on it and figure it out. But so far this is what it looks like I'll be getting right now:

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Part	OEM Part #	Cost
Wheel Carrier (Left)	31216757497	$100.23
Wheel Carrier (Right)	31216757498	$100.23
Wheel Hub with Bearing (x2)	31226756889	$146.23
Powerflex Front Lower Control Arm Bushings		$79.95
Powerflex Front Sway Bar Bushings		$44.99
Total without Suspension		$617.86

If anyone thinks I should replace something else that I didn't list, let me know. I figure I might as well replace now what I'll probably need to replace soon. No more surprises then. The winter abuses the hell out of my MINI so I think it'd be wise to replace this stuff before it becomes a problem. High mileage and bad winters don't mix well as you can see. I have the money to spend, so I think the preventative maintenance now will save me later.

 

You are right. It would be cheaper. As for it being easier, I'm not too sure. I don't know if it will mess up the threads inside the wheel carrier itself. This bolt is seriously messed up from the driving conditions in New England. And when I get new suspension, I don't want to run into the same issues again. I might just buy the new ones and if they are easily drilled out, then I'll just use the old ones. If not, I won't have to wait for the new one's to get here and won't be out of a car for a week. If you've done it before, then I'll trust you know it'll be easier. As for me, I don't really want to chance drilling it out and it not working right unless it's not going to be a pain in my a** lol

And steel really isn't what it use to be lol

Everything is made in China by the cheapest company nowadays. And it's hard to find something that is quality and yet isn't overpriced. But what can one do? lol