Neglected Mini Cooper 2006
Discussion
I've always loved the idea of owning a new MINI and in particular the R56 shape. I've been keeping my eye out for a while and I found a likely candidate on Ebay - MOT expired, generally unloved, and needing a few obvious jobs doing. I actually lost out on the auction but sent the seller a speculative message suggesting first refusal if the winning bidder didn't proceed with the sale.
Lo and behold the winning bidder proclaimed the car was "too far away" (?????) so I took the opportunity while I could and I am now the proud owner of a 2006 Mini Cooper.
As I believe is customary, here is a petrol station photo
Apologies for the quality.
As I live in Bristol and the car was in Swindon I caught the train from Bristol Parkway to Swindon (return ticket just in case
) and then cycled the 5 or so miles to the seller's house. The car checked out OK with it matching the seller's description with the exception of a noticeable blowing exhaust so a deal was done, bike stuffed in the back, temporary insurance arranged and I was on my way back to Bristol.I didn't want to risk breaking down on the M4 so I took a rural route through Wootton Basset / Malmesbury / Chipping Sodbury. With not much traffic about and some classic winding country roads I was well able to familiarise myself with the car.
Initial impressions are pretty good, the car handles really well and the engine seems strong and willing. It enjoyed driving it immensely - the seats are comfortable, equipment level seems pretty good and all accessories seem to work. It has covered 145,000 miles although it did have a new cam chain and tensioner in January. No apparent problems with the clutch, gearbox or steering and, despite only having one working headlight,
I made it back safely. From what I can gather the MINI is not the most forgiving of uneven road surfaces but there's definitely a suspension issue somewhere as it makes a noticeable clonk/rattle over every bump - sounds like droplinks in my limited experience but I will investigate.
So the list of jobs so far is:
- Fix headlight
- Fix exhaust (new midsection needed I think - leak is from flexi-link)
- Investigate/fix suspension noise
- 4 new tyres
- Thorough clean
I'll take a couple more photos in the daylight tomorrow and will update with progress as I go. Thanks for reading
I've spent some time cleaning and investigating the various problems. I appreciate my priorities are somewhat unconventional but I had a willing helper
It was pretty foul inside but after an intensive spruce up with a mini carpet cleaner and a little TLC I was really impressed with the end result:
Difficult to believe it's 16 years old and has covered 145,000 miles. Upholstery is in truly excellent condition as are all plastics. Switchgear looks untouched!
I also fitted new bulbs where missing which cleared a few dash warning lights. Then after quite a bit of research, I figured out the remaining warnings relate to front brake pad wear (red) and rear brake pad wear (amber). The ECU uses a two stage wear indicator - first sensor rubs through and the amber warning comes on, second sensor and it's red. So I've ordered a full set of pads and two new sensors from GSF and will fit during the week, which should allow me to reset the last two warnings. (I know this is controversial, but the discs look OK i.e. no lips, scoring or excessive corrosion, so I'm going to leave those for now).
Also polished up the headlights, one of my favourite jobs
And after
Also ordered 2 new front fog/sidelights as the existing ones, whilst working, are seriously corroded and give the car a fairly gormless look.
It was pretty foul inside but after an intensive spruce up with a mini carpet cleaner and a little TLC I was really impressed with the end result:
Difficult to believe it's 16 years old and has covered 145,000 miles. Upholstery is in truly excellent condition as are all plastics. Switchgear looks untouched!
I also fitted new bulbs where missing which cleared a few dash warning lights. Then after quite a bit of research, I figured out the remaining warnings relate to front brake pad wear (red) and rear brake pad wear (amber). The ECU uses a two stage wear indicator - first sensor rubs through and the amber warning comes on, second sensor and it's red. So I've ordered a full set of pads and two new sensors from GSF and will fit during the week, which should allow me to reset the last two warnings. (I know this is controversial, but the discs look OK i.e. no lips, scoring or excessive corrosion, so I'm going to leave those for now).
Also polished up the headlights, one of my favourite jobs
And after
Also ordered 2 new front fog/sidelights as the existing ones, whilst working, are seriously corroded and give the car a fairly gormless look.
I really like R56 Minis, they drive really well.
Mrs Tidy bought one at the Sytner launch event in 2006 that she collected just in time for Christmas and she still has it, although hers has still done less than 60K miles!
Before we parted I used to love ragging it around when she wasn't with me.
To be fair the ride quality on 16" run-flats was better than her R50 Mini One on 15" non run-flats that the R56 replaced!
Mrs Tidy bought one at the Sytner launch event in 2006 that she collected just in time for Christmas and she still has it, although hers has still done less than 60K miles!
Before we parted I used to love ragging it around when she wasn't with me.
To be fair the ride quality on 16" run-flats was better than her R50 Mini One on 15" non run-flats that the R56 replaced!
Thanks everyone for the warm words.
. Happy to see that yours is going well.
OK, I've had a fairly successful weekend working on the car. Firstly the brakes are all sorted - new pads all round and new wear sensors - I reset the brake pad warnings for both front and rear which extinguished the warning light and it has not returned. After replacing the blown bulbs as well, there are now no warning lights at all on the dash. Result!
After replacing the brakes on my sloping, pebbly driveway (and as every home mechanic will testify, this is not a comfortable and/or particularly safe place to work, especially in winter), I drove the car round to my ex wife's double garage (Luckily we get on OK. She knows I fix her car too if it needs it).
I wanted to diagnose the "clonking" suspension noise which appeared when driving over any slightly uneven road surface. I had initially suspected the front droplinks, so I jacked up the car, removed the droplinks completely and then secured the anti-roll bar with a length of wire to the offside suspension turret. The droplinks themselves seemed to have no play in them at all. Having isolated the droplinks and anti-roll bar from the equation I took the car for a tentative drive up the back alley, and observed the clonking noise had vanished. (The only noise I noticed was a slight knock when changing direction from forward <> reverse. More on this later). On further investigation I noticed that by pulling sharply on the anti-roll bar and wiggling it back and forwards I was pretty sure I was able to reproduce the clonking noise. Therefore I diagnosed worn anti-roll bar bushes and I set about researching how to change them.
It is possible to remove/replace the bushes without removing the front subframe. This video explains how and I did manage to remove the old bushes with quite considerable difficulty. However I noted than on the MOT history for this car, mention was made 2 years ago of surface rusting to the front subframe, so I decided to proceed with dismantling the entire front suspension in order to remove/examine.
Along the way I removed the exhaust and easily found the source of the leak:
I had to remove the lower engine mount and in doing so I found it was completely cracked, so that (I think!) explains the additional noise I heard when moving between forward and reverse.
Removing the subframe was quite a big job for someone of my limited experience - biggest challenge was working with all the rusty fasteners with only hand tools and perseverance. I only have one trolley jack so had to get inventive when lowering it to the ground with lengths of wood and old paint tins to provide balance along the way - it all worked out OK in the end and I was able to extract the subframe, steering rack and front wishbones all in one piece out from under the car. In doing so I was able to examine all other suspension components. The ball joints seem fine - no play at all. However the front lower control arm bushes in my opinion need replacing. I was able to inspect the subframe also. It seems absolutely solid if a little bit rusty on the surface. I actually recorded a Youtube video which I invite you to watch and offer me your thoughts on how I should tackle the subframe - VIDEO HERE.
Comments/experience welcome! Not sure whether to approach shotblast/powder coating firms in the Bristol area to see how much it would cost, or whether I'm better off spending a few hours cleaning it up and painting with Hammerite. My time is basically free and plentiful (as this is a hobby), so maybe Hammerite is the way to go!
After all that dismantling I also did some cosmetic work. The rear number plate had deteriorated as had the MINI boot badge so I replaced those and cleaned up the back of the car a bit. This is before:
..and after:
It looks an awful lot smarter.
I also changed the cabin filter which I suspect was a little overdue
I'm aware that I could have spent £300 on this car which would have bought me 4 cheap tyres, the new exhaust mid-section and a few bulbs, and it would have probably passed its MOT (even the brake pads weren't below the 1.5mm MOT threshold). However I am too invested in the car now and although it doesn't make any real economic sense, I can't wait to have it looking good and driving well. Thanks for reading this long post
ballans said:
Excellent, nice to see another Mini saved.
Looks great for the mileage. Interior has come up particularly well.
Will be following this to see how you get. I’m working on my own R53 rescue so will be interesting to see how they compare.
Your R53 thread motivated me to seek out my own Mini Looks great for the mileage. Interior has come up particularly well.
Will be following this to see how you get. I’m working on my own R53 rescue so will be interesting to see how they compare.
. Happy to see that yours is going well.OK, I've had a fairly successful weekend working on the car. Firstly the brakes are all sorted - new pads all round and new wear sensors - I reset the brake pad warnings for both front and rear which extinguished the warning light and it has not returned. After replacing the blown bulbs as well, there are now no warning lights at all on the dash. Result!
After replacing the brakes on my sloping, pebbly driveway (and as every home mechanic will testify, this is not a comfortable and/or particularly safe place to work, especially in winter), I drove the car round to my ex wife's double garage (Luckily we get on OK. She knows I fix her car too if it needs it
).I wanted to diagnose the "clonking" suspension noise which appeared when driving over any slightly uneven road surface. I had initially suspected the front droplinks, so I jacked up the car, removed the droplinks completely and then secured the anti-roll bar with a length of wire to the offside suspension turret. The droplinks themselves seemed to have no play in them at all. Having isolated the droplinks and anti-roll bar from the equation I took the car for a tentative drive up the back alley, and observed the clonking noise had vanished. (The only noise I noticed was a slight knock when changing direction from forward <> reverse. More on this later). On further investigation I noticed that by pulling sharply on the anti-roll bar and wiggling it back and forwards I was pretty sure I was able to reproduce the clonking noise. Therefore I diagnosed worn anti-roll bar bushes and I set about researching how to change them.
It is possible to remove/replace the bushes without removing the front subframe. This video explains how and I did manage to remove the old bushes with quite considerable difficulty
. However I noted than on the MOT history for this car, mention was made 2 years ago of surface rusting to the front subframe, so I decided to proceed with dismantling the entire front suspension in order to remove/examine. Along the way I removed the exhaust and easily found the source of the leak:
I had to remove the lower engine mount and in doing so I found it was completely cracked, so that (I think!) explains the additional noise I heard when moving between forward and reverse.
Removing the subframe was quite a big job for someone of my limited experience - biggest challenge was working with all the rusty fasteners with only hand tools and perseverance. I only have one trolley jack so had to get inventive when lowering it to the ground with lengths of wood and old paint tins to provide balance along the way
- it all worked out OK in the end and I was able to extract the subframe, steering rack and front wishbones all in one piece out from under the car. In doing so I was able to examine all other suspension components. The ball joints seem fine - no play at all. However the front lower control arm bushes in my opinion need replacing. I was able to inspect the subframe also. It seems absolutely solid if a little bit rusty on the surface. I actually recorded a Youtube video which I invite you to watch and offer me your thoughts on how I should tackle the subframe - VIDEO HERE.Comments/experience welcome! Not sure whether to approach shotblast/powder coating firms in the Bristol area to see how much it would cost, or whether I'm better off spending a few hours cleaning it up and painting with Hammerite. My time is basically free and plentiful (as this is a hobby), so maybe Hammerite is the way to go!
After all that dismantling I also did some cosmetic work. The rear number plate had deteriorated as had the MINI boot badge so I replaced those and cleaned up the back of the car a bit. This is before:
..and after:
It looks an awful lot smarter.
I also changed the cabin filter which I suspect was a little overdue
I'm aware that I could have spent £300 on this car which would have bought me 4 cheap tyres, the new exhaust mid-section and a few bulbs, and it would have probably passed its MOT (even the brake pads weren't below the 1.5mm MOT threshold). However I am too invested in the car now and although it doesn't make any real economic sense, I can't wait to have it looking good and driving well. Thanks for reading this long post
Edited by Wheatsheaf on Sunday 20th November 19:41
Nice thread. I think you can get carbon cabin filters which are black so it isn’t as bad as it looks. They’re more expensive but I buy them. My wife has R56 and I have an R55 both of which I maintain.
Be carful of steering column now you’ve removed the rack. I’d advise not to turn the steering wheel - you may nevertheless have some aggravation upon reassembly with error codes relating to SZL steering module. You may spend some time on google! It always puts me off removing my rack but perhaps it’s overblown. Put this link here for future ref
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-t...
Be carful of steering column now you’ve removed the rack. I’d advise not to turn the steering wheel - you may nevertheless have some aggravation upon reassembly with error codes relating to SZL steering module. You may spend some time on google! It always puts me off removing my rack but perhaps it’s overblown. Put this link here for future ref
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-t...
Edited by CoolHands on Sunday 20th November 21:12
Oh and these engines like to burn oil - usually caused by the stem seals getting dry and allowing oil past. Before I had thrm replaced on my old R55 I tried what a mini specialist told me and put a can of, I think it was called mot sealer in the oil. Worked a treat - no more excessive oil use, was just the seats which needed a bit of lubing which the mot sealer does...
Wheatsheaf said:
Your R53 thread motivated me to seek out my own Mini . Happy to see that yours is going well.
OK, I've had a fairly successful weekend working on the car. Firstly the brakes are all sorted - new pads all round and new wear sensors - I reset the brake pad warnings for both front and rear which extinguished the warning light and it has not returned. After replacing the blown bulbs as well, there are now no warning lights at all on the dash. Result!
After replacing the brakes on my sloping, pebbly driveway (and as every home mechanic will testify, this is not a comfortable and/or particularly safe place to work, especially in winter), I drove the car round to my ex wife's double garage (Luckily we get on OK. She knows I fix her car too if it needs it).
I wanted to diagnose the "clonking" suspension noise which appeared when driving over any slightly uneven road surface. I had initially suspected the front droplinks, so I jacked up the car, removed the droplinks completely and then secured the anti-roll bar with a length of wire to the offside suspension turret. The droplinks themselves seemed to have no play in them at all. Having isolated the droplinks and anti-roll bar from the equation I took the car for a tentative drive up the back alley, and observed the clonking noise had vanished. (The only noise I noticed was a slight knock when changing direction from forward <> reverse. More on this later). On further investigation I noticed that by pulling sharply on the anti-roll bar and wiggling it back and forwards I was pretty sure I was able to reproduce the clonking noise. Therefore I diagnosed worn anti-roll bar bushes and I set about researching how to change them.
It is possible to remove/replace the bushes without removing the front subframe. This video explains how and I did manage to remove the old bushes with quite considerable difficulty. However I noted than on the MOT history for this car, mention was made 2 years ago of surface rusting to the front subframe, so I decided to proceed with dismantling the entire front suspension in order to remove/examine.
Along the way I removed the exhaust and easily found the source of the leak:
I had to remove the lower engine mount and in doing so I found it was completely cracked, so that (I think!) explains the additional noise I heard when moving between forward and reverse.
Removing the subframe was quite a big job for someone of my limited experience - biggest challenge was working with all the rusty fasteners with only hand tools and perseverance. I only have one trolley jack so had to get inventive when lowering it to the ground with lengths of wood and old paint tins to provide balance along the way - it all worked out OK in the end and I was able to extract the subframe, steering rack and front wishbones all in one piece out from under the car. In doing so I was able to examine all other suspension components. The ball joints seem fine - no play at all. However the front lower control arm bushes in my opinion need replacing. I was able to inspect the subframe also. It seems absolutely solid if a little bit rusty on the surface. I actually recorded a Youtube video which I invite you to watch and offer me your thoughts on how I should tackle the subframe - VIDEO HERE.
Comments/experience welcome! Not sure whether to approach shotblast/powder coating firms in the Bristol area to see how much it would cost, or whether I'm better off spending a few hours cleaning it up and painting with Hammerite. My time is basically free and plentiful (as this is a hobby), so maybe Hammerite is the way to go!
After all that dismantling I also did some cosmetic work. The rear number plate had deteriorated as had the MINI boot badge so I replaced those and cleaned up the back of the car a bit. This is before:
..and after:
It looks an awful lot smarter.
I also changed the cabin filter which I suspect was a little overdue
I'm aware that I could have spent £300 on this car which would have bought me 4 cheap tyres, the new exhaust mid-section and a few bulbs, and it would have probably passed its MOT (even the brake pads weren't below the 1.5mm MOT threshold). However I am too invested in the car now and although it doesn't make any real economic sense, I can't wait to have it looking good and driving well. Thanks for reading this long post
Oh no, now I feel guilty for getting you into this! . Happy to see that yours is going well.OK, I've had a fairly successful weekend working on the car. Firstly the brakes are all sorted - new pads all round and new wear sensors - I reset the brake pad warnings for both front and rear which extinguished the warning light and it has not returned. After replacing the blown bulbs as well, there are now no warning lights at all on the dash. Result!
After replacing the brakes on my sloping, pebbly driveway (and as every home mechanic will testify, this is not a comfortable and/or particularly safe place to work, especially in winter), I drove the car round to my ex wife's double garage (Luckily we get on OK. She knows I fix her car too if it needs it
).I wanted to diagnose the "clonking" suspension noise which appeared when driving over any slightly uneven road surface. I had initially suspected the front droplinks, so I jacked up the car, removed the droplinks completely and then secured the anti-roll bar with a length of wire to the offside suspension turret. The droplinks themselves seemed to have no play in them at all. Having isolated the droplinks and anti-roll bar from the equation I took the car for a tentative drive up the back alley, and observed the clonking noise had vanished. (The only noise I noticed was a slight knock when changing direction from forward <> reverse. More on this later). On further investigation I noticed that by pulling sharply on the anti-roll bar and wiggling it back and forwards I was pretty sure I was able to reproduce the clonking noise. Therefore I diagnosed worn anti-roll bar bushes and I set about researching how to change them.
It is possible to remove/replace the bushes without removing the front subframe. This video explains how and I did manage to remove the old bushes with quite considerable difficulty
. However I noted than on the MOT history for this car, mention was made 2 years ago of surface rusting to the front subframe, so I decided to proceed with dismantling the entire front suspension in order to remove/examine. Along the way I removed the exhaust and easily found the source of the leak:
I had to remove the lower engine mount and in doing so I found it was completely cracked, so that (I think!) explains the additional noise I heard when moving between forward and reverse.
Removing the subframe was quite a big job for someone of my limited experience - biggest challenge was working with all the rusty fasteners with only hand tools and perseverance. I only have one trolley jack so had to get inventive when lowering it to the ground with lengths of wood and old paint tins to provide balance along the way
- it all worked out OK in the end and I was able to extract the subframe, steering rack and front wishbones all in one piece out from under the car. In doing so I was able to examine all other suspension components. The ball joints seem fine - no play at all. However the front lower control arm bushes in my opinion need replacing. I was able to inspect the subframe also. It seems absolutely solid if a little bit rusty on the surface. I actually recorded a Youtube video which I invite you to watch and offer me your thoughts on how I should tackle the subframe - VIDEO HERE.Comments/experience welcome! Not sure whether to approach shotblast/powder coating firms in the Bristol area to see how much it would cost, or whether I'm better off spending a few hours cleaning it up and painting with Hammerite. My time is basically free and plentiful (as this is a hobby), so maybe Hammerite is the way to go!
After all that dismantling I also did some cosmetic work. The rear number plate had deteriorated as had the MINI boot badge so I replaced those and cleaned up the back of the car a bit. This is before:
..and after:
It looks an awful lot smarter.
I also changed the cabin filter which I suspect was a little overdue
I'm aware that I could have spent £300 on this car which would have bought me 4 cheap tyres, the new exhaust mid-section and a few bulbs, and it would have probably passed its MOT (even the brake pads weren't below the 1.5mm MOT threshold). However I am too invested in the car now and although it doesn't make any real economic sense, I can't wait to have it looking good and driving well. Thanks for reading this long post
Edited by Wheatsheaf on Sunday 20th November 19:41
Great update. Looks like you made solid progress over the weekend. I think I will have to go through a similar process to try and identify all the knocks and bangs. Once I’ve put it into ‘service mode’ once then it should get easier on the next attempt.
I’m not a mechanic by any stretch but I can work things out and it all seems fairly logical. I’m also quite lucky as my mechanic friend is an R53 enthusiast and will help me out when I get stuck/mess things up. Time is the killer for me as I don’t have much spare.
The previous owner hammerited the sub frames so hoping they are reasonably solid. I gave them a thorough poking with my rust probe (massive screw driver) so fingers crossed. Worst case I’ll take them off and get blasted and powder coated. I’ve used Blast & Baked based in Bridgwater before and they did a good job.
Good progress on on yours, very jealous.
For rusty and seized bolts I’ve been using this stuff on my Series Landy. That’s mostly rust so I’ve got through tons of the stuff.
https://blasterproducts.com/product/pb-blaster-pen...
Widely available on Amazon.
Smells strange but works very well.
https://blasterproducts.com/product/pb-blaster-pen...
Widely available on Amazon.
Smells strange but works very well.
Good job on the subframe, it's a committing effort to get one out of the car but very much the best way to get at the components. On the control arm bushings, it's a feature of BMW design of that period at least that they are bolted to the bulkhead so that they are exposed heavily to road grime & because of that, they fail reliably.
If it's a keeper, I would replace with polybush items & they will outlive the car. Here's a video of a guy doing this, it's a gen 1 Mini but the job is pretty much the same. And for old times sake, here's my subframe on its way back in when I did the same job, you can see the bushes on the control arms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrtq4qFT4Tc
Edited to add, I would be tempted to replace the inner ball joints while the S/F is out purely on the basis that it will never be easier to do.
If it's a keeper, I would replace with polybush items & they will outlive the car. Here's a video of a guy doing this, it's a gen 1 Mini but the job is pretty much the same. And for old times sake, here's my subframe on its way back in when I did the same job, you can see the bushes on the control arms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrtq4qFT4Tc
Edited to add, I would be tempted to replace the inner ball joints while the S/F is out purely on the basis that it will never be easier to do.
Edited by President Merkin on Monday 21st November 12:27
Wheatsheaf said:
Your R53 thread motivated me to seek out my own Mini . Happy to see that yours is going well.
OK, I've had a fairly successful weekend working on the car. Firstly the brakes are all sorted - new pads all round and new wear sensors - I reset the brake pad warnings for both front and rear which extinguished the warning light and it has not returned. After replacing the blown bulbs as well, there are now no warning lights at all on the dash. Result!
After replacing the brakes on my sloping, pebbly driveway (and as every home mechanic will testify, this is not a comfortable and/or particularly safe place to work, especially in winter), I drove the car round to my ex wife's double garage (Luckily we get on OK. She knows I fix her car too if it needs it).
I wanted to diagnose the "clonking" suspension noise which appeared when driving over any slightly uneven road surface. I had initially suspected the front droplinks, so I jacked up the car, removed the droplinks completely and then secured the anti-roll bar with a length of wire to the offside suspension turret. The droplinks themselves seemed to have no play in them at all. Having isolated the droplinks and anti-roll bar from the equation I took the car for a tentative drive up the back alley, and observed the clonking noise had vanished. (The only noise I noticed was a slight knock when changing direction from forward <> reverse. More on this later). On further investigation I noticed that by pulling sharply on the anti-roll bar and wiggling it back and forwards I was pretty sure I was able to reproduce the clonking noise. Therefore I diagnosed worn anti-roll bar bushes and I set about researching how to change them.
It is possible to remove/replace the bushes without removing the front subframe. This video explains how and I did manage to remove the old bushes with quite considerable difficulty. However I noted than on the MOT history for this car, mention was made 2 years ago of surface rusting to the front subframe, so I decided to proceed with dismantling the entire front suspension in order to remove/examine.
Along the way I removed the exhaust and easily found the source of the leak:
I had to remove the lower engine mount and in doing so I found it was completely cracked, so that (I think!) explains the additional noise I heard when moving between forward and reverse.
Removing the subframe was quite a big job for someone of my limited experience - biggest challenge was working with all the rusty fasteners with only hand tools and perseverance. I only have one trolley jack so had to get inventive when lowering it to the ground with lengths of wood and old paint tins to provide balance along the way - it all worked out OK in the end and I was able to extract the subframe, steering rack and front wishbones all in one piece out from under the car. In doing so I was able to examine all other suspension components. The ball joints seem fine - no play at all. However the front lower control arm bushes in my opinion need replacing. I was able to inspect the subframe also. It seems absolutely solid if a little bit rusty on the surface. I actually recorded a Youtube video which I invite you to watch and offer me your thoughts on how I should tackle the subframe - VIDEO HERE.
Comments/experience welcome! Not sure whether to approach shotblast/powder coating firms in the Bristol area to see how much it would cost, or whether I'm better off spending a few hours cleaning it up and painting with Hammerite. My time is basically free and plentiful (as this is a hobby), so maybe Hammerite is the way to go!
After all that dismantling I also did some cosmetic work. The rear number plate had deteriorated as had the MINI boot badge so I replaced those and cleaned up the back of the car a bit. This is before:
..and after:
It looks an awful lot smarter.
I also changed the cabin filter which I suspect was a little overdue
I'm aware that I could have spent £300 on this car which would have bought me 4 cheap tyres, the new exhaust mid-section and a few bulbs, and it would have probably passed its MOT (even the brake pads weren't below the 1.5mm MOT threshold). However I am too invested in the car now and although it doesn't make any real economic sense, I can't wait to have it looking good and driving well. Thanks for reading this long post
Well done on the subframe, they can be a pig to remove on your own but does make sense onces its out to replace all the bushes and then you know its done. . Happy to see that yours is going well.OK, I've had a fairly successful weekend working on the car. Firstly the brakes are all sorted - new pads all round and new wear sensors - I reset the brake pad warnings for both front and rear which extinguished the warning light and it has not returned. After replacing the blown bulbs as well, there are now no warning lights at all on the dash. Result!
After replacing the brakes on my sloping, pebbly driveway (and as every home mechanic will testify, this is not a comfortable and/or particularly safe place to work, especially in winter), I drove the car round to my ex wife's double garage (Luckily we get on OK. She knows I fix her car too if it needs it
).I wanted to diagnose the "clonking" suspension noise which appeared when driving over any slightly uneven road surface. I had initially suspected the front droplinks, so I jacked up the car, removed the droplinks completely and then secured the anti-roll bar with a length of wire to the offside suspension turret. The droplinks themselves seemed to have no play in them at all. Having isolated the droplinks and anti-roll bar from the equation I took the car for a tentative drive up the back alley, and observed the clonking noise had vanished. (The only noise I noticed was a slight knock when changing direction from forward <> reverse. More on this later). On further investigation I noticed that by pulling sharply on the anti-roll bar and wiggling it back and forwards I was pretty sure I was able to reproduce the clonking noise. Therefore I diagnosed worn anti-roll bar bushes and I set about researching how to change them.
It is possible to remove/replace the bushes without removing the front subframe. This video explains how and I did manage to remove the old bushes with quite considerable difficulty
. However I noted than on the MOT history for this car, mention was made 2 years ago of surface rusting to the front subframe, so I decided to proceed with dismantling the entire front suspension in order to remove/examine. Along the way I removed the exhaust and easily found the source of the leak:
I had to remove the lower engine mount and in doing so I found it was completely cracked, so that (I think!) explains the additional noise I heard when moving between forward and reverse.
Removing the subframe was quite a big job for someone of my limited experience - biggest challenge was working with all the rusty fasteners with only hand tools and perseverance. I only have one trolley jack so had to get inventive when lowering it to the ground with lengths of wood and old paint tins to provide balance along the way
- it all worked out OK in the end and I was able to extract the subframe, steering rack and front wishbones all in one piece out from under the car. In doing so I was able to examine all other suspension components. The ball joints seem fine - no play at all. However the front lower control arm bushes in my opinion need replacing. I was able to inspect the subframe also. It seems absolutely solid if a little bit rusty on the surface. I actually recorded a Youtube video which I invite you to watch and offer me your thoughts on how I should tackle the subframe - VIDEO HERE.Comments/experience welcome! Not sure whether to approach shotblast/powder coating firms in the Bristol area to see how much it would cost, or whether I'm better off spending a few hours cleaning it up and painting with Hammerite. My time is basically free and plentiful (as this is a hobby), so maybe Hammerite is the way to go!
After all that dismantling I also did some cosmetic work. The rear number plate had deteriorated as had the MINI boot badge so I replaced those and cleaned up the back of the car a bit. This is before:
..and after:
It looks an awful lot smarter.
I also changed the cabin filter which I suspect was a little overdue
I'm aware that I could have spent £300 on this car which would have bought me 4 cheap tyres, the new exhaust mid-section and a few bulbs, and it would have probably passed its MOT (even the brake pads weren't below the 1.5mm MOT threshold). However I am too invested in the car now and although it doesn't make any real economic sense, I can't wait to have it looking good and driving well. Thanks for reading this long post
Edited by Wheatsheaf on Sunday 20th November 19:41
Seems you got luck on it no having any holes. My old R55 was a 2009 car, and when the breaker took the subframe off it was full of holes but where hidden when on the car.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff