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Up in the Air again !

2K views 21 replies 4 participants last post by  Milpol 
#1 ·
Well, finally found some spare time to change over the gearbox and find out why the current one is leaking. Car is prepped with all offending bolts in ziplock bags and tagged. Drop the front end out tomorrow and inspect the inner and outer ball joints and LCA bushing. If I can be bothered, might even drop the GB and change it over. Looks like it should be easy enough to do it without dropping the coolant which will be a bonus.
 

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#3 ·
Sure has Sean, Was a pain sorting the R50's door lock issue, then it was to darn hot at 35C+ plus then finding spare time in a day haha. Will be interested to see if it is the weld repair that failed or just a leaking axle seal but with the oil spread, its very difficult to trace so dropping the box will be the only way to confirm. This will hopefully be the 3rd and last time its out in a long time to come. The hard part is getting started but I'm lucky to have the other Mini as a backup. More pics to follow :)
 
#8 ·
Front End is out, LCA bushes are starting to show wear after 200,000+ km so they will be changed and both inner and outer ball joints whilst its out. Just need to find the ruddy ball joint splitter, its in a safe place as usual. Noticed that the left shock tower is starting to mushroom, think I can remember that pothole but the shock mounts are still in good nick.
 

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#10 ·
OK, been a while as Life gets in the way as does the weather but aside from swapping the gearbox I have also undertaken to rebuild the whole front end unit with new LCA Bushes, Ball Joints and Tie Rod (track rod) ends.

There are numerous videos on YouTube where the LCA bushing is removed by cutting out the old with a gas torch and removing the Lower Control arms with 3 jaw pullers or even crowbars.

If your lucky enough to have a proper hoist and not working on jack stands, this may be the way you want to go but if you can afford a hoist then you should be able to afford the correct tools for the job.

I prefer to drop the whole front end out of the car as I find its a simple task and only takes around 20 mins to do if your organised and have the right tools.

I found that on inspection, it was time to replace all the ball joints and tie rod ends, LCA bushing and engine mount, with the front end out of the car I attempted to remove one of the Lower Control Arms with a crowbar. After much faffing around, I gave up in disgust, a lot of swearing and a few skinned knuckles (I didn't try removing them on the car as I cant fathom why you would want to lever against the underside of the body causing damage and struggle to separate the Inner Ball joint in a confined area).

I had already purchased the Bush press off Ebay a while ago as it was a great price from Germany, I have since purchased the correct tool to remove the Lower Control Arm (like the bushing kit, its also re installs the LCA).

The LCA removal/install tool is expensive for a one off job but I have 2 x Mini's, same for the LCA Bush press kit and I hope to be able to make them pay for them selves, should any gen 1 owners I come across need their bushing replaced or club members of the club I am in.

Back to the expense of the tools, I have no idea in Australia what a dealership will charge just to change the LCA bushes but considering the time it took me to replace both bushes plus remove the LCA's and reinstall everything, the cost was well worth it.

Time to remove both LCA's - 10 mins
Time to remove both LCA bushes - 10 mins
Time to reinstall both LCA bushes - 10 mins
Time to reinstall both LCA's - 10 mins

Considering I had the bushings and lower control arms removed, replaced and reinstalled in 40 mins with no swearing, skinned knuckles I feel it is well worth the cost and I never even looked like breaking a sweat and by use of the correct tools, I have never done a job so easily.

Attached images of the tools and of removal and reinstallation. The use of the tools is intuitive and doesn't require an instruction sheet, with the LCA tool, there is a 3 part bearing and should be greased up prior to use and all active threaded rods on both tools benefit from a bit of clean engine oil as a lubricant.

At the end of the day, I used OEM bushes (I had purchased them a while ago before I was aware of poly bushes and am happy with the decision). Depending on your club, if they have a club tool chest then it would be well worth having these tools for any members with a Gen 1. If your a back yard mechanic and work on Mini's they would be an investment on time saving alone and you work out what you want to charge for labour.

The image of the OEM bush I have marked to show an arrow, this is an alignment mark where you MUST paint a corresponding mark on the LCA Bush Bracket. Failure to do so will prevent the LCA's from being in the correct position when you reinstall the front end and you will need to remove the bushing and correctly re install them. If you choose to use Poly bushing, you can disregard this image as there is no alignment when installing Poly bushes.

the last two images are of the tool being used to remove the LCA.
 

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#20 ·
Taking a while but life keeps getting in the way and other priorities have to come 1st so its a garage queen at the moment. Once its back on the Road, the R50 is going in for the same treatment but shouldn't take as long with luck. Will be making a template for the under tower plates as well as the Left tower is deformed from an unavoidable pot hole on some road works I hit on a wet, late night country road :( .
 
#21 ·
Good work Milpol. Is that the Bergen lower arm rear bush tool? Looks like it. Is it any good, does the job? I bought one as a pressie for 'my man' the other day. Fingers crossed on Thursday he is doing the bushes with Powerflex poly. And fitting my Whiteline 20mm rear ARB. Be interesting to see what difference it makes.
 
#22 ·
Hi Nigel, the following link is for the LCA tool.

Mini Cooper R50/R52/R53 Lower Control Arm Bushing kit | eBay

Expensive to purchase for a one off but it makes life so so easy, I have 2 vehicles to do so it brings the cost down per vehicle and I hope to pick up some backyard work to make it pay for its self. If your doing poly bushes you can prob do without it but I like to use the right tool for the right job and it took under 10 mins to remove and reinstall using the tool (depends how fast your crank the ratchet).

For the actual bushing I used this tool, again, right tool for the right job equals no fuss and again, bushing (OEM) was removed and replaced in under 10 mins so for a whole front end done in 40 mins with no swearing or skinned knuckles.

BMW Mini One Cooper S W10 W11 W17 R50 R53 Front Control Arm Bush Removal Tool | eBay

What I found with a lot of YouTube video short cuts where they used a hack to get the parts out, they never showed how they got the parts back in afterwards and also how much time and faffing around was spent. For example, removing a bushing with an Oxy, not something I would like to be doing when I'm close to plastic fuel lines etc and using a crow bar that can slip and damage underbody parts let alone hurt yourself. Far easier to use the right tool first time and if your in a Club, why wouldn't the club have a community tool collection members could borrow for DIY projects? :)

Let me know what your Man thought of the tool and its ease of use, I know Sean likes them.
 
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