We too have a 14 year old who is in those declining years, with the arthritis, lumps and bumps showing up. For the arthritis, we have just started him on Librela, which is specifically for arthritis pain management. This is a brand new drug and I have heard great things about iit from others. As a palliative thing, I am excited to see how much it helps him. That could be something for you to look into doing for your girl. Best wishes for her.

 

@Eddie07S is right, as usual. There are many drugs specifically designed for older dogs with arthritis that can be life changing. Talk to your vet about it.

 

My girl was prescribed Gabapentin 6 months ago when she had surgery to remove a tumorous growth on her right front leg. Librela was not suggested as a much more costly alternative. She now has another growth (likely inter-digital cyst) on her left paw, so another vet visit and procedure needed soon at which time I'll ask about Librela. Scheduling monthly vet visits for injections at $125-250 each (by body weight) doesn't appeal but so it goes with aging (humans and our pet companions too). Thanks for the suggestion and good thoughts. Appreciated!

 

I should have replied, as I did think you did pretty well with all of that! Tires, brake job, and motor mount, not bad!

My condolences, it sounds like you gave her a great life.

 

For some time now I've been cringing at the sound of my front struts creaking and groaning every time I turned the wheel at a slow crawl. This annoying symptom had developed a few months ago.
After engaging in another discussion with other forum members here on NAM - we finally narrowed it down to (perhaps) the front top strut mounts/bearing.
Having been fed up with hearing this unsettling creaking noise - I ordered a pair of new Lemforder strut bearings and upper spring seats in hopes it would be the fix.

After receiving the parts last week - Yesterday I finally addressed the issue and replaced the suspected culprits.


Left = New Lemforder front strut bearings & upper spring seats / Right = old collapsed Saachs strut bearings (25k+ mi).


Cleaned up Bilstein B14s w/ fresh new top bearings and spring seats ready for reinstall.


After reassembling and reinstalling both front struts, I also seized the opportunity to change out the Left front wheel bearing with new.
I had previously replaced the failing Right wheel bearing several days before.

Today I moved on to the rears...
I had recently began hearing a clunk coming from the rear while driving over uneven roads and bumps.
The first occurrence; I had discovered the noise was due to a pair of jackstands I had left in the rear compartment.
After continuing to hear a clunk again, I pulled the rear wheels and re-torqued the rear drop links. The clunk was resolved.

Both rear wheels removed, cleaned up (de-ironed) rear subframe, strut adjustment re-checked and re-torqued all suspension bolts.



My Mini put back together and road tested. Not a creak, groan or clunk to be heard. The car rides super firm and smooth for a lowered suspension.
The new front strut mount bearings has raised the ride height in the front about and inch or so...but that's about the height I had adjusted it to several thousand miles ago when I upgraded to the B14 coilovers.
I'll readjust the coilovers if needed after it has had a chance to settle.

 

Haven't been posting much and still need to address the leak on Ziggy. Got the S Lites finished up and installed on Grumpy, for now. The RS844s have shod their tires and were dropped off to be stripped and powder coated in the wife's desired colors yesterday.

 

Grumpy got his new front brakes and new front marker lights yesterday. Ready for inspection now, and almost ready to pass on to a new owner. I need to get some valve stems to swap TPM sensors over to the S Lites to put them on Ziggy. Here's a few pics of the process.


Not totally spent, but close. Around 50k miles on these, so no complaints.

These, OTH, are spent and measure below minimum thickness.

Fresh pads and rotors with cleaned and lubed hardware.

The old light suffered from a loose bulb melting it. I had stuck it back together with butyl tape, apparently, but it was beyond time for replacement.

Went with a pair because the cost difference was negligable, really. Depo brand to match the headlights. Their stuff has really come a long way from back in the day.

And a final pic of Grumpy on the freshened up S Lites. They're far from perfect, but are some solid 10-footer wheels, now.