Well another day, another problem it seems...

Had 8.4" Disc brake kit installed by a "British Car Mechanic"...The car was working great for the 2 weeks since being installed. Probably put about 500-600 miles on it in that time.

On Monday I had the car out on the highway and the car all of sudden jerked to left and felt like I was dragging something. I corrected and it happened again. I pulled over, and everything looked ok. I tried to ease forward and the wheel felt seized. I had to get the car towed home.

This morning, I got the wheel off, took the pads out (assuming a warped rotor, debris, stuck piston, etc) and the wheel will only turn about 20-25 degrees in either rotation. The caliper clears the rotor no issue no debris. There looks to be some sprayed grease, I am guessing from the axel/cv boot? I'm not sure what to do next to diagnose the issue?

The right side when jacked up spins free no issues. There is also none of the sprayed grease. I have a video of what I saw that I will try and post somewhere.

Thanks

 

http://db.tt/9Nm93GK

A bad cellphone video showing the sprayed grease I mentioned

 

I have had both of those issues - seizing and the grease spray.

The seizing occurred while I was driving and it felt like a massive loss of power followed shortly by complete lock up of the front-left corner. I called a tow truck to get the car home since it would not move on it's own power. It turned out that, for some reason, the pads were being forced on to the rotor. Once the brakes cooled I didn't have that problem again - call it a fluke.

The grease spray was being caused by the CV boot strap coming loose. I had a *terrible* time getting the outer CV strap tight enough on the front left hand corner. The ultimate solution (after 3 attempts) was to buy quality CV boot clamp pliers from NAPA (I posted the part number on NAM about a year ago) and made sure that before I installed it ALL of the CV grease was gone from the mating surfaces of both the CV boot and the axle. It's likely that the CV boot clamp is loose on the side where the grease is shown. Take a rag and mop up the grease as best you can, then try to move the CV boot against the axle at the outer clamp ... similar motion to grabbing your your forearm with your other arm and rotating your holding hand around it. It's likely a little loose and if so, the clamp will need to be reinstalled. Now that grease has gotten under the clamp it's unlikely that it'll stay tight when tightened any more.

As for the binding, you'll have to figure that out. With the car on jack stands and the car in neutral, try to determine where the binding is coming from. It's either the body (unlikely), the brakes dragging, the wheel on the caliper (brakes too big for the wheels), or the transmission.

Good luck. Sounds like it's time to get your hands dirty
Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff.

Any causal relationship between the CV Boot being bad and the binding? Even with the wheel off it was binding (so no body contact). I took the pads out of the brake and it was still binding. The caliper had clearance and the rotor did not appear warped. The right side spins free no issue. So I am left with no body rub, no brake rub, and since the right side spins probably no transmission issue... So I am little lost as to what is actually causing the binding. I'll take off the caliper next and see if that makes a difference, maybe there is debris or something I can't see...

 

It's unlikely that the grease is directly related to the binding.

Refer to these pictures:
1) http://desertwave.com/gallery2/main....geViewsIndex=1
2) http://desertwave.com/gallery2/main....geViewsIndex=1

Those are pictures I took when I was going through my brake conversion. In the first picture the ear on the band clamp (ok in that picture it's actually an exhaust header wrap clamp that I was experimenting with) MUST clear the hub as it passes under with each rotation. If the band clamp ear is not low profile enough the ear will get hung up on the hub and not rotate. I doubt that's your problem but it was mine initially.

The second picture shows the CV band clamp properly secured before it's installed in the hub. Yours should look very similar to this.

So based on your 'binding' description, I would now say:

• wheel bearing is broken or seized
• CV boot clamp ear is preventing full rotation
• CV is broken and bound up

Can you rotate the steering completely from left to right lock? If the CV is bound up I would think turning the steering would be a similar problem. What you really need to do is remove the hub and see what's going on. It'll be clear if you remove the hub. Do you have a ball joint separator? That's where I would start.

Feel free to take a look at the pictures I took during my swap. Maybe you can visualize where binding my occur from them: http://desertwave.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=12240

Jeff

 

I think I would have towed it to the place that just did the front end work . . .

 

If I had any confidence in his ability anymore I would've towed it there. But it took way longer than it should've to do the work, and way more $ than it should've been. This plus the fact that he sent me home without working brake lights and other issues, I thought it safer to look at myself first.

Anyone know of a good mechanic in Cleveland / Northeast OH?

 

OUCH ....

I guess I wouldn't have towed in that case . . .

maybe one of these helps?

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/garages/Ohio.html

 

Funny... That's the list I used to find him. A couple of the others listed no longer seem to be around.

 

Jeff the pics help a lot! thanks!

So your comment about turning the wheel brought up another symptom I saw. That day I noticed something strange... the car needed an alignment as I was slightly turned right on the wheel to get the car to track straight. I noticed that day and the day prior at times I could have the wheel straight and track straight, and at other times I was turned to track straight.

I know there are a lot of variables like the condition of the road, etc. But I am talking about the same stretches of road where the alignment was different. Could a bad CV joint have caused that? Or was I just hallucinating?

 

I know a GREAT place in Virginia Beach . . .

yes - no help - and do NOT take the following as a comment towards you

but this highlights an issue with owning one of these to casual readers thinking of buying a classic

Everytime I take my 79 out I dread a serious breakdown. Not because of cost or inconvienence but 'cuz just finding a mechanic that has some experience working on it is a problem. (when I lived in Norfolk there were several Mini EXPERT mechanics in the area ... a rare treat)

I can do a decent bit but not everything .... and finding a good mech for one of these beasts is a wee bit of a problem....

Something to investigate b4 you dive in . . .

NOT unlike our MINI brother. Owning a MINI is fun, until it burps and the dealer is 200 miles away because there are so few. Mine is an hour each way . . . ouch.

 

I get your point. I'm a novice when it comes to tinkering with cars. I had an old 325IX that I worked on, but always had the back up of a GREAT BMW mechanic 20 min away.

The British mechanic I went to is very well regarded when it comes to Triumphs and MGs.. he just doesn't have much MINI experience. I thought I would be OK, but maybe not.

I see the appeal of a VTEC swap more and more. Not for the power but knowing you have a Honda powerplant and tranny gives you some confidence that its going to work...

 

VTEC

not the dark side

Noooooooooooo

 

Really? You think you have problems now, wait until you transplant a power plant and wiring harness from another vehicle into your Mini.

My advice ... use this as good excuse to start learning about these things. So far, nothing has been too difficult for me to do on my Mini. Yes, I've had a lot of cars, enjoy working on them, and have good tools. But you'll find you can fix these type of problems yourself and get tons of satisfaction from doing it. Just my opinion. You may not have the interest or ability to do that, but if not I would question whether the classic Mini is a good choice for you long term.

Anyway, back to the task at hand ... if your steering wheel alignment seemed off at times it could have been due to an intermittent binding or dragging that you're trying to resolve.

Please clarify: have you confirmed that the binding occurs with the caliper removed? To me it seems the most likely candidate over everything else. If you haven't done it because you don't know how, let us know and we'll walk you through that. I wouldn't rule out the brake system causing this issue until you've removed the caliper and still have the binding problem. I realize you removed the pads. If you are SURE that the rotor isn't dragging on the caliper then we'll proceed to the next step in troubleshooting the problem.

Jeff

 

there is a place just North Of Columbus, OH. if you are willing to make the trip

 

Do you have any contact info for the place? North as in Delaware OH?

As for the VTEC, my point was simply that a newer engine and tranny should be prone to less issues. And in my experience working with OBDII vehicles is easier to diagnose issues.

So I am comfortable taking the calipers off. I won't get a chance until this weekend to do that. I've been learning a lot as I go with this car and am not afraid to get my hand dirty, just so long as I know what to look for. I've changed plugs, cap, rotor, etc. I've done a carb rebuild kit. I've installed the hi-Los on the car, spacers, and new studs, wired in a radio and speakers, etc. Just haven't worked with much suspension / drivetrain stuff. So the CV stuff is just new to me.

Appreciate all the help thus far. I'll dig in this weekend and report back.

 

Yep, the CV stuff was new to me until I did the brakes last year. My friend Pat urged me to disassemble, clean, and rebuild both CVs while I had the brakes apart. Now I understand how everything from the axles-out work. You should be able to fix this issue without getting a shop involved.

Cool. Let us know what you find when you take off the caliper. At a minimum you'll have a better view of the hub/rotor/axle without the caliper blocking your vision.

Jeff

 

I only had 20-30min today to work on the car. But I got the caliper off completely. Unfortunately the wheel is still seizing up.

I got a better look at the outer boot and couldn't see any signs of tearing or bunching up. the inner boot seemed to hold shape as I muscled through a rotation of the wheel, I thought it might be bunched or caught or torn.

I did learn that I can rotate through the tightness (which explains how I was able to get the car over to the shoulder when this first happened. So bad CV joint or wheel bearing?

I saw the cotter pin holding on the hub nut. I guess I just bend that straight undo the center nut as my next step? Then what?

Thanks.

(PS -- another bad cellphone video with caliper off. Sorry about the orientation, not sure why it did that. http://db.tt/CL4rYwo)

 

Wow that's a weird problem, man.

Yep, once the caliper is off, remove the castle nut so you can remove the rotor. Then you're left with the hub and the axle stub sticking through it. It's just a matter of popping the upper and lower control arms off of the hub so you can remove the hub, if that's your end goal. I have a ball joint separator, but I believe a pickle fork will work for that.

So with the caliper off you still can't see any signs of rubbing or binding? With the hub removed the axle is not connected to anything except the transmission, so you'll have more information when you remove the hub. If it's still binding then there's a problem in the transmission, and if it's not binding then there's a problem with the axle/hub mating. Look for scoring and/or rubbing marks on the inside of the hub where the outer CV boot clamp will sit.

Are your hubs Mini or MG Metro hubs? My MG Metro brakes required different hubs. Not sure if you had the same setup as mine.

 

I think your mechanic for got to pre-load the wheel bearings and the cv seized in the bearings.............

 

A little help for the novice... What's preloading bearings?

If that s the case what's my remedy? Repack the bearings and a new CV? Do I need any special equipment for this?

 

Do you have a Hayne's manual? Mine (1969-2001) page 8.3 discusses preloading the bearings, or rather seating the axle shaft in the hub bearings.

In brief: without installing the split cone washer, install a washer over the axle shaft end that covers more than the bearing (dimensions: inner hole: 25mm, thickness: 6.5mm, total width: 50mm). Note that I found an old fender washer and drilled out the hole to 1" so that it would slide over the axle. Install the nut and torque to the specified value (153 lb-ft for axle with multiple split pin holes, 188-199 lb-ft for axle with single split pin holes). This will seat the axle into the bearings. Remove the nut and washer. Install the cone washer and reinstall for the last time. Tighten castle nut to correct torque, then over-tighten as necessary to align the holes to be able to Install the castle-nut split pin.

FYI, after I rebuilt my front end I had a click-click-click sound from the front-left corner when I was at full wheel lock. It took me FOREVER to figure out the problem, and it turned out that I hadn't seated the axle shaft in the hub bearings using this technique.


So, did you get your hub apart to inspect yet?

 

correct.........

 

Yup have a haynes. Didn't see anything in the index that related. the wheel bearings list sent me to a reference section that didn't say much. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

OK -- so here is what I did. I got the hub off and the was able to turn the axel fairly smoothly. But still felt like something was grabbing. That's when I saw a portion of a metal cerated (sp?) o-ring. I took that off and it started spinning smoothly.

But I also noticed a small part on the ground that fell out at some point. I know it did because I ensure I had a clean work space underneath. I have no clue what it is.

So then I put the hub back on and it started seizing. So then I noticed some scorch marks and something that congealed on the hub. Looks like solidified glue. I took a pic once I scraped it off. There was a lot of little blobs of this stuff around this part. I had to scrape it off and used some brass wool to polish.

I reassembled everything. I drove it on the driveway and all seemed fine. But since I don't know root cause or what the 2 parts are from I wasn't feeling super confident to take it for a drive. One tow truck ride is enough for me

Pics below : (used a lug nut to help you see size)

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink (both parts)

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink (small part)

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink (glue like substance)

Thanks!

 

A friend sent me this pic:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

and the top part of the first bearing is what the o-ring part looked like. The roller could easily be the second part... make sense?