Alright so i want to go lower with my car. But unfortunately i was plagued with one of the mini's that has a passenger side axle that is too long and i have binding upon acceleration with more than 1 person in the car. I've never changed the axle on a mini and i have a buddy who told me he changed one on a 1st gen and had to damn near use a truck to pull the axle out of the tranny. are they as hard on a gen 2? could i do it with a jack and a few buddies in the parking lot of my apartment? i don't want binding and i want more low!! someone please help!!

 

The axel removal is not difficult push it in take pry bar and give it a flick if it does not pop out push in once again and try it again.

 

FWD is FWD. Just get a large prybar and it will pop right out no sweat.

 

Wait, what? Too long passenger side axle? I have binding on mine with a passenger, even with just the factory sport suspension, but only on banked turns at very low speeds (<25mph). I'd love to fix it. Are there different length axles available?

--Matt

 

From the research I've done. There is a small amount of mini's that came from factory with a passenger side axle that is too long. And lowering the car will cause a dreadful vibration upon acceleration. The only real way to fix it is to replace the axle. I didn't have it at all until I lowered my car. At first it was horrible but it has gotten better and now I have no vibration with just me in the car. I don't want to deal with it and I'm replacing the whole thing so I can go 1/4 inch lower all around with no problems.

 

No kidding. The sport suspension is only .3" lower than stock, but I am experiencing exactly the same thing - and have been since the day I bought the car. The dealership can never seem to successfully reproduce it either, which has made free warranty repairs impossible so far. Even like in your case, it has improved somewhat over time. I think it's probably responsible for the bad passenger side wheel bearing I've had so far too.

--Matt