Hi,

I am about to start doing some work on my wife's 2006 Mini Cooper S. I will be replacing the rotors and pads, the Radiator fan and depending on how confident I am feeling after that, the lower control arm bushings.

I was doing some initial scouting and discovered that all of the plastic jack points are missing. Is it necessary to replace these or can I just put some jack stands directly under there with some sort of padding? (I have seen that some people are using hockey pucks.)

It has been years since I have attempted any work on a car as I moved to New York City for 12 years and didn't have a vehicle. Now I am back in Houston and have gotten the itch to try doing some of the simpler repairs myself.

I never really knew what I was doing back then but always muddled through it and usually figured it out. Now with all of this great info on the web I am sure that it will be a much smoother process!

 

On any car I've worked on, in the absence of a jacking point, I just used the cars frame. Not sure if that's "good" for the car but it hasn't had any negative impact on my cars.

 

Thanks, I will give that a try. I am not to interested in spending money on new jacking points when they are just going to fall off again.

 

The jack points are there mostly because the frame is recessed under the side skirts. That said, they do provide the most reliable support if you are placing the MINI on stands. Really do recommend replacing them. Outmotoring has them at $15 each, but I've also seen them at about $10 (just don't remember where).

 

Cool thanks I will check that out. The dealership here is selling them for 35 each which is crazy. TSW sell a set of 4 aluminum ones for $100 but they are back ordered 3 weeks and I hate having to wait that long. i want to get to work on this stuff!

 

You might want to replace jacking points anyway. Yes you can use the frame to jack the car up with a floor jack. You will not be able to use the stock jack without those blocks. That may or may not matter to you.

 

TSW made some very nice low profile METAL jack points, I believe WMW (Way Motor Works) has them now. They're pricey--95 bucks--but they won't fall off, and they'll never break, they screw in with a toggle. I love them, much sturdier than the OEM ones.

 

when Minis started in the autocross scene, there was some thought of requiring the owners to remove the jacking points to pass tech...

apparently the "pucks" would depart from the car under competition conditions with sufficient frequency to prompt concern for the safety of the shins of the corner workers!

mine are still attached.

 

Yup, I lost a couple of them from hitting autox cones; have the TSW aluminum ones now. If you get those make sure you use plenty of locktight on the bolt. I had two loosen up, but fortunately noticed before they fell off.

 

I would highly recommend replacing them, or at least getting a couple and keeping them in the glove department or something. I tried jacking up my car without a jack point and with the stock jack one time. Having your car fall off the jack on a Saturday night as it's getting dark while still inside of Mt. Rainier National Park is not where you want to be.

Val

 

We noticed that a couple were missing when we changed from winter to summer wheels. My husband rigged something up and I wasn't really worried about and just mentioned it to my SA next time I took the car in to the dealership.

I was rather annoyed when I went to pick up my car and they charged me over $100 to replace them

For $100 I would have kept on using the home made ones!

 

I'd suggest getting the OEM ones from OutMotoring and the put some JB Weld on the flat surface before installing. Bet they won't fall off again.