Help.......

I decided to install an M7 strut tower brace with all the talk about mushrooming towers, now I've got a problem.

When installing the brace I either overtightened the bolt or it was stressed to begin with (I don't think I cranked on it that much) but it broke off. So I've got a problem with a few questions:

1) Is the car ok to drive, mostly easy drive to work, highway?

2) Is the bolt attached to a backing plate of some kind that I can easly replace/repair? It looks that way from underneath. If so do I just drop the shock and pop the new one in?

3) will I need to get the car aligned after I replace the plate?

I thought this was going to be a quick and easy mod but now it has turned into a project. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

Now you have an excuse to get those nifty camber plates. Your strut towers can still mushroom with the M7 plates as the force comes from under the plate. You'll have a much better chance of avoiding damage if you sandwich the structure between a strut brace and camber plates. Not to mention the added benefit and having more neg camber.

 

That sucks.

While not ideal, it should be OK if the remaining 2 studs are OK and you can get a bolt on them. I don't recommend autocrossing or driving very hard as the shock assembly has a higher risk of separating from the shock tower.

The stud is integrated into the factory strut tower bushing / bearing / mount (I don't remember the dealer calls that part) so you will need to replace that part in order to fix this. Its not as easy as dropping the shock b/c you also have to deal with the spring. You'll need a spring compressor so you can remove that mount. Once that is done, an alignment is recommended.

I don't recommend metal camber plates for general street driving. There is a reason all manufacturers put a rubber bushing type of material in that area - to soak up bumps and vibrations that a metal to metal contact point causes. Back in the day, old A1 VWs would crack their shock towers over time especially when used with stiff / metal strut tower bushings or camber plates. The same engineering principles apply here.

Camber plates are awesome if you are a very agressive driver doing regular canyon runs, track days or competing in autox or something like that where you are severely wearing out the outer edge of the tire. If the outer edge of your tire isn't worn b/c of your driving already, then I'd say you don't need camber plates.

 

Good luck, you'll git er done!

 

If you're going to have to replace it, I'd recommend you get the IE fixed camber plates. The plates are thicker than OEM and have the rubber bushing so it doesn't make the ride harsh or increase noise. The bolts are slightly longer than the OEM ones and allows you to get those screws on without showing threads. I have them sandwiching my towers with the m7 plates on top.
Good luck.

 

You'll be fine I suppose with only 2 studs remaining. You'll have to replace the strut hat that has the studs pressed in. Not too bad at all. Easy as cake. You know the torque on those nuts are only like 50 in/lbs right?

 

i can tell you from previous experience... that it is safe to drive.... infact i did so for about a week, though i'd avoid any typical enthusiastic driving that mini owners are known for...

dealers should have the factory strut mounts in stock as alot of older cars have cracked their oem strut mounts lowered or not (mine did), so at least if you aren't ready to buy camber plates or wait for them to come in, you have those to go back on at least

 

Thank you to all...

I have ordered the plates (dealer had them in stock $50)

I'm going to attempt the repair this weekend and see what happens, if it becomes too complex I have a mechanic down the road.

50 INCH/lbs NOW YA TELL ME! I thought they came off pretty easy. I'm going home, loosen them, re-torque them to 50 INCH/lbs so that this doesn't happen again...

 

My directions from when we installed the M7 coilovers says that those bolts are only tightened to 25 foot pounds. I think they have the directions on their website. I will go look.

Here is a link to their tech corner. It has the direction listed.
http://www.m7tuning.com/tech.html

 

25 FT./LBS??? Are you sure? That's a pretty good torque for those shear bolts. Check with someone who has a Bentley Manual to make sure. I don't want to tell you wrong. That's what i was told......

 

The official MINI spec is 34 Nm (25 ft-lbs).

 

Wow...that's good to know!

 

I re-torqued the bolts to 25...that's pretty light compaired to my hands on a wrench.
Wish I would have known this before, next time I'll look before I start working on my car at 6am because I want to install something

 

FYI I just broke a bolt too... followed the 25 ft/lb spec but seems like my bolt must've been wack to begin with.

 

Hammer out the factory studs - they are too short to safely secure under plates and/or strut tower plates. Replace them w. longer grade 10.9 hardware. It's a bit of a chore to hold them in place w. a socket & extension but I was able to do this by myself this weekend.

Installed steel under plates and M7 uppers clamping it all together. Using grade 10.9 flanged head bolts.