i bought a used 1975 mini with a b16a jdm motor with the factory lsd . mtb2 subframe from superfast minis .
the car when bought had blowen out half shafts tie rod ends etc . they guy was building the car for many years . in the back of my mind i thought why would you be selling a car that needs half shafts . it drove like crap from day one . the car had massive torque steer and pulled all over the place . long story short , it has new half shafts , tie rod ends , tightened all sub frame bolts .
one of the rear tranny to sub frame bolts was even missing .
did my own corner ballance and just finished the wheel alignment , now drives straight with controlable torque steer . now i know why it was sold the way it was .
at about mid 3 grand and up it has a massive vibration that feels like it is going to throw the front end of the car off.
i jacked the front end up and ran the revs up and looked under the car , the drive shafts all look smooth and nothing stands out to be bent etc . it would not vidrate , so it only does it under load

i just do not know what to do next. could the tranny have problems , lsd ?
i need to find a dyno to put the car on and run it while someone is under it looking at what is going on . any help would be great .

garry

 

Hi..take a look here................... http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums...?showforum=164

someone will be able to help you just registar and ask in the honda seation..........

 

When tracking rotational vibrations unloading the suspension will send you the wrong way sometimes.



Determine if its speed, gear, rev variable etc.

Does it only happen under hard load exp. on vtec lobe at 7k etc...?


More info, well track it down

 

here is a update , i can drive it slowly up into the revs in any gear to 6 grand with no problem . as soon as i put to much gas pedal into it , it will vibrate real bad . the entire engine bay shudders violently . i can make it happen at any rpm . feels like something is way out of ballance. i just can not see it being that bad if i had a bad engine mount .
my next step is to pull the front end off this weekend and borrow my friends high def vid camera and mount it in diffrent spots in the engine bay to see if anything shows up .

 

Since it happens as more throttle is applied, it sounds like it could be something with the suspension under load and possibly some rubbing on the fenders and/or the engine articulating under acceleration and some braces on the head to firewall may do the trick.

 

Does this engine have a harmonic balancer that could be failing?

 

Sounds like the vibration is hard load dependant, check rotational mass objects; CV's, pullies, balancer etc.


Seems like the vibration comes when torque is applied to the bad components.

 

since i can make the vibration happen with just a little more gas than regular driving really makes me think it is in the tranny.
going to get a tranny shop to have a listen next week . the car has all new cv joints . not much else could cause that nasty of a vibration .

 

Might check the clutch while your at it. The clutch disc may be fine, but you could have problems in the pressure plate.

 

If it vibrates in every gear including reverse it can be tracked to your output shaft

 

Had this happen on a GTI as a bad CV.

 

never thought of trying it in reverse , will give that a shot today.

 

i found what the problem is with the vibration. what happens is the front end is lifting up about a half inch or so on a basic take off. when the car is sitting stopped the lower control arm and the sub frame are about a quarter
inch from each other . as the front end lifts when under a slightly heavier gas pedal it get the massive vibration because the lower control arm touches the sub frame .
the rear does not sag , just the front lifts when on the gas .
if i lower the car another half inch on the front , it will give me a larger space between the sub frame and lower control arm .
the guy that built the car did pinch both front struts when building the car . mabe the rebound of the struts are not working right . i can pull and push up hard with all my weight on the front end and not make it move much .
i think they are working fine .
any idea on how to fix this problem ?
will lower the front end and see what happens , but i need to stop it from having it lift so much .