Greetings.
Firstly, let me say that before my love affair began with MINI,I set out a few options for what I wanted to purchase and could afford. One was a Golf 4 GTi, A BMW 118i a Ford Focus 1.6. I diddnt even consider getting a MINI, I guess I just diddnt think of it at the time. My friends persuaded me to get the BMW ,becase "Its a BMW!!" They also said I should get the golf GTi because it Was the Fastest. I'm glad I diddnt listen to them, I've come to realise that there's a difference between "faster" and "better"

Fast Forward a few months and now I have a 2004 pepper white MCS. However, for some reason,I've come to notice something strange which hasn't caught my attention before. And I'm not sure if its normal or not. I don't really know how to describe it, but here some pics below:

The Engine is Tidy



But the following is what concern me:


(Other images are added as attachments)

I'm not sure, it could be something small,I could be overreacting.
Any opinions? Thanks!

 

Could be just that the shock towers mushroomed and that's how they fixed them. I'd recommend some of these either way... http://www.cravenspeed.com/strut-tower-defenders/

 

Apparently this is a common issue on all earlier build minis. By the look of yours its possible that the issue has been addressed. I would get a 2nd opinion just to have piece of mind.

 

Both of your strut towers are mushroomed badly. The one on the right hand side (when facing the engine from the front of the car) is one of the more extreme cases I have seen, so much so that it is literally "splitting at the seams." They have not been repaired. The way you can tell is that all the bolts on one side are not parallel (i.e. point in the same direction).

I can't tell, but your strut tower mounts are probably broken too (the thing you can see through the hole in the strut tower).

Relatively easy fix, although they may have to re-weld the split seamed portion. I suggest you replace your strut tower mounts (which you will most likely have to) with some aftermarket adjustable camber plates, fixed camber plates, or the like, since they are more robust than factory strut mounts. Adding a strut tower brace may help as well.

Good luck, and watch out for pot holes!

 

Wow, this is not what I'd imagined. I see what you mean about the bolts not being pararell. Sounds like something I should sort out ASAP. I'm not sure if I should do it myself or let the guys at MINI handle it. I want it to be proper, but MINI are a bit crazy with their costs. Well,atleast in South Africa they are. Read an article in the newspaper literally half an hour ago. It claimed that MINI are the most expensive cars to service (South Africa). I actually wish there were more MINI's around or people that knew about MINI's in SA. Most of the folk here whizz around in GTi's and Corsa's. Seriously, I have yet to come across a MINI owner with more mods than an aero kit and a good set of wheels. Because of this, People here see MINI's as a "girls" car. Sad really..

 

..

 

you can fix that mushrooming yourself...

you literally (according to Mini even) jack the car up slightly, and use a piece of wood, and a big F*ing hammer, and beat the hell out of the surrounding metal until its flat again...

amazingly simple, and equally strange way of "properly" fixing this IMO, but it IS what your supposed to do!

 

Hi, I know vehicles are very expensive in South Africa, so did you not have the car inspected? Was there any owner's declaration regarding history or accidents?

 

No. Nothing of the sort. The car was inspected. The splitting was definately not present when I first purchased the car. And I can't remember if the struts were SO bad. Still gutted that its in such poor condition. Guess ill have it welded and add a brace ASAP. I'm curious tho, what would happen if an issue such as this is not fixed? What kind of damage will occur?

 

This is true, however - the top strut mount will also no longer be flat. You'll most likely need to replace those, as they will hinder your efforts with the hammer.

 

Intresting information! Thank you! - alternatively, I know damage has already been done, but if I weld the splitting, and add this:


Might it also work?

 

I put these on my car, got some handling benefits as well I have no other relationship other than as customer http://www.waymotorworks.com/ireland...e-r50-r53.html

Edit: price has gone up some since I did them, but if you can do the price diff the handling really is sweet

 

Thanks. I had no idea camber plates are so expensive. I saw a Helix one for around $400 .Will need to shop around online. Will probably be cheaper. Hopefully someone can ship some down to us heathens in South Africa.

 

I have had these in the past.

http://www.m7tuning.com/parts/produc...products_id=30

I now have his strut bar. It is a nice piece of work and does what it is supposed to do. No mushrooming here.

 

It sounds like you are hitting bumps kinda hard....potholes, speedbumps, etc, all can cause the type of dammage you are seeing.....and since you dont remember it from when you bought it, sounds like it was ok or a mild mushroom....

The tops are oem...they have the vin's stamped....
So look loke time to bash into place, reweld, put some seam sealer on it to tidy up the look, then repaint....and the above mentioned parts....strut tops, etc....the repated part will not be quite as strong, so pick one of the above mentioned items st prevent it from happening again, and slow down for bumps!! You are not driving a 4x4 truck!!!

 

I went with the Madness plates as they seemed to make the most sense engineering wise and I didn't need the extra camber from plates. You will definitely want to get new top bushings. This makes for a more complicated install that requires a spring compressor. Any professional mechanic can do it for you, much lower cost than the MINI dealer.

 

The suspension on the MINI is probably one of the more common parts. It is a macpherson strut set up, which are fairly common, as many BMWs have them. Accordingly, many mechanics should be equipped to do the work you need. In fact, many E4x bmws had mushrooming issues as well.

PS, if you have run flat tires, these contribute GREATLY to mushrooming. Hope you get it solved!

 

Thank You. To Be Honest, 3 days Ago I diddnt even know something like "Mushrooming" even existed! - I try and avoid all the potholes I can, but there's a college in my area,so every day I'm going over speedhumps on my way to work. I also do have runflats, and to ve honest, I've never heard anything good about them lol. They're almost at the end of their lives,I'm surely not getting another set of runflats. But what futher damage can occur if something like mushrooming is not resolved? If any?

 

Dammage from mushrooming....
Well ...tire wear, poor handling, and even loss of control....the strut tower determines the tires postion that you use to steer.....the entire front of the car help up/in place largely by the towers...actually largely by a few other components, but they are an integeral part of the car....not something to be ignored....since the seam is splitting....failure will likely acclerate, and take other parts with it....ignore it at your own peril....and those around you.

 

No need to be too alarmed. At this point your alignment will be off for camber and castor and likely unequally from side to side. The alignment shop will not likely be able to get it back in spec until the tops are put back into place. The tire wear will be worse, but you would not likely notice the alignment issue in daily driving. That would only be apparent on the track at higher speeds or an emergency manoever on the highway.
I would get the Madness plates and new bushings. Have a shop bend back the mushrooming some and weld up that seam. Then install the new bushings and plates followed up with an alignment and you will be good to go for another 100k km.
If the roads are poor in your area, then you will like non-flats much better.

 

You can still drive it, but just listen for funny sounds and drastic changes in steering control. When going over speed bumps, brake BEFORE the speed bump, NOT while going over it since this shifts most of the weight to the front of the car and onto your damaged strut towers. I would get this fixed within a month.

This may help you feel better: I discovered mushrooming after 6 years of ownership, when I decided to put on a strut tower brace and found that the bolts didn't align lol.

Looks like you can get some strut tower reinforcement plates for $95 USD (including shipping) to South Africa: http://global.ebay.com/Mini-Cooper-S...573253803/item

 

I recently bought and installed M7 strut tower defenders, to prevent the "mushrooming". Small price to pay to prevent stuff like this. Hope you get it fixed quickly and without issues.