Has anyone had problems with the cheap strut mount aka strut bearings. I'm chasing a problem that I posted a week ago as "Ghost Steer"
When I rebuilt the suspension in my 02 MCS I opted for the $38.00 strut mounts over the $130.00 MINI brand. These mounts were listed as OEM manufacturer. While I'm not sure if these are causing my Ghost Steer issue, a very reputable Mini mechanic said he has seen failure of the aftermarket brands and will only use MINI brand for this component. He runs an aftermarket MINI service shop.

Any feedback. My aftermarkets are Boge. Just to reiterate, I'm not sure if the problem is due to strut mounts. I have had very good results with other aftermarket components in the past

 

Were the strut towers checked for mushrooming with straight edge first ?

Did you have an alignment done afterwards ?

 

The op said he had the car alignment in his other post....
A bad mount would have appeared in the alignment shop...as "unalighnable" due it bouncing backbetween the broken/loose spots...
Check all your bushings...i had a a few replaced...seemed kinda similar....forget which ones, but there were 4...i think oil filled..Greasysgarage swapped them out with polly ones.....fixed it...made the car better when it came to tramlining, and stright when power was added, or reduced...kinda like the op's.....

 

Ok then, let me rephrase that then....

Did you get a Proper Alignment done at a MINI dealer ? I ask because more often than not, most alignment shops haven't a clue on doing the 1st Gen MINI especailly the 02-04's. I have actually seen some owners leave a shop after paying for one and they did nothing at all - embarassed to admit they were not able to do one.

And I always ask for the alignment spec sheets showing before and after figures.....

 

+1
My local monroe shop said they could not do my '05...
Had to do with both the weights needed in the seats to prelosd the car, and the length of the rack that holds the car....

 

I just bought those too from Pelican Parts. Haven't installed them yet though.

The "ghost steer" issue won't be caused by strut mounts unless there is something wrong with the suspension geometry to begin with. Geometry changes can be caused by deformed shock towers causing caster changes.

 

In answer to some of the posts. Slight mushroom on towers. I installed mini madness reinforcement plates. They pulled the tops level. 4 wheel alignment after all of the suspension work. MINI did the alignment. Most shops aren't set up for Mini's. it drove fine for a month then it's like something either failed or came loose. I've had the car on the rack twice to recheck all of the work.

My only concern with the strut mount is if the rubber material isn't as firm as the factory????
With the Madness plates the mounts are harder to inspect. Tomorrow I'll check the transmission mount and recheck new inner ball joints etc.

 

1) check to see if caliper on one side is "dragging" on inner pad. If you have a laser thermometer, take her out for a spin on highway, pull over to safe area and see if there is a huge differences in temps between the two front disks. If one side registers hotter than other maybe one side is dragging. On a Celica I once had, I was able to tell with hand !

2) Have you recently rotated the tires from back to front ? Rear camber is diff than front. If you went some time between the swap that could cause some issues on highway speeds until they wear in ?

3) Visual check of tires.

a) Get tire wear with gauge and messure across face of tread for both sides.
b) Check tire wear for abnormalities.
c) Check tire pressure make sure one side isnt over/under inflated.

4) Put up on lift and check front inner control arm bushings for play. Typically right side would go before left.

All I can think of right now. Hope this gets sorted out soon !

 

Raven, yes I've checked the brake for a sticking caliper. No issues with the brakes. Control arm bushings are about six months old. I used new carriage bolts in the sub-frame per instructions. Everything is tight and no signs of movement. New tires and I rotated them on Tuesday. Something must be shifting the suspension under torque and then returns or steers it back to the left when I get back into the throttle.

I plan on having it back on the rack in the morning and will tear the car down until I find the issue. It's an issue that I need to resolve as its unnerving on the interstate.

 

You shouldn't worry much about the brands Boge, Sachs & Lemforder. They're all under the German ZF Group of Companies. All are OEM brands for most German/Euro cars.
I got same on for a while now & steering has been smooth & spot on. No bulging nor cracking.

 

Look at your front control arm...
Think the bushings were what were replaced on my car..
a pain to do...but fixed the very subtle changes in steering needed with pedal changes and crown in the road....i strongly suggest prepressed...
Pete at Greasysgarage uttered a few choice words when doing them!!
mine went at the a very low miles...about 40,000.

 

Post #9 OP says he already changed those. I am wondering if there was a problem with the original alignment...

Are these directional tires and if so, are they mounted correctly ? Just a thought .......I am running out of ideas and grasping for
straws at this point.....

 

Problem Solved! Went back through all the suspension work and found that the new inner ball joint mounting bolts weren't tight enough. A pain to get to, but mission accomplished.
I blame the person who installed them..Me.

 

 

Good Job !

"Inner Ball Joint = Control Arm Bushing/Bracket(s).

Was it the Right (Passenger ) side ?

 

Yes the worst side was in fact the passenger side. I also got the drivers side to tale 1/8 turn. These are the two carrier bolts that hold the ball joint assembly to the control arm. I only replaced the ball joint because they're a ***** to get to this carrier bolt with the axles in the car. When I replaced the inner boots on the axles it seemed like a good time to do a little unnecessary maintenance on the car. The outboard ball joints are still good despite the torn grease boots. Those are a 15 minute job when I'm ready to do those two.

The control arm bushings last summer were a chore. I bought those pre-pressed What a difference those made.