Good day all,

I have a 2002 January production mini and I'll need to replace my strut assembly on the passenger side. The suspension design changed in march of 2002 therefore I have the very rare early setup. I'm having a very hard time finding spare parts for the early setup and therefore was wondering what I would need to do in order to upgrade to the newer setup (post march 2002)

thanks!

Dave

 

1/2002 front suspension
1/2003 front suspension



You can see the spring perches are different. They are different part number too.

 

You can also tell from these pic/links that the strut bearing parts at the top are
different between 1/02 and 1/03.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...95&hg=31&fg=10



http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...41&hg=31&fg=10

 

I believe you'll need:
Shocks
Springs
Rubber springs perch pads (top and bottom)
Upper spring perches (and associated washers)
Sway bar drop links

 

Thanks for the great feedback mates!! So to recap. If I buy the entire spring/shock assembly with the top plate alreadt installed would I need any additional modifications to install it? In other words would I need to buy different contol arms lower sway bar that connects to the shock assembly housing? What do you mean by Sway bar drop links Mr Bean?

thanks

 

Drop links are the small rods that connect the sway bars to the struts. The mounting of the drop link onto the struts is different and the drop links themselves are different as a result.
#5 is what you have now, #6 is what you need

 

thanks alot so ill upgarde with the new style strut assembly and the sway bar links. Nothing else required to change right?

 

Also would I need to align the car afterwards?

thanks.

 

Yup...100%, since you are changing out most of the parts.....

 

thanks alot so ill upgarde with the new style strut assembly and the sway bar links. Nothing else required to change right?

Dave

 

The top strut mount is different....
It is a conventional style....as opposed to the early ball/pillow one....
to be honest, i am not sure what might be required to change, but the top mounts are not interchangeable....might even be due to difference in mounting bolts, etc...
You have a good idea...but have not heard of anybody doing it....might be a reason, so my suggestiin, go slow find lots of info...maybe some hands on with a newer car...even a wrecked donor junkyard car that will be a parts car. Many folks have dealt with the incompatible early suspension....it basicly is very limiting to folls that want to upgrade parts....makes me think yhere is a reason it has not been done before...

 

From the sketches posted by above the only delta I see from the 2 designs is the strut assembly (shocks, spring, top plate assembly...) along with the front sway bar drop linkage. The hub is the same. So in fact the upgrade should be very straight forward...unless I<m missing anything?

thanks.