Just had the MINI at a new to us BMW / MINI shop near the office for tire install and they did a courtesy inspection. I am always leery of those courtesy safety inspections... They reported some minor leaks that don't concern me too much, but the surprise was their suggestion that the LCA bushings were shot. We had them replaced 78k miles and three years later the car has 101k miles. I have not driven it lately (it's the SO's DD) but wonder if the shop just threw all the typical MINI maladies on the sheet hoping we'd bite on the repairs. Planning on crawling under the car to verify some of these things later today or next weekend.


I have two questions:
1. What's the best way to test the LCA bushings for doneness?
2. Anyone have an opinion about likely it would be for LCA bushings to fail after just 23k miles?

 

Stand in front of the car and kick the tire. If it moves, they should be replaced. When they are new or if you go polyurethane it should be like kicking a rock.

 

Thanks! I don't even have to get dirty.

 

Give them a kick or a pull with a pry bar and see if they move more than they should.
It's nice to have another MINI with known good ones to compare to if you haven't
checked it before.
Here's a YouTube:
This bushing is really bad:

23K on bad roads is not too soon to see them fail.

 

Bothe of these statements are completely true. Mine had degraded to nearly nothing after 70k. If they need replacing, do yourself a favor and get the Powerflex Bushings. Greatly cost effective upgrade!

 

+100 on the recommendation for the Powerflex Bushings.

 

They do wear out quick, but 23k seems a little soon, still possible. We typically say if they have 40k or more miles they are worn out.
When you do replace go with the Powerflex as you will never need to replace them again.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/powerfl...shing-kit.html