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So I'm in the middle of replacing front control arm bushing, inner and outer ball joints.
Left came out fine, without much unexpected troubles.
But oh boy.... on right side, I couldn't separate the inner ball joint from the subframe. Socked it with PB blaster, then banged with pickle fork and banged the screw from bottom until it became mushroom and my ears couldn't handle anymore... nothing worked.
In the end, good old angle grinder and receptacle saw to cut it out.
Now I have to drill it out from the bottom.
WHAT A PAIN!!
WHY NOTHING IS EASY ON THIS CAR??!!!!!
Ugh, if it make you feel any better, I feel your pain. There are some terrible design issues when it comes to maintenance on these cars. Hopefully you can get that stub out of there without having to drop the subframe.
How did you replace the sway bar/control arm bushings without removing the front end of the car?
I replaced my front shocks and planned to replace the sawy bar bushings, however, I watched You
Tube video and read the procedure fo replacing the bushings and the front end of the car has to be taken apart.
From looking at the bushing, it looked to me as though I could loosen (not remove) the two bolts holding the mount (100 ft-lb torque), do not remove the mount, pull the old bushing out (tear them up if need by), put in the new ones (they are split), re-torque the bolts and be done.
Tried to drill it out. DO NOT GO THIS WAY. It takes FOREVER and doesn't work.
I left it as is for couple of days. Too sick and tired and didn't even want to look...
Then... my buddy told me to try the ball joint press. WHAT!! WHY HAVEN'T I THOUGHT ABOUT IT! I have the tool already.
Set it up and fire the impact from the bottom.
Finally replaced all front bushings and ball joints.
Front control arm inner and outer ball joint, control arm bushing with powerflex, sway bar bushing and end links.
Wow. What a night and day difference. It was painful, but well worth it I must say.
Good call on the Powerflex. They are worth the effort. I have had mine in for 5+ years and they still feel like new. I had the same thing happen to me with a stuck arm. Hope you never have to go in there again but if you do drop the sub frame. It's really not that bad. Best of luck to you!
Nice job, man. The Powerflex bushings there make a big difference. I am beyond annoyed that Mini both made those bushings both such a PITA to replace and also so flimsy that they don't last.
Originally Posted by white46
You can remove it without dropping the subframe. You need to lower the rear portion of the subframe. Follow these 2 videos.
So be a bit careful on that, because I'm pretty sure on the later Gen 2 Minis that does not work. I tried it on my 2012 and it was not possible to lower the rear of the subframe that way: I had to take it to my mechanic and he did the job by removing the subframe.
I could be wrong, but I think they changed something around the time they went to the N18 engine to where that procedure no longer works.
So be a bit careful on that, because I'm pretty sure on the later Gen 2 Minis that does not work. I tried it on my 2012 and it was not possible to lower the rear of the subframe that way: I had to take it to my mechanic and he did the job by removing the subframe.
I could be wrong, but I think they changed something around the time they went to the N18 engine to where that procedure no longer works.
Mine is 2012 with N18 was able to lower the bottom half of the subframe. I'm glad that I don't have to look at this again for next few years.
Notice in this video the large amount of flex on the articulating portion of the exhaust (between 3:30 and 3:40) -- it's a quick glimpse. Be sure to disconnect your exhaust from the downpipe and mid supports (as in the second video) and support on jack stands. There's no need to compound your workload by splitting the exhaust tube. Perhaps the flex tube was designed to bend like in the video, but it only takes 5 min to lower the pipe. The rear hangers can remain attached if you are just replacing bushings and not the sway bar.
I was in the same predicament as white46. Complete nightmare. In the end I had to disconnect the sway bar links to get the necessary clearance for the ball joint press. Use the setup in the photos white46 uploaded. I did not have luck with any other configurations.
I was in the same predicament as white46. Complete nightmare. In the end I had to disconnect the sway bar links to get the necessary clearance for the ball joint press. Use the setup in the photos white46 uploaded. I did not have luck with any other configurations.
Glad to hear that you were able to get the sucker out.
