Hi All,

I know the majority consensus is to drop the subframe to change the control arm bushings. I wasn't ready to tackle that at this time.

I just wanted to report that the Bavarian Autosport bushing tool makes quick work of that job. Once you get the control arm off of the ball joints, the tool extracts the stock bushings with relative ease. I didn't even need a breaker bar - just a 1/2 inch ratchet and a deep 24mm socket. The end plate is custom made to sit in the bushing to keep everything aligned nicely during extraction. This tool is super beefy and generates a lot of force.

Then, pressing in the powerflex bushings was pretty painless as well. The hardest part was keeping the control arm end pressed in all the way with new bushing attached, so i could line up the studs of the ball joints to drop back into the control arm holes. The trick i found that worked for me was to use vice grips on both the small flange on the control arm, and also on the bushing bracket. Once i got the vice grips adjusted perfectly, a good squeeze and the control arm pushed all the way back. The inner ball joint stud aligned, and dropped right in.

I first struggled with a crow bar to lever the control arm back, like Mod MINI's youtube video shows, but just couldn't get that to work.

At least for me, the $100 for the tool was well worth it. My one strut mount kept blowing out, so i figured the next step was replacing the control arm bushings. I just buttoned everything up and took him for a drive. Everything is nice and tight and feels great again. I hope this helps someone that is trying to decide how to proceed with this job.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-bav-auto.../b8800078~bav/

 

good to hear, i'm sure this will help many

 

Looks like a proper tool, thanks for sharing

I just repaced them one week ago as the subframe was out for a leaking rear main seal. I did not put poweflex bushings but OEM Delphi ones and I certainly could not have done it without my 12T press. The old one came lose with a loud bang. To put the new ones back on the control arm I needed the press again. I don't think this tool would have done the job for me to be fair. Maybe if the car is rust free.

 

So the rear bushings on my front control arms are just starting to go, according to my mechanic. I guess I've gotten my money's worth out of them considering I believe they are original equipment. (The car is 23 years old, but only has around 55k on the odometer.) This car sees both highway driving and several track days over the course of the year, but does not see snow/salt. If I go with Powerflex all the way around, will the ride be excessively harsh on the street?

 

I have on the shelf awaiting my install powerflex control arm bushing and sway bar bushings. I remember reading somewhere that it is not going to make your car any firmer than what it would be if you replace the bushings with original mini oem rubber bushings. I believe I saw that on a listing on ALLMAGAUTO on ebay for the powerflex bushings but I am not too sure. Once I saw it I went ahead and bought the bushings. I also bought it because I am sick of having to replace them all the time. This is my third r63 and they always go bad. Maybe I just drive harshly but I also drive minis for a living and in any r53 I get into, I feel the bushing blown and knocking over any bump and on slight acceleration.

 

If you stick with with the purple ones you should be fine. Don't get the black series as these are meant for the track and not daily drivers.

 

I would guess that this would work for a R56 (Gen 2) MINI as well given the 2 generations being so similar.

 

In lieu of the proper tool -
I went with partially dropping the subframe and pre-installed the purple poweflex bushings into/after pulling a pair of brackets from a salvage yard. I was able to easily hammer and chisel out the old bushings from the salvage ones. I improvised a press using my floor jack, a piece of flat steel and a 2" piece of 2"diam pipe. I rolled the floor jack with the bracket, bushing and pipe aligned under a dumpster and raised the jack until it pressed the bushing into place.
Partially dropping the subframe to get to the sway bar and bracket bolts to swap out the CA brackets was pretty painless.
I've read a few articles with regards to using a similar tool/method to R&R the bushings in place while still bolted to the car...There were mixed results.

 

It goes without saying - but i'll say it anyway. A very important feature of the no-subframe-drop method, where you leave the bushing brackets on the car, is not needing to figure out how to hold the bracket to extract and press bushings in. Not to mention saving a lot of time and effort. Brackets left on the car are firmly secured and never going anywhere during your procedure.

Now you could buy bushings pre-pressed with new brackets. But now you just spent an extra $150 which is more than the tool.

I was seriously sweating about this job for awhile trying to decide which way to go. Should i spend money on this tool, should i get the bushings pre-pressed with brackets, can i even do this job? I was shocked how easy it turned out. I believe the biggest barrier to success with this method would be inner ball joints that have never been touched and therefore refuse to budge. They were tough. But i sprayed penetrating oil between the top of control arm and where the inner ball joint mates up. I used my 4 pound hammer to give it some good whacks after each spray, then waited 30 minutes or so. Once the inner ball joints were free, it was easy sailing from there.

Firstly, the outer ball joints were similarly difficult, but came apart easier with the same spray and whack method.

He's got 68K thousand miles on him and is not very rusty, but i still believe rusty examples would succumb with patience if you did not need to hurry. The bushing tool and penetrating oil would certainly overpower rusty bushing metal parts. I guess it comes down to confidence and how laid back you want to approach this. I do plan to drop the subframe in the future for jobs that absolutely need it. In hindsight i'm super happy with my decision for this job. Now i have more confidence to do harder jobs. With me its always a progression from easier to harder. He always treats me pretty good every time i try fixing some problem he has. Its always a bonding experience for sure.

 

@MINI 06S Would you be interested in selling or renting the tool?

 

Following up from about a month ago. OP was nice enough to let me try the tool on my 23 year old R53. I ordered the purple Powerflex bushing replacement kit, and gave my mechanic the tool to try. He wasn't able to use it as the A-arm bushings were both frozen in their respective bores. My car sees no snow/salt and limited rain, but I think just the amount of time those bushings have been in place might have been the dealbreaker in my case. Hopefully, others will have a better experience. Fortunately, my mechanic was able to replace the bushings without having to drop the subframe, and only charged for 6 hours of labor. Car feels better than brand new, and just in time for some track testing at Lime Rock tomorrow!

 

If anybody stumbles upon this thread and wants to try the tool out, it is available for just the cost of shipping to you. I will also post on the Marketplace, of course. Thanks again to the OP.

 

The tool is now in the hands of another MINIac. I hope he reports back on his experience with it.

@noodlesandsam

 

I will. Thanks for being generous to the community. I have a use for it in the near future, but will figure out a way to make it available for minimal cost / hassle.