Thanks for the quick reply. I went through the car last night, and I didn't see anything missing a bushing. I shook all the arms and nothing was looser that before. I'm going to assume it was in the box of parts and roll with it.

The O2 sensors have the same type connector, but I wanted to confirm. Thanks!

 

I thought it looked like a brake caliper piston...

My guess would be, if it was, it didn’t fall out of your car...

But seriously, I don’t know anything on a MINI that looks like that. But, did you check engine mounts?

 

You know it could have been a piston from the old brakes I removed. I had the calipers off so I guess one could have come out.

Engine mounts look good, I went through the car last night and I don't see anything unlike I saw before.

Thanks, it must have been in the old parts box or a brake piston as you suggested.

 

I got the roof wet sanded and polished which was the last area needing done. After that, I installed new windshield wipers and repaired the wiring for the passenger side zenon that had a broken plug.



Once done, I rolled the Roach outside so the daughter and I could give him a good washing. I'll need to go over the body with a claybar and wax, but that will have to wait for later.

The tri-lights came back on after we left for our drive so I need to get the scanner back out and see if it's calling out the left front ABS sensor again or something else. May have to do some logging while driving to see what's going on.

Lastly, the drive went well with all 3 of us pilled in but the left front tire is leaned in at the top pretty good. When driving the inside of the drive rubs against the strut so you smell the rubber. It definitely needed an alignment, but I'll have to hold off on further fun drives until I get that done.

​​​​​​Almost there, still need to address the AC though I'll put that off until I'm driving it without further issues.

 

I got the left front trunk signal working so that's a win. I still want to pick up a replacement stalk as the high beams come one easily since there's not a notch on the current one anymore.

I got the wife to help me by watching the monitor as I investigated the left front ABS sensor. The sensor is getting 12V as expected, but it's not picking up anything as the wheel turns. I found a couple of possibilities; (1) the harness side connector is cracked/broken so it may not be transferring power to the sensor pins, (2) the new ABS sensor from Amazon is just bad. I'll pick up an OEM sensor and another harness end so I can figure out which might be the problem. The hub is new and I didn't feel any damage so I hope that's not the problem....

Alignment scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning as the left tire leans in too much at the top and rubs the strut. I'll get that fixed tomorrow and then I plan to drive it on to work.

It's off the lift and sitting outside tonight since I haven't had a chance to order and install new emergency brakes cables for try R56 brakes. Without the parking brake, it doesn't want to stay on the inclined ramp. Oh well, the list is shorter!

 

There is no adjustment between the wheel and strut in the front. That is one solid unit. The strut fits in a hole in the steering knuckle and the steering knuckle has the axle that the wheel mounts on. If the wheel and tire are the stock sizes, then likely the wheel bearing is bad and has become loose allowing the wheel to tilt inward. The unlikely alternative is that something is literally bent, like the axle shaft, but I have never heard of that happening.

 

I guess I should have been more clear. The tire is leaned in at the top due to the bottom of the tire being kicked out. Basically it has quite a bit of camber on this side so it rubs the strut. The right front is ok sitting much more vertically.

The hubs are new and nothing seemed bent when I was under there. The tires sizes aren't stock, little wider at 225/40, but again the tire is ok on the right side so I don't think that's it.

Likely just wore parts on the front end. I haven't swapped to new struts, ball joints, or bushings since I was still trying to decide what to use.

I guess appointment cancelled then....

 

I understand what you were referring to...
There is no “camber” adjustment on the front of MINIs and, if there were, there would be no adjustment that would change the relationship of the top of the wheel to the strut. So there must be something that is not correct with the strut, steering knuckle, wheel assembly.

You say you changed the hub and put new ones in... When you say “hub” you mean the assembly that includes the wheel bearing unit and flange that the brake rotor and wheel mount to? If I remember correctly, this is held in with 4 bolts...

Was the tire rubbing before you changed the hubs? Was it the same tire and wheel before and after changing the hub?

If it wasn’t rubbing before changing the hub, then I would guess there is something about that hub that isn’t right. And I would further guess that there is something about putting the new one on that is causing the hub to be tilted upward where it is bolted to knuckle. There is almost nothing else that would cause the spacing between the wheel and strut to change. I would tear into that to make sure that assembly of the hub into the knuckle is right and everything is sitting flush. The other option, however unlikely, is that the hub was miss machined. To check that you could pull the hub, rotate the mounting flange (the part that bolts to the steering knuckle) 180 deg and put it back in. If the wheel moves away from the strut then the hub is bad...

 

Unfortunately, I'm unable to say what it was doing before all the repairs and/or upgrades. It had been driven around the house while the daughter was learning to drive a stick, but otherwise just on and off the trailer.

The wheels and tires are the same so no changes there. I did pull apart both sides this morning, and the hubs are flush so no issues there. I did check clearance also, and I almost an inch of clearance between the strut and tire. I'm guessing my assumption was incorrect on excessive rubbing.

​​​​​​Here are pics from the front when back together and on the ground. Both sides have over a fingers width clearance to the strut body. Not much camber at all so I guess when I looked at it before it wasn't sitting level.



​​​​​​I looked over both tires closely, and this is the only spot I found evidence of a rub. It's not all the way around and I have no idea when it occured.


I got back out and drove it again this morning. I didn't smell any rubber not did I see any smoke again from the front. Maybe it's just all the old grease and oil from years before burning off that I wasn't able to fully clean. The header seems to have finished smoking, but I did find a power steering leak so that may be dripping somewhat on the exhaust causing the smell. I'll change that when I pull the lower cradle for suspension upgrades.

I'll do have a rattle in the back when going over bumps. It could be the exhaust due to slack in the hangers so I'll have to check that out as well.

 

 

After the mornings excitement, I decided to drive the Roach into work. I needed to take it on an extended test run so I figured why not.

I stopped off at the Pick-N-Pull on the way as I needed to get another turn signal lever since mine was on its way out, and I ended up grabbing a couple of OEM ABS sensors to try on the left front to further diagnose that problem. I clipped a harness side connector as well in case that thing is the problem.

No surprises on the way, and he run like a champ. The suspension is definitely next!! I need to hurry up and decide on what I want....

 

After work, I was able to get the new turn signal switch installed. It was an easy swap, just a few screws to remove the column speedo and trim cover. Now the lever actually is firm so the headlights don't come on every time it's bumped.

Next up was the ABS sensor. I swapped on an OEM picked up at the Pick-N-Pull, and live data showed it was transmitting a signal. I put it all back together for a test drive, and the lights came back on unfortunately. I got a fault, 5E92, which appears to point to an issue with the hub itself. All was new up front, but I've ordered another hub to see if that resolves it once and for all.



The steering angle fault was new, but I'll recalibrate after the alignment to see it that fixes it.

With the mechanicals as best as possible for now, I changed my attention to the trim clips around the bottom of the quarter glass. Again, while at the Pick-N-Pull I grabbed some clips since mine were broken. They were an easy swap and the trim snapped right in.


My final task was to swap the harness plug for the original clock to the new plug to fit the map lights I got from a facelift MCS. There are 3 wires for each, but they don't appear to be the same color. I'll have to do some searches to figure out how to wire it in correctly..

Once all my tools were cleaned up, I cleaned up the Roach. The inside windows were terrible to see out of so I took care of them following by a quick vacuum before installing the floor mats.

While waiting on the new hub, I'll hopefully get the wiring stuff figured out including the Nav so I can put the center stack all back together.
​​​​​​
Alignment tomorrow so steady progress...
​​​​​​

 

Progress, Yes!

Your car looks really good in the sun lit parking lot picture and the close up door picture. Great work...

I could have used some of that body work polishing technique on a woodworking finish I have been struggling with... Ugh But that is done now and is “good enough”...

 

Thanks, and I appreciate the help yesterday!

I still have more clay bar and polishing to do at some point, but this car lives in the world of good enough...lol

 

Just got back from the shop, and unsurprisingly the tie rods were seized up. Even with heat we could get them to break loose.

So the alignment settings are the same as when I arrived, buy at least I know where the car is now considering so much is not adjustable.

A lot of toe on the left front, but the rest of the results don't look too bad. That toe on the right rear looks out of place though.


On the ABS/DSC/TPMS lights, it seems every time I start the car they are off. Once I drive 50 yards they pop back on. That's an improvement. New hub is ordered and it should be here on Tuesday.

​​​​​​

 

When my tie rod ends were new, I soaked the threaded part a light oil through the slot in the other part, then I layered in some silver never seize. With them loose, I rotated the thread end in and out to work the never seize into the threads. Last I knew, after 10 years here in the NE they were still adjustable.

 

That sounds like the right way to go, I'm a big anti seize guy myself. When I think about all the issues I had with the brakes, it's not surprising the tie rods are seized...lol
I planned to change them all at once with ball joints and bushings. I'm wondering if I should get a spare subframe and rebuilt it so then I just have to swap parts out. Here in California, things come apart so easy so maybe I should...

 

Well, the Roach is back on the lift. After driving it a week without an issue, it was time to try to get rid of those lights that's been on the dash the entire time.




I was able to determine the ABS sensor was bad, but it was still throwing a code as the signal dropped out consistently. With the fault code different now, it appears the new hub I installed is bad. I'm really not looking forward to removing the studs that I put in with loctite....ugh



While it's there, I figure I'll swap the front O2 as it keeps throwing a CEL to see if that can be resolved. Then, I'll roll up my sleeve and change the fuel filter just to get it done....

On the plus side, I was able to park next to another Mini at work on Monday.

 

I tore apart the left front this evening to get a look at the then new hub I just installed 5 weeks ago or so. I had really thought it was just the ABS sensor, but once I pulled it off I saw the problem.



Most of the magnetic ring is still there, but it does have some damage to it as it is missing a layer or two which apparently is enough to interrupt the signal. I didn't look at the hub closely prior to install so I don't know if it was that way beforehand, or if I damaged it myself during the install of everything.

Since I've had lots of practice, the new hub went on quick...lol


I transferred the studs to the new hub, and after letting it sit a bit I threw the rotor back on followed by the caliper. Once all was torqued down, the wheel was the last piece to finish up this project.



I'll tackle the fuel filter and O2 sensor tomorrow night. Then I can take a test drive to see if the tri-lights are finally fixed!

 

Any idea as to what caused the damage? Don’t want that happening again...

 

No idea, but I didn't pay much attention when it was installed so I don't know if it was there before or if I caused it somehow.

I did take a close look at the new one, and I was very careful when installing it to make sure I don't have to go through that again...lol

 

With motivation aplenty, I swapped out the front O2 sensor this evening. It was easy to do since it hadn't been long since I installed the header, plus I used anti-seize on the threads. I'll check it's feedback once done with the fuel filter.

This was a job I had been dreading, but not because it was tough to do. I just didn't want to spill fuel in the interior. I used loads of paper towels, and I'm happy to say all went well. The video from ModMini was very helpful!

Pulled the backseat and this cover plate was staring at me.



The adhesive was still solid so I'm pretty sure it has never been changed. I removed the 10mm nuts and popped the cover to expose the filter canister. I got the shop vac out to get all the loose dirt before moving forward. The lock ring only needed a couple of taps to start moving which was nice.



The filter was nasty, and the fuel surrounding it wasn't exactly nice and clear either. Yuck!
Old vs new





With the filter removed I got the rest of the fuel out of the canister so I could swap the o-ring. There was a little dirt/sediment at the bottom that I vac'ed out as well.



After that, I just swapped the remaining o-rings and gasket before putting it back together. Much cleaner now then before so last thing to do was reinstall the lock ring and attach the fuel line.



I got the daughter out to start the car so I could check for leaks before putting the lid back on. No issues there so I also checked the feedback from the new precat O2 sensor at the same time and all was good there as well. I then installed the cover, put the lower back seat in, and called it a night.

Hopefully the test drive tomorrow with the new hub installed will resolve those ABS lights so I'm finally at peace...lol

 

While the car was on the lift, I figured this was a good time to check the AC system. It hadn't worked since I bought it, and I only knew the compressor was bad. I replaced it, but the system had been empty so I knew something else was up.

I borrowed some guages and a vacuum pump to see what else it might need.



I wasn't quite bottoming out the guage so I was thinking must have a leak I didn't hear anything hissing so I decided to pump a can of Dye through that I picked up just in case.

It only took about half the can and the pressure only built up to around 4 bar. I shut the car off and immediately heard a hissing sound from the little pressure it had. I crawled underneath and using the blacklight I found a crack on the high pressure line.



It may be hard to tell in the picture, but the leak as at the 90deg turn where you see the bright line just above the low pressure hose tag.

I'll be able to get a replacement tomorrow so I'll swap that out, hopefully without pulling the front end, and then try to pull a vacuum again. I also ordered a package of o-rings so I had them on hand in case I needed them.

​​​​​

 

My shop will be chasing an AC leak on my R56. I’ve had it “fixed” twice now and it has leaked out shortly after...

Hope you get yours the 1st time through.

 

We'll this day didn't go quite as planned....

I started the day going to pick up a replacement high pressure hose. I spent more time driving than anything, but I was back home by 10am. I didn't want to pull the bumper just to swapped the lines so I did it slowly, but it saved time and it wasn't that hard to fish the line through. The leaking line had quite a leak.


After checking my connections again, it was time to get the guages and vacuum pump back out. This will quickly tell me if I have another leak or not. I let it run 5-6 minutes and with the low pressure side bottomed out I **** it off and let it sit for an hour to see if it leaks off.




At start of hour


End of hour. Still the same so I was good to go to the next step. I then turned on the vacuum pump and let it go for another hour to ensure the system was free of air.



After letting it go the hour, I was finally ready to charge the system. I started adding oil and refrigerant, but the pressure kept increasing as the compressor wasn't kicking on.



I shut everything down and started checking wiring, relays, and fuses just to verify all was ok. When all that stuff was good, I knew it was a problem with the compressor. Most of the issues end up being the coil, and I had one from a previous task that went sideways. It appears my good replacement was going to need it after all.

I started pulling the bumper off the car, what I had worked so hard before not to do, so I could get some room to access the compressor.



The coil job went well enough. I spent more time shimming the new coil and pulley since it needed more clearance than the original parts. It only took 4-5 assemblies to get it right. Once set, I added loctite to the screw and tightened it down very carefully with the impact.

The old coil looked rough!




​​​​​Once all back together, the rest of the process went how I wanted. The compressor kicked on and I was able to finish my charging of the system. Now I have nice cool air!!

In hindsight, I should have done this before putting everything back together the first time. I was just too excited wanting to drive it around that I created a little more work for myself. That said, I'm getting very comfortable around the Roach and I'm able to disassemble/reassemble much quicker now.

I took a test drive this evening, and the tri lights for ABS/DSC/TPMS are now off. The new hub fixed it, and the new precat O2 is doing great as well. I still got a CEL for the missing rear O2 so I need to figure out what I'm going to do there.

Coming back from the test drive, I noticed I was only getting one headlight. I pulled over to see if I had a bad connection, but it appears I have a bad xenon bulb on the passenger side. Figures....lol