Just like their BMW cousins, the Minis seem to be prone to LCAB failure. Mileage varies depending on how you use your car, but we have seen 20-30k cars with torn bushings, and by 50-70k they are all a little squirrely. If you are experiencing any shimmy when braking, or maybe a little more torque steer than you remembered when the car was new, you are due for some LCABs.

We recently invested over $1000 in BMW tools to R&R these bushings efficiently so that we can offer this service to Mini enthusiasts at the best possible price.

This service runs $350 normally, and we will run a special for the month of April at $325.

Don't have any way to check out your LCABs? No worries, give us a call to schedule a FREE undercar inspection, and we'll give you a grand tour of the underbelly of your Mini!

 

I second that! An easy way to check them is to put the parking brake on and slowly release the clutch till it judders. Have someone watch how much the tire shakes around. Bad ones will vibrate like crazy, while good ones will barely move.

 

What about if I'm experiencing shaking through the floor, accelerator and shift **** from ~0-30mph? I got it after lowering my car in H&R Coilovers! It kind of feels like it's coming from the middle/front of the car. Can it be my lower control arm bushings? I didn't have it before I lowered the car, or at least I didn't feel it.

Help!

 

I saw your other thread, did you re-torque your wheels? I see that you said that you know they are tight because they used an impact gun to tighten them. That is exactly why you should re-torque them. The concern is the wheel having run out, not it being loose. Loosen the lugs then lift the car. Seat the lugs. Now torque them to 30lbft (in the air). Lower the car until the tires touch the ground enough to allow you to torque them to 90lbft. Also, you have aftermarket wheels, if they use hub rings, it is very easy to torque them on off center. start here, then check your work, then alignment and wheel balance. Good luck.

 

I got an alignment yesterday, did nothing! If it were the wheels I should have the shaking all the time, especially in higher speeds, it doesn't feel like the wheels is the problem, I drove one day without my hubcentric rings so I know that feeling, this doesn't feel like that?

Thanks for your help!

 

Hmm, are your wheels rubbing?

 

Nope.

 

Erik:

Interesting, I have to say that we haven't been seeing a lot of LCAB failures, as opposed to say, with many BMWs.

On the vehicles with 20-30k miles, are you usually seeing one or both of the bushings torn?

David

 

Definitely not as prevalent as with their heavier BMW cousins, but still seeing them frequently enough to be worried. Keep in mind that almost every car we see is either tracked or autocrossed fairly regularly, so that contributes to it. On a mostly street driven car, the mark (as mentioned) is closer to 50-60k.

 

Thanks for the info on this Erik. I'll keep an eye out for the shimmy...

 

Erik and the rest of the guys at Edge did my LCABs and got my MINI running again the day before I left for bimmerfest!! These guys are awesome!

Are you guys still doing hot dyno nights?