Hi Everyone,

I just bought my first MINI a few weeks ago, and I'm having a great time so far. I bought a 2002 Cooper S with the JCW tuning kit, and I'm in the process of fixing all of the little stuff wrong with the car when I bought it.

So the first issues I noticed were:
1. the car drifts a little to the right while driving straight down the road
2. the steering wheel is not perfectly straight when I'm driving straight...it's turned about 10 degrees to the left
3. the flat tire and DSC lights are coming on about a minute after I start driving each time, and they stay on until I turn the car off

Regarding #3, I read on this forum and others about the steering angle sensor, and I thought perhaps all three issues were related and that an alignment job might take care of all three issues.

So I took the car to a Firestone shop for an alignment job (only because the shop is walking distance from work...convenience factor). Their tech looked at it and said he couldn't do the alignment because I had bigger problems. The inside top of the left front tire/rim was nearly rubbing against the strut, compared to the right front where the clearance between the tire/rim and the strut looked to be an inch or two (normal?). So apparently I have really bad "negative camber" on the left front wheel.

I know from the CARFAX report that the car was in a left front collision in 2006, but the damage report said "very minor."

I know very little about suspension/alignment stuff, and especially on MINIs since I'm new to the "club." Can anyone who knows these cars give me some advice? Do I need to take it to a body shop or something?

Thanks in advance!

 

something structural, in the suspension components is bad. there should not be that that kind of distance between the tire and shock.

there is nothing to adjust alignment wise with these cars except for toe in and out. everything is fixed to a certain degree unless you get aftermarket adjustable parts.

start looking around for bent/broken parts some pics would be nice to see.

 

Here's a picture comparing the clearances on both sides. I'll take the wheel off later today and get some pics inside the driver's wheel well.

 

I'm not if is your case but did you or the tech checked for mushrooming? Maybe your strut mount is gone, you can inspect the rubber to see if is cracked.

 

The previous owner of the vehicle installed those upper strut mount reinforcers, so I don't think it's mushroomed, but I'll go take a second look at that.

 

Regarding your sensor lights they'll go away after an alignment at least that's what happen to mine

Sorry I can't help with the other issues

 

Here are some pics I took inside the wheel well from various angles. Nothing looks obviously bent to me, but I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. There are marks on the strut from where the rim/tire rubbed, and the strut has a small dent in it below where the marks are.

One other possible clue I found is a receipt where the previous owner had the driver's side driveshaft replaced in 2012.

 

More pics

 

I can only post three pics at a time.

 

Last two pics of the strut reinforcement on the driver's side.

 

The inside top of the left front tire/rim was nearly rubbing against the strut, compared to the right front where the clearance between the tire/rim and the strut looked to be an inch or two (normal?).

No, not normal. It is supposed to be a tight fit in there. Not even a low profile tire chain fits between a 17” wheel and the strut. But perhaps more importantly, left and right should be the same, or at least within 0.30˚ of each other.

So apparently I have really bad "negative camber" on the left front wheel.

You should have a little Negative Camber, that means the wheels are pointed in a bit at the top
/ ----- \ Again, it should be the same, comparing left and right.
For a stock set up it should be -0.30˚± 0.25˚ Point 3 degrees isn’t much, you’d have to look very closely to even notice they are not straight up and down. ( The rear of the car has much more noticeable negative camber -1.32˚± 0.30˚ )


I know from the CARFAX report that the car was in a left front collision in 2006, but the damage report said "very minor."
I have little dents in my struts too. Previous owner must have smacked it pretty hard on a rail road track or something. I also have a “very minor” accident on my CARFAX.
IMO someone should still be able to get it to line-up properly. My tires appear to be wearing evenly.
Can anyone who knows these cars give me some advice?
Try to get in contact with your local MINI Cooper Owners Club –or ask around on line. Try to find an “Alignment Shop” that specializes in alignments. –Nothing against Firestone, but I’d get a second opinion because….
Do I need to take it to a body shop or something?
… because I’m thinking you may need a “Frame Shop” if it’s really bent under there, and an alignment shop could refer you to a frame shop that does good work.
-Sometimes during a collision repair it is not possible to measure underneath the car kris-kros from the front right corner near the bumper back to the left corner near the firewall, because the engine is in the way. That’s how you would verify that a square is square right, by measuring from corner to corner.
–At least this was the explanation I got when I had some frame work done to a vehicle (not a mini). They got it as close as they could. Later when the tech at the alignment shop said it wouldn’t line up, I called the Frame Shop, they just pulled a hair more in the right place, then it worked.

Thanks in advance!
Did you get a print out from the tech who tried to align it? What exactly does it say?
[/QUOTE]
The front axle is aligned in relation to the rear axle, then the front wheels are aligned in relation to one another. This is known as four-wheel or thrust-axis alignment. (c) 2006 Bentley Publishers

 

It is the strut driver side bent. Good reason to change to new ones anyway.
The photos prove it. I will guarantee you.
If the tech did and "SAI" sweep it will prove it as the sai on the drivers will be WAAAAY off from what I see in your pics.

Any bearing noises from that side? You would know it would be a deep growling/grinding sound but likely ok if you had not heard it by now.

My first set of struts on the r53 I went with OEM sports replacements but I really am dying to get the Bilstiens silver. Forgot the part number or name
but drove one with them, now that's the stuff.

 

here ya go!

https://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coo...coilovers.html

 

Thanks everyone for the input. There's a shop near my house that specializes in BMW/MINI and I'm going to have them take a look at it and see what they say.

 

To close the loop on this, I did take it to a local MINI shop. They replaced the strut, wheel carrier, and hub/bearing on the driver's side, as well as the upper strut mounts on both sides since they were both worn. Then they performed an alignment. It wasn't a cheap repair, but now all three problems in my original post are fixed!