I feel like a moron. I use the reciprocating saw to pull out the old sleeves from the LCAB mounting brackets so that I wouldn't have to lower the frame to get the brackets off. I sawed part way through one of the mounting brackets. Is this something that I will need to replace now? I am pretty upset...

 

The simple answer is 'yes.' If yours is a Gen1 I have a set of brackets laying around that I will sell cheap; let me know.

 

Can I have the comicated answer too? I have a trip coming up and I don't have time to have this done. Will it break and result in a flaming wreck? I didn't cut all the way thru.

 

You'll eat that bushing up. Change it out before the trip and be safe!

 

I don't feel qualified to drop the frame to do this myself. And I don't think there is a way I can do this before my trip even if I take it to a shop.

 

You ding have to let the whole subframe just the back. Remove the six at the back and the two on the sides. Get a big pity bar and a dead blue hammer. Pretty the old ones of and hammer the new ones on. Couple hours if using flirt jacks.

 

Can anyone translate?

 

My phone will sometimes guess words,.. Here's a guess at the translation.

Big PRY bar = pretty and pity
dead BLOW hammer. = blue
FLOOR jacks = flirt

Ps,.. Read up well. I understand what he means, you don't have to drop the whole sub frame, just lean one end of it down enough that the LCA-bracket bolts will clear to come out. Read up though, I've heard need to be careful to not pinch fuel lines, and also be careful of power steering hoses .

Mine just came in the mail today, and I'm doing them at Tech Day with my local MINI Club.

 

Go to pelicanparts.com and follows the step on dropping sub frame. It not that hard of a job. I do have the right tool needed to press out the bushing and reinstall. I rent it out for 75 plus a 60 dollar deposit.

 

Wow. What was my phone thinking.

Lower the rear of the subframe, pry the old bushings off with a big pry bar, install the new ones with a big dead blow hammer. Reattach the subframe

 

Just do it right. Dropping subframe was a 6hr job on a very slow, meticulous OCD pace on my 1st try. An extra pair of hands will make it much simpler. Change out the inner ball joints, sway bar bushes, PS fluid & clean everything while you're in there. You'll realize the stupidity of how the suspension bolts & nuts were put together. MINI's motive obviously was to make sure everything would be difficult for a DIYer.
Initially, I wanted the half-arsed approach of not dropping frame. Upon inspection, I decided to go thorough........Fear not & drop your sub, you'll have "NO RAGRETS"!

 

Dropping the sub frame looks like a hard task, but it really is not once you get started. Pelicanparts.com has a tech library as another person said. Read up and go for it. I would not feel comfortable driving very far on a bad LCA bushing bracket, better to replace it. All it could take is one good size pothole and it could break all the way, then you would be stranded. Just my $.02.