I have a problem with horrible bump steer coming from my 2004 Mini Cooper S. Here is everything that I did.

In the beginning of the summer I replaced the worn out control arm bushings with poly along with new inner/outer ball joints and tie rod ends plus had the car aligned. This made my car handle great..... But I have noticed that it has been getting progressively worse at bump steering to the point now where it's ridiculous. It happens both on throttle and off especially at higher speeds. I have jacked up the car and everything seems "tight" except a very slight movement in one outer ball joint very minimal. I am at a compete loss at what is the cause for this!

P.S I know the rear bushings are worn out too but they can't be the cause of this can they?

car has only 120km on it

Thanks everyone

 

You are meaning the steering wheel moves back and forth when hitting bump or uneven surfaces. Thats what Im having. Car also pulls to right. Tires and wheels inspected correct pressure and alignment. Still pulls to right and steering issue getting worse. Someone knows about this I'm sure.

 

When you say the rear bushings are worn out, do you mean the rear shocks? or the rear lower control arm bushings?

I'm pretty suspicious of the slight movement in the outer ball joint. My car started doing something similar and I'm fairly certain that it's a tie rod end, it's not much movement but when the car is in the air and I put my hands at 9 and 3 and pull, it'll wiggle, if your wheel wiggles, something is not right.

Maybe a that tie rod didn't get torqued properly, or the tapers have shifted a little but that's where I would start.

 

Had everything tightened and inspected. Mechanic called me over to view front wheel alignment. Noticed that front right wheel leaned in slightly at the top. I would think that would cause pulling to left. However it is pulling to the right. Also tightened coil overs but still have a clunk, rattle back there. Can this wheel be adjusted?

 

Front alignment is only relative when the rear alignment is correct, if the rear is off then the front is off in correlation to the rear.

What is the FULL alignment read out, front, rear, toe front & rear, camber front & rear, caster numbers?

Blown out or worn shocks can cause bump steer issues as the bump isn't being absorbed, it is being transmitted.

 

have attached alignment stats with this. Car pulling to right. Changed 17 inch wheels, installed my 16's. Had them balanced, didn't change pull to right at all.

 

It could be the uneven camber angles causing the pull to the right. Tie rod ends is another possibility, and of course the front lower arm rear bushes... does it do this both on and off throttle?