My '04 R50 just got a going-over from a specialty BMW/MINI mechanic. One issue they found was that a thrust arm bushing was "weak."

When I search for the part, all I'm finding are "control arm" bushings. Are they the same thing? What part are these guys talking about?

I'm going to be under the car tomorrow trying to check out all the stuff they told me needs work. Related issues include front wheel bearings being noisy and a "failed" CV boot. I might just do all of those things at once, especially the CV and the bearings, since I have to get the axle out of the bearing to get at the CV anyway.

Are there any other rubber bits under there I should be replacing while I'm at it? Seems like the rubber is breaking down in there, so other parts made of the same material will soon be breaking, too. Engine mounts are stiff and cracked in a couple places, so those are already on the list...

 

Multilink suspension have both control and thrust arms. I've heard the term thrust arms more so associated with BMW's and Porsche's. All in all, it's part of your suspension set up. Here is one for a BMW. I wouldn't call them 'thrust arms' on your MINI, but rather just control arms. You can see some Porsche thrust arms HERE.

I'd suggest control arm bushings, like they're doing, and I'd also have them check your ball joints. Are you replacing with OEM or upgrading? I'd highly recommend Powerflex bushings. They're a nice performance gain and also give you prolonged tire life as well as they last much longer.

 

So it sounds like the part sold as a "control arm bushing" is the one I need?

I'm going to be under the car later today to verify the condition of all the stuff under there. I'll check out all the ball joints, too.

I'm planning to do all this work myself, if I can. I'm between jobs right now, so I've got plenty of time and I'm disinclined to pay for any more labor at a specialty shop than I absolutely have to. I may take the car back to them for an alignment after I replace all the parts, but I want to do the work myself if I can.

As far as OEM vs. upgrade, I really just want to get stuff that will keep the car running smoothly and reliably. It's 12 years old and has 92k miles on it. If that's how long the OEM stuff lasts, then OEM is probably good enough. I also have to be realistic about resale. I don't want to be putting a $40 saddle on a $10 horse. Sadly, none of this stuff I'm replacing is going to add any value to the car- it's just stuff that makes it un-sellable if it's broken.

 

If you take a look HERE you will see all the bushings needed for the control arms. We have a Control Arm Bushing and Ball Joint Replacement article on our site that can help you tackle this job yourself (under tech info tab at the top). It has detailed images so you can get an idea of what to look at when you get under there. It also has a great step by step process that you can easily follow when you start the job.

Understandable about OEM and there is nothing wrong with going that route. If you want to really read up on the benefits of the Powerflex bushings you can HERE. If you have any questions after reviewing the article or before you tackle the job please don't hesitate to ask.

 

I agree with your sentiment - I can't remember exactly but I don't think the cost of the powerflex bushings is that different than OEM. Have a look. ...ball joints are also pretty cheap and the price differential isn't much between brands. There are a couple of tricks to the ball joints (cold chisel to get them out) - and someone (in the last few months) posted a video of how to do the control arm bushing with removing seemingly almost nothing...I don't have the post handy

 

I just spent some quality time under my car. It took a long time to find it, but there does appear to be small tear in the passenger-side CV boot. So that's on the list.

I don't know how they figure those bushings are "weak." It's really hard to see them. There's nothing leaking or crumbling out, and the joints don't wiggle or anything.

Ball joints all looked pretty good to me. Nothing oozing out of any of them, no play in the wheels.

If I can get the control/thrust/whatever-they're-called arms off, and pull out the passenger-side CV axle, without dropping the subframe, maybe that's the way to go. Looks like you can buy the bushings with the brackets, so you don't have to press the old bushing out of the bracket.

Something is also spraying a mist of oil all over the back/bottom of the engine/transmission. The power steering pump is the wettest-looking part, and the shop said the lines into it were leaking. There's a recall on the pump, so maybe if I take it to the dealer (an hour away. Ugh.) they'll replace it for me. Otherwise I've got to figure out what's leaking. It's not leaking badly enough to drip on the garage floor, though. Just kind of a grimy mist all over everything under there.

If I AM going to drop the subframe, then I definitely might as well do bushings, engine mounts, CV axles... I can see this project snowballing already.

 

If your car is still covered by the PS recall, you might as well get it done anyway, BUT
be aware that the hose is NOT covered & if it is leaking & not replaced ($350+), then the new pump & fan won't be guaranteed.

In reality, it's likely to be just the O-rings leaking, not the hose itself, so wash the hose off & see if you can verify that.
I think I read somewhere that the O-rings may be difficult to find, or the design changed, or something, but at least with this knowledge you know what you might be facing.

I hope this helps.

Mike

 

Either way the leaking lines should be replaced.

I don't understand the it's not guaranteed part though. The pump is free per the recall. Has Mini said you only get one? I haven't seen that anywhere. My letter from Mini didn't say you only get one. So who cares if it's guaranteed? Unless of course I missed the one pump per car part.

 

I think it's the same as with any genuine MINI part, it comes with it's own guarantee from that point on.
The issue is that only the pump & the fan are covered under the recall. If the hose fails & destroys the new pump then MINI will say that that is the cause of the pump failure, not a manufacturing defect in the pump itself.
If the new pump fails for some other reason within it's warranty period, then it's still covered under it's own warranty, not the recall.
My own issue was that I don't think the $350 hose had failed, probably just the cheap O-rings, but I didn't know any better at the time.

 

Just wondering what Mini does to not guarantee a part. Does your vin get marked as installed new pump with bad lines? Or does it just go into that dealers database?

One example, let's say you sell the car. Couple years down the road the pump dies so the person takes it in for the recall. Are they getting denied a part recalled for safety?

On a side note why aren't the lines part of the recall? They seem to go bad as much as the pump, with the end result being the same, loss of steering.

Lol, guess I have a lot of questions.

Would be nice to have a Mini tech on these forums

 

initial try using nuts to open device. That did not work

I adapted the tool to allow the use of a large chipping hammer to apply force directly to the ball joint stud with the tool under maximum force with nuts. This worked..


The tool above was made with an upper plate of 4x8" of 1/2 " plate steel
the lower plate 3 x 8" of 1/2" plate steel. Nuts and bolts 1/2 ", ball joint rod coupling adapter M14 x 1.5 with hardened stud for ground rod driver bit.
My first attempt was with the nuts and enough force was applied to bend the lower plate 1/2". I then adapted the tool to allow the use of this chipping hammer, With max force applied with the nuts it took 15 and 30 seconds of chipping hammer to release the ball joint
I also bought a PMD products puller, greased the rod and used a wrench to pull out my control arm bushings and everything worked fine. Pulled 2 and installed 2 black poly bushings. Nothing broke. Don't use an impact gun on this bushing puller

 

Sorry I posted this on the wrong thread

 

I'm sure those bushings were replaced SEVERAL times prior to the 93K you currently have on your car. I'm the second owner of my R53 and the PO had the car serviced exclusively at a dealer which kept complete repair records. I purchased my car with 110K miles, those bushing were replaced 4 times with OEM bushings. I currently have 150K, replaced the OEM bushings with Poly bushings , BIG difference and I will more than likely never have to replace them again. There is a ton of posts here talking about how much better Poly bushings are over OEM. There are many things on these car that require OEM which is better than Upgrade parts, OEM Bushings is not one of them.