I had to submit a ticket on PelicanParts website. My ticket number is "538149".
There's not any other sticker on either box.

 

Have one of our MINI guys checking in on this. You should hear from him today. If you don't, please give me a shout.

 

Pop the exile out with a pry bar or flat screw driver. The ring is on the end of the exile inside the transmission, it sits in a grove on the axle and is held in place by pressure. I just replaced the boots on one of my axles and replaced the "snap ring" with a screw driver, not hard at all.

 

I'd vote not pulling the axles, that's how I did it. You will have to fight with a snap ring to get the bearings off so you can slide the new joint on.

 

I need more help. I cannot get the lower a-arm to separate. I've whacked it from every angle possible, tried a pry bar, soaked in WD40. Is there a tool out there I need to be using? I'm feeling defeated after fooling with it for over 2 hours... Lol. I removed the 2 bolts holding it, and also the lower nut (put back on to protect threads)

 

Typical pita. Hang in there!

Get a decent Ball joint separator and more effective penetrating oil. I use Kroil oil (buy it from Amazon).

http://m.harborfreight.com/3-4-quart...tor-99849.html

 

Local parts stores usually have one to rent for free. Good tool to have in your tool box though

Sometimes you get lucky and they pop off using a hammer but usually not

 

A ball joint separator. I'll check the auto stores tomorrow. I noticed the rubber boot has a hole in it, so I'll plan on replacing it if I ever get it off. Haha.

Thanks again for coaching this rookie.

 

If I remember correctly the easiest way to do it is pull the brake caliper and disc off (and maybe the wheel bearing too) then I used a long screw driver to lever against the top of the ball joint to push it out of the steering knuckle. I like pb blaster for penetrating oil but it might just be superstition that makes me think it works better than wd40.


i would smear some antiseize between the ball joint and the steering knuckle when you put it back together. It'll make your life easier if you ever have to take it apart again.

 

Also if you do pull the wheel bearing off, watch out for the wheel speed sensor, you don't want to break it.

 

There is a difference between penetrating oils. Reposting this from a BMW forum. Summary: home brew formula works great but is wickedly flammable.

From a comparison in Machinist's Workshop magazine in their April 2007 issue. They looked at different penetrating oils to see which one did the best job of removing a rusted bolt by measuring the pounds of torque required to loosen the bolt once treated.

Penetrating oil .......... Average load

None ..................... 516 pounds

WD-40 .................... 238 pounds

PB Blaster ............... 214 pounds

Liquid Wrench ............ 127 pounds

Kano Kroil ............... 106 pounds

ATF-Acetone mix.............53 pounds

The Automatic Transmission fluid (ATF)-Acetone mix is a "home brew" mix of 50 - 50 automatic transmission fluid and acetone.

 

Cool chart David

I have atf in the garage, wonder if I have any acetone. Might have to see if I can start it on fire lol

I'm definitely going to try kano kroil, I usually use pb blaster and it works ok.

 

I bought a ball joint separator and successfully separated the ball joint from the lower A-arm. The ball joint itself is still seized up above. With the two bolts removed, the ball joint should come right out, right? I had planned on replacing the ball joint since the rubber bushing is torn and the joint separator wasn't the kindest...

With the lower A-arm out of the way, the half axle came right out with the inner boot removed. I left the knuckle piece in the transmission and didn't see how that actually comes out - force it out, a clip, ?.

This little job has turned into a royal PITA. For me, some things should be left to real mechanics. Too late for that now. haha

 

Yeah the axle is held in with a clip. Use a pry bar or a thick screwdriver to pop it out.

Since the ball joint is already wrecked, spray it with your anti rust stuff and pound on it until it comes off.

 

You got this far you're doing just fine. Just take your time and keep asking questions if you don't understand something. Working on suspension sucks no matter who you are. A shop would charge 500 to $1,000 for the work you doing so you're saving a good amount of money too.

 

Essentially yes - mine still took a little hammering, it sits in a tapered ring that can get pretty rusted. You can get to the top of the taper from the inside of the knuckle to blast it with lube if you haven't already. A sharp whack should shock it loose.

I just did my CV boot Sunday leaving the inboard joint in the transmission like in this write-up. Just wiped it out with clean towels and repacked it. Worked great and there's even a gap to get boot pliers on in front of the arm.

 

Thank you all for the guidance and confidence to pull this job off. The CV boots and ball joint are replaced.

As I was putting it back together, I noticed the swaybar link was busted - the ball completely separated from the link. Went to my local autoparts store and bought a Moog brand link. Put it on and noticed that it makes contact with the axle when flexing the suspension. The Moog part is much thicker than the stock.

My R53 is lowered a bit (1.2"?), though it appears that I'm running stock links. She's my daily driver, so I don't need a special adjustable sway bar link. Does anyone have a recommended, affordable, and easily obtainable front sway bar link? Thoughts on the DuraLast part #1880497

 

I just put on 2 Lemfoerder links to replace ones the last mechanic stripped out. Work great, they match OEM exactly. Got em from Pelican.

 

Glad you got it done! I'm on stock springs but I just put 2 new delphi links on mine after replacing the struts and lower ball joints. Delphi makes the OEM struts so I figured the end links were probably theirs too. I got mine from pelican too for $16.75 each. I couldn't see a difference between the ones that I took off and the new ones. Pelican usually ships pretty quick.

The picture of the duralast part looks right to me but it's hard to know from sure from just a picture. Also it's nearly double what I paid.

 

Thanks Halt - I just ordered the Lemfoerder sway bar links. Hopefully they'll be here by the weekend