Shocks work both ways and will not necessarily come back to 1/2 way, it depends on the construction and use of the shock. If you go back in posts you will see a video posted by flynbrick showing the strut mount being replaced as well as struts----watch the video and see how much pressure it takes to move the worn strut. That may help you out.

 

Do you know how many miles are on the shock? Does it have a white tag on the strut facing the tire side?

 

No idea how many miles.... The fronts have no markings I can find. The rears have tags like you describe.

 

The rear shock looks OEM, the strut looks like a OEM replacement. Did you get a look at the video?

 

Yes. It looks like his shocks are a lot easier to compress than mine....

 

It's time to make a decision, put the strut back in or replace everything. Do you know a Mini owner that had time working on Minis that can help you or take the car to a shop that can help.

 

Yea, I've decided to change them. The rears are definitely shot and the struts are not smooth when I compress them.


The strut bearings have no damage so, I'll reuse those.


I'm also adding the strut tower plates since they have a small amount of distortion.


Thanks for all the suggestions........

 

If the struts are not moving smoothly then it is time to change them out.The Bilstein sport shock is a good shock for DD chores.

 

Hey, before you add the strut tower defenders make sure any mushrooming is removed. All you need is a block of wood and a heavy or dead blow hammer.

 

Yep, that's on the agenda for today.

Question though. I see in the video that he only uses the plate that goes underneath. I was reading somewhere that the plate should only be used with the support that's mounted on the top.

Or, just use the top support only. Agree? Dissagree?

 

The 'on top' plate is the one you want. It just sits down over the tower bolts then tighten down to 25# torque. The video is basically a very helpful advert.

 

BTW, the other strut has the big white stickers on it..........

 

It is probably original.

 

+1 on the 'Steins as a DD shock. Very affordable and durable. I think mine have about 50k on them, ride is still super smooth even on the crappy SC roads. But when Spring time comes around I'll be stepping up to the Koni Yellows.

 

Yea, no wonder it rides like CRAP.....

 

Hi Traildog!

Here's a link to the Bilsteins:

http://new.minimania.com/part/NMS309...s-Gen1-R50-r53

Here's for R53 shocks and suspension in general:

http://new.minimania.com/ss/SUSPENSION_NM,SHOCKS_NM

And, here's a whole section on our site just for our R53s

http://new.minimania.com/MINI_Cooper...nd_Accessories

Hope this helps!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.