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Seeking Advice/Input: 2004 Mini Cooper S Suspension Refresh
Hi Everyone,
Hope you all are enjoying the weekend and staying healthy.
I recently inherited a 2004 Mini Cooper S from a close friend. It's got approximately 312,000KM / 194,000 miles on it. We wanted to have the vehicle gone over with a family-related mechanic and found a few issues (in no particular order)
1. Steering boot rack torns
2. Inner CV boot leaking grease
3. Left front strut leaking oil / blown
4. Front right sway bar end link is rubbing against the drive axle only when the steering wheel is fully cranked to the right (possibly due to left front shock blown?)
These are the major issues discovered. The drivebelt was replaced as a precaution as it was wearing out but otherwise, the engine has compression at 175psi across all cylinders. Clutch was replaced a few years ago, and typical BMW/Mini features such as leaking power steering hose. Overall, the car is in good shape.
The shocks appear to be some kind of eBay special, and it shows "Delphi" on it. I'm thinking of saving this vehicle and refreshing the suspension and the maintenance items listed above. I've got a set of Koni FSD shocks on order and the Fat Cat Motorsports bump stops on the way. I don't plan on lowering the car because it scrapes as it is.
There are a lot of "unknowns" with this car as my friend owned the car for about a year and purchased it from a hobby home mechanic who did a few things here and there, and is missing a lot of service and maintenance history. Any recommendations on which suspension parts to refresh or parts that can be reused? I noticed a few "kits" from FCP Euro and ECS Tuning, but they don't have the full meal deal like bushings or I need to find different kits. For reference, this vehicle will be daily driven only and will not see Autocross or track time, and can be considered a project car.
I would appreciate any leads on which parts need to be replaced. If anyone has a comprehensive list of parts/part numbers, that would be fantastic. Thanks in advance! Front left shock leaking / blown Front right shock looks ok What looks like the front right sway bar end link rubbing against the drive axle End link rubbing against axle Steering rack boot torn
Pretty sure those are the OEM struts. IIRC, Delphi was stock on mine. At that mileage, you’ll pretty much need to replace any wear items in the suspension if they haven’t been done. All the bushings, ball joints, strut mounts, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kit for everything. It probably needs motor mounts as well.
+1 stock is delphi. Go though and add the main refresh kit we have and then you can ala carte the extras for those problem areas. I would Make a list and add them with that many miles you will need to replace a bunch.
If you truly want to have super crisp handling, better than new ... Make sure that all of the rubber parts are gone through ... even the rear control arms
With good non-RFT tires on the car ... the handling will literally blow you away ... and perform/ride better than the factory JCW ... and most aftermarket setups ... on real roads..
you’ll be happy you didn’t lower it 😜
inner and outer ball joints as well as tie rods
Check for any play in the front & rear wheel bearings.
lastly ... one thing I’ve seen/felt on many Minis ... that owners didn’t realize... the wheels can be bent... a tire shop can check that out when you mount or have them re-balance them .
Good luck 🤙
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Last edited by mountainhorse; Mar 15, 2021 at 05:52 PM.
