I posted this in the R52 group, but this group is much larger, and I don't think this is convertible specific.

Have a 07 R52. First time mini owner. I just replaced the control arm bushings, outer ball joints, wheel hubs, shocks, axels, rotors, motor mounts. Just had it aligned. I have only had the car for a month. All this needed to be done, they were all shot. It has 125K miles on it.

The car rides good now. It feels solid. But I have this one odd thing occurring. When I let off the throttle I get a jerk like pull to the left. When I step on the throttle I get a small pull to the right. It's the pull to the left that sometimes is very strong (like a sudden jerk) causing the car to swerve. At 60mph it's a little unnerving. I can't imagine this is normal. It's also seems slightly delayed, not instant. Meaning I let off the throttle, maybe a second or so later the "jerk" happens.

Any idea what this could be? Is the electric power steering somehow trying to do something? I've hear about torque steer, but don't know what that feels like. This doesn't seem like it's that.

Thanks for the help.

 

The pull to the right you describe, under throttle, sounds like torque steer. You're right, the pull to left after lifting doesn't sound like torque steer. Does it pull at all when you are cruising at a constant speed? Does it track straight?

I don't have an R52 so I could be wrong but I thought it has hydraulic power steering like the R50/R53.

 

I chased my tail for weeks on this issue in my 04 r53. First thing I did was control arm bushings, went with powerflex, car already had new ball joints both inner and outer. I found some play in one of my struts between the body and the piston, replaced that and it didnt fix my issue. When I finally found it, my right inner ball joint bolts were SLIGHTLY under torqued. It took a pretty big pry bar to find it, once I did I could see where it was shifting and making marks on my subframe. Torqued it down and realigned the car and it's been perfect ever since. Hope this helps!

 

Yes it’s the same pump as the r50/53. It’s hydraulic but uses electric pump. It’s not a pulley driven like most cars.

it tracks straight.

it only pulls jerks left when I come off the throttle. Like usually between 2nd and 3rd shift the car jerks left a second after I come off the throttle to shift. It happens every time. Just some times it is slight. Other times is more pronounced. I can stay in one gear and do it over and over.

 

Ah, I see what you were saying. I was confused because I thought you were referring to an electro-mechanical system like those on the Gen 2 cars.

 

Did you do the work yourself or did you pay a shop to do it? It sounds like something is loose. Is there any noise associated with the jerk or just the feeling?

I would check every fastener on the front end with a torque wrench (if you have one) and least get a wrench/ratchet on every fastener. This could be dangerous, so I would get this done ASAP.

 

Check the control arm bushing mounts I had same issue mine had loose bolts

 

Well you were right. The problem got worse today. I could feel the suspension shifting left/right. When I got home I jacked it up and took off the front wheels. The driver side inner ball join 2 top bolt were loose. I could push the control arm a good half inch each way. I was able to get in with a torque wrench on one side to 56lbs. The other bolt under the CV boot I could get to with a long ratcheting box wrench. I tightened it to feel about the same as the other. I also doubled checked the 21mm nut on the ball joint. The passenger side was slightly loose but not that bad.

Heres the part that really is unfortunate. I paid a small fortune to British Worx OC (https://britishworxoc-miniservice.com/) to replace my control arm bushings. They were the ones who didn't torque it down. I also asked them if my motor mounts were bad because I got a lot of vibration in the cab. They said they were fine. I replaced them anyway, both were bad. The bottom one had a rip in a spoke, the top was almost touching the base. Now the cab it perfect with no vibration. Very disappointed in this shop. Not sure how they got so many glowing reviews on yelp. Maybe I just got the new guy that day.

Thank you all for the help. For anyone else out there, if you are getting jerking left/right check your ball joints and control arm mounts.

 

Thanks for posting this,
I too have a 2007 MCS Cabrio, and the same exact issue just started. I'll be looking at the suspension, again today, specifically checking the ball joint bolts. Movement I saw earlier today made me think inner tie rods but........

 

What I would do in this case: I would take a Go Pro, affix it somehow in the wheel well or on the front part of the frame and make a video while driving. That could answer a lot of questions, I'd assume.