Hi guys - newbie here with a suspension question. I bought my 2009 base Cooper from a private party and all seemed well until she started pulling. The PO also had managed to reset the brake warning indicator and when I realized the front brake disks needed to be replaced I found this when I pulled the wheels.



Basically it looks to my newbie eyes like the strut housing as been bent, there is curve there that hopefully the straight pencil helps make evident.

I did have the front end aligned but she is pulling and that passenger side front tire is getting chewed up whereas the driver side wear is minimal and normal.

So my questions (if I may) are;

1) Is this indentation / curve normal?

2) If not, what will I likely need to do to address it?

3) How potentially hosed am I?

Thank you in advance for the help!

 

I believe that is normal-- I noticed the same indentation on both front struts when I swapped my stock struts for bilsteins. It's designed that way to give greater clearance between strut and tire/wheel. You're tire wear issue probably does indicate need for alignment, and in doing so, the alignment people would likely be able to tell you if there is anything worn or damaged. I don't think you should worry...

 

I don't have my factory strut in front of me but I believe that's normal. If it had been dented in there would be marks or something on the strut.

I would get your car aligned first. If they say that the alignment is fine then suspect worn suspension bushings. Likely the control arm bushing although it could be a tie rod or something else. Look at the tie rod ends and the two ball joints on the control arm for torn/leaking boots.

 

Does the strut on the other side of the car look the same?

 

The flat spot in the strut is normal, nothing to worry about.

When you had the front end aligned, speak with the tech again to find out what the measurements were, and what changes were made. Toe would mainly wear tires, and caster is normally what would make a car pull to one side. He should be able to provide you a printout of what the alignment was when the car was checked, what the dimensions are after the adjustments, and what the specs are for the car.

If the alignment needs to be done again, I would get all 4 wheels done, just to be sure that the wear was not on a rear tire, and the PO rotated it to the front.

Also, since the car is new to you, the tire wear may have been ongoing for a while.

No need to panic, you are not hosed. This is normal used car stuff, nothing special with the MINI.

Have fun,
mike

 

In my experience, not all alignment shops are created equal. Unless you have total confidence in your shop, I would look for a recommendation from your local dealer or MINI club and then use a shop with some proven MINI expertise.