Ya Bilsteins are good, and expensive. Good reputation.

 

I wouldn't say "absurdly" expensive... considering the Bilstein B4 (OEM) struts are ~$400, maybe. But the FSD are $580, and the Bilstein B6 are $670 and will probably last longer.

Also, ANYTHING will ride better than 130,000 mile OEM struts.

 

Why would you remove the hub?

There is a pinch bolt at the bottom and three bolts on the top strut mount. Removing the hub to change struts is totally unnecessary.

 

Amen to that...

 

Yes I misspoke. You're most correct.

 

I have tended to replace a lot of parts on the suspension refreshes I've done on other cars. Since labor was free (or entertainment), and if I were taking it apart, I usually replaced it. As long as I was in there . . .

I think this is why Jeff Goldblum's movie line was: "Rationalization is more important than sex - when's the last time you went a day without rationalizing something?"

 

For sure David...some people wanna wait till something is dead-broken. Plus some suspension components wear slowly and you dont know how pathetic your car drives until you put in new components.

I like to prevent emergency repairs since I do it all myself and I need time to order parts. Plus my Mini has a lot of miles on it and they are unreliable junkers.

If you have multiple cars and your paying someone else and you dont do long trips, wait till you're stranded or have severe symptoms.

I like to change suspension, water pump, coolant, etc at certain intervals. When I put in a new motor in my R56 I put in new injectors, starter ($$$ and hard to access), alternator etc cause the original stuff had 140k+ miles on it. I didnt need to. I coulda reused old parts. But I hate revisiting. That's when you start to hate your car and distrust it more. I also put in a new fuel pump at the same time as the motor.

To each his own...

 

To bump a fairly-recent thread - I'm putting Koni Special Actives on my R55 Justa, along with PowerFlex control-arm bushings and Lemforder control-arms, ball joints and swaybar links. Replacing all the soft bits too.

I'm struggling a bit to find a good DIY video for all this for R55/R56 - tons of vids on the older cars which seem pretty different to my car. I've done shocks/struts on my old E24 BMW, my wife's car, etc. and that looks pretty straightforward on the Mini. The control arms seem to be a different story? Pelican suggests dropping the front subframe to replace the control arm bushings? I got the pre-pressed Powerflex bushings from Way Motorworks, so don't need any help there (I'll just get the mount be-bushed by my shop when I take the car in for alignment so I can send them the core), but I feel like I'm missing something - if I'm fully replacing both the control arms and bushing, do I still need to drop the subframe for access? This was about the best I could find:
(he does remove the subframe).

So any videos y'all recommend? The Bav video makes it look a lot more like what I'm used to, but...

The PowerFlex looks like it's going to just slide on manually with the caps facing the control arm assembly.

Anyway - I'm fine to drop the subrame if I need to, but happy to avoid it too. Any vids/tips/etc. appreciated!

 

I'm usually a "while I'm in there" guy too. I figure (rationalize ) that rather than mix old stuff with new stuff, take the money I'm saving in labor and just get it all done in one shot. I makes things a little complex sometimes (like the job I'm doing above - lots of stuff coming off the car which makes order-of-operation something to think about), but overall I feel like it's a better approach than doing it serially by chasing failed components.

Example: About this time last year my oldest who was in college and lived 5 hours from here had a massive coolant leak on the 155K-mile '06 E53 X5. I couldn't get much usable info from the spawn to diagnose exactly what had failed. I had pretty good records on the car that didn't show a water pump, radiator or thermostat and the local shop quoted $1200 (!) for a water pump and thermostat. For less than $900 I ordered the the water pump, thermostat, rad and all the ancillary plastic stuff (expansion tank/etc.), the big coolant hoses, the fan clutch/blades, new belts and pulleys and a couple other things. If I'd gone with the really cheapo-brands it could have been less, but it was a mix of BMW and the OE suppliers. After driving five hours each way and a lot of hours wrenching, I figure I've got 50K-75K before I have to worry about anything cooling on the car (if it is in the family that long). It turned out to be just a cracked expansion tank, but discovered the water pump was original to the car! The rad and the thermostat had been replaced at some point (non-BMW rad and the date code on the thermostat was about 4 years newer than the car), but doing it all at once felt right, and clearly it was time for more than one of the things I replaced.

 

Man I did this entire job myself but it was 5 years ago on a 2008 R56. I do recall dropping the subframe yes.

 

It really isn't that hard to drop the subframe...

 

ya I think I recall it wasn't too bad. Lining it up to get it back in place isn't the easiest however but its not terribly heavy.

Having space to work if you don't have a lift can make it annoying. Have a buddy handy.

 

Get the car high up on some jack stands, and use your floor jack to lower / raise the subframe. Lifting it back in place with a buddy to help line it back upmakes it a ton easier, but still not terrible if you're doing it alone.

 

ya I think I used a cheapo Harbor Freight transmission lift.

 

Thanks gents! I mainly wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it unnecessarily - I don't have any issues dropping it if that's what is required. Layers like this make me think of Project Binky a bit - lol. I have a QuickJack, so will (probably) be using that and I'll have my floor jack available for the subframe - I'd really rather not have to find space in my garage for a transmission jack if I don't have to. It sounds like I'll need to think about some physical logistics and have some space cleared in the garage - a good reason to get it looking like this again: (which is about as good as I'm capable of apparently)

(This was taken not long before my oldest graduated from college, shoved part of the college apartment in the garage, spent six months in a nearby furnished apartment and then moved everything back into the garage for a few weeks before starting a new job across the country. All fine with me, but along with a couple other things has left my garage in a bit of disarray/chaos...)

I guess I really should do the swaybar bushings too, eh?

I don't track/autocross this car (and likely won't - that's what the Shark is for), but I do like a spirited drive (to the extent a Justa is capable of). That said, I don't want a harsh ride - one of the reasons I went with the Konis. Thoughts on whether I should I spring for the PowerFlex or is OE the better choice given how I use it?

 

Hells yes....those anti-sway bar bushings are a must. ESPECIALLY with frame down.

I think Powerflex is overrated hype. But hey who cares what I think. Go with whatever is softer. These care have terrible rides as is.

 

LoL - I value the longevity of poly bushings as much as anything. I went ahead and ordered the PowerFlex "street" models for a non-sport - sounds like they should feel pretty close to stock and keep that feeling longer.

 

In some cases those powerflex over-priced bushings might be similar "technology" but sometimes they sell them when a much more complex ball and joint system was used originally.

I replaced all bushings, including press-in place busing, front and rear, with Febest. At the time it was the only replacement bushings I could find.

 

OK - one more question (well, I hope...). In the Pelican guide for removing the subframe, it shows a side-view pic at the very end of the subframe, with a note that it is shown with the axle removed. In the comments, there are several comments stating that the axles have to be removed.

But it's not in the instructions that they do, and it seems like they'd be fine, attached to the suspension/wheel hub/etc.

What am I missing??

 

Are you asking if you have to remove the axels? That answer is “no.”

 

Don't remove the axles from the transaxle no "WAAAAAAAY too much effort" just separate the hub from the control arm via the ball join at the hub, if my memory serves me.

 

Apologies - that is the question I was asking. Thanks!

Thanks - that sounds like what I expected.

I am doing the struts and links as well, so a lot is coming off the car and I'm thinking about order-of-operations a bit. I think it will be install the LCAs, replace the subframe, do shocks & struts as normal.

What's stupid is I've done all of this before, and did simultaneous replacement of struts/LCAs on my wife's Odyssey a while back. The...compactness...of this thing and the complexity it results in (e.g. dropping the subframe to remote the LCA) has me second-guessing myself. :/

I noticed last night in a video of a guy working on a Mondeo that when he was putting the subframe back in place a couple of (temporary) locating posts needed to be installed to align the subframe correctly. I haven't seen any mention of anything like that for Mini, but wondering if there are any nuances to reinstalling the subframe on the Mini...

 

She gonna ride so nice after youre done!

 

If you're doing shocks and struts also, won't be much more complex. Do the R&R on the subframe first, unbolt the control arms from the hub carrier to aide in removal. Keeping the struts in place will help hold the axels in place Then, when the subframe is back in place, do the R&R on the struts, and the control arms can them keep the hubs and axels in place.

Alignment pins are parts of the subframe, it goes back together pretty easy. It helps to have a buddy line things up as you lift the subframe into place. Other than that, its relatively straight forward.

I think you are over thinking the whole process. Take your time, and it will all go well.

 

That was pretty much my operating plan - much appreciated!

Cool. I'll have to press one of my spawn into the fray. The youngest one (16) is usually pretty willing (if not eager - lol) to help.

I definitely am. Really appreciate the tips/help!