I have an 2003 MCS 26,000 miles all stock never seen a race track.It was a vibration in the right front from 50-70 or so.While it was in the shop toda having the ps pump replaced I asked them to retourqe the axle nut which some say is a cure for this problem.They were tight so they look further.It seems the bushing at the rear of the righ tfront arm is worn quite a bit.On the left side there is what looks like an inner ball joint that is also loose.It seeems for a well maintained low mile stock car this should not be happening.Any simialar problems out there? The tech say it looks like a fairly big job .I have not checked any parts prices yet but I'm sure it wont be cheap.Unhappy.

 

The control arm bushings can go out early in these cars, even on smooth roads. The car is front heavy so those bushings take a lot of forces. But hey, this is a good opportunity to get polyurethane bushings put in.

 

could be with a MINI that old with that few miles. Rubber stuff not used will dry out and begin to breakdown. Do a search for Power Flex control arm bushings to move away from the rubber and gain better steering too. I'd replace all the ball joints too. The whole job shouldn't be more then 3 hours at a good shop that does the research BEFORE taking it apart.

 

Thanks for the tips.I have worked in the parts department at Ford and L/M dealers for 25+ years and have seen almost every car problem you could thinh of.This just seems to be very poor quality or a very weak design.I will probaby get blasted for this but while the car is a blast to drive its hardly worth the problems.

 

I just replaced these on my '03 Cooper, at 128,000 miles. I would consider this a big job. I had the subframe out and even then it took a lot of force to free the bolts to remove the control arm. The dealer should have a special tool to remove the control arms from the bushings while still attached to the car, but the bushings must be pressed from the housings and back in again. Took quite a bit of doing with the housings removed from the car using a large hydraulic press. It takes a special tool to remove the inside lower ball joint or if the control arm is off the vehicle you can smack the end while supporting the control arm just right. We used the edge of a section a I-beam for support. It is a big job, maybe easier if the car is low miles and in dry conditions during it's life.

 

Replace them with poly from powerflex or others. It's a three-hour job.

 

i have the powerflex solid bushings also and IMO they suck. their very stiff and they hit so hard when you take a bump/hole in the road. im in the process of changing them back to stock and my strut mounts b/c they like to crack ALL THE TIME.

 

I've got the Mini-Madness version, and found very little add'l harshness when they were installed. Still in there, and I haven't noticed that they are any worse with the colder weather.

 

mini madness are the samething as powerflex

 

doesn't look like it.

 

looks like its just a different color but same concept and material

 

They are very likely different. Poly urethane can be created with differing levels of stiffness. This is genrally referred to as a durometer reading of the material and applies to poly, rubber, delrin and other materials. Just b/c it is the same size and shape doesn't mean the material of the bushings are the same stiffness/durometer. Different stiffness levels will result in different affects on ride quality.

Just b/c they are the same concept, material, size, shape, doesn't mean they are the same.

You can't say that all poly bushings are bad or good w/o further info as they can be very different from manufacturer to manufacturer

 

My extended warranty just covered replacing my control arm bushings when I brought my car in for a failed motor mount (also replaced). My car has 40K on it. It surprising how much tighter the car feels now, as the degradation over time wasn't that noticeable.

 

I've replaced a few of these. With the special BMW tool it's about a 3 hour job for me (reasonably experienced DIY'er) if installing Powerflex bushings. I don't drop the sub-frame completely, but do loosen it and lower the rear section a bit.

Personally, we don't find the Powerflex bushings to feel much harsher than stock. We're also running IE fixed camber plates with 16" non-runflats.

I've seen stock bushings go south in less than 10K miles...

 

@ 3hrs. With the Mini tools ive done them in over an hour using the powerflex bushings. No need to drop the sub-frame if you have the tools.

 

We spend too much time yacking and not enough wrenching... I always seem to have an audience when doing these jobs... and as I said... I DO have the MINI tool. If you have some tips on making it go faster, how about posting in the thread? It would be nice to keep info like this all in one place.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=wishbone

One thing about buying MINI tools: they don't come with instructions and the Bentley/BMW-TIS info on many of these jobs leave much to be desired.

 

Will you take care of the shipping logistics?

 

I just got word from the dealer that my control arm bushings are shot. Sergio currently has just over 39k. Thank goodness I had the M7 Strut tower on the car...the dealer couldn't blame the worn bushings on driver abuse...so they are covering it under the warranty...or service contract...don't know which one, but both are good on my car til June '09 or 50k.

My friend wasn't so lucky. The dealership told him that his bushings were shot at 27k, but because they found mushrooming on his strut tower, they claimed driver abuse and refused to cover it under warranty. Needless to say he was upset when they didn't cover it under warranty and quoted him $1100 to fix...and even more pissed when I told him that they were covering mine! It especially sucks for him because the dealership documented the strut tower mushroom on his service record, so he can't even fix the shrooming and get the bushing covered under warranty from another dealership.

 

Does worn control arm bushings cause vibration? I'm not doubting, just
curious. Mine were shot, but I had no vibration, just a front end wander
under braking. I used Power-Flex, did it myself, and it was a chore!
By the way, mine is an '03 and had 50k on it when they were replaced.
I think someone above mentioned mushrooming strut towers. Did you
purchase your Mini new or used? If your car hit a pot hole hard enough
(mutiple ones) it may have reduced the life of your bushings. Good luck with this.

 

I just noticed ZD Mak tools is now selling their own version of the LCA R&R tool. While $360 is not cheap, it's a fair amount less than the MINI version.

At the moment, it's Ebay #170272284368 listed as "Control Arm Kit R50, R53 Tool kit for Mini Cooper" for future reference.

 

I just had a set of Powerflex poly bushings installed on my '05 MCS. At 52K miles, my stock bushings were SHOT, including the lower engine mount bushing. I am extremely happy with the Powerflex bushings and the car feels incredible. Steering sharpness, braking stability and putting power down to the wheels is worlds apart from the stock rubber crappola.

I got the front control arm bushings, the lower engine bushing insert and gearbox insert as well.

The car does not feel harsh at all. In fact, it is smoother now because things are nice and tight down there.

It took 4 hours to do everything (By my friend, a seasoned MINI independent mechanic) plus 4 wheel alignment after the job was done.

$512 for labor (Including alignment and tax) plus $198 for parts. Not cheap but well worth the money and the huge improvement in handling and feel.

The Powerflex bushings will last 10 times longer than the stock rubber garbage. You do the math. This is a big and very expensive job to be putting up with every 40K-50K miles. Spend the dough and likely you'll never have to worry about changing these suckers again.

My old rubber bushings looked like a dog had chewed on the rubber. They looked terrible to say the least...

 

I have a 2003 Mini and noticed a lot of front to back movement of the front wheel when I drift forward and touch the brakes, are there any issues on these? I know a alignment is need because it's wearing tires out early, Thanks, AL.