My 05 MCS with 72,000 miles, is starting to get just a slight shimmy in the steering wheel when I first start depressing the brake peddle. As soon as the brakes start acting, it goes away. It's not bad, but I can feel it. I don't think the rotors are warped and my pads are good. I've heard the control arm bushings can wear out around this mileage. I don't corner hard. I don't feel any looseness over bumbs. Any ideas?

Skyhawk940
Sandusky, OH

 

At that many miles, there is a good chance that your CA bushings are worn... Along with the motor mounts...

Oddly enough, I had the exact same 'shimmy' in my MCS right after I had the CA bushings replaced... Turned out that the car needed an alignment after the bushings were replaced... Once I had a 4-wheel alignment, the shimmy went away...

 

Yea.....lower control arm bushings are almost surely shot. Some have only lasted 20K miles before needing replacement.

 

mine only lasted to 48K then i replace them with Alta's Positive Steering Response System. They were a pain to replace them with a friend of mine started at 9pm finished a little after 4am . I did not have to remove the entire sub-frame, just loosen up the bolts and let it drop a bit.
but the difference was amazing, you will need an alignment afterward though.

 

What kind of cost would it be to have them replaced. I'm only home on weekends and I don't think I would have time to do it myself. I know the the Mini dealer would be $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Skyhawk940

 

Where do you live? Perhaps we can make some recommendations.

Rich

 

$550 for both front control arm bushings at the MINI dealer 3 years ago.
However, the initial estimate was about $700 and I'm pretty sure most dealers
charge more than mine did.

 

I just replaced my control arm bushings in our MCS with just under 80K on them. It's a bit of a of a job, I'd expect it to cost some to do. If you can get ahold of the BMW bushing tool it would make the install/removal a whole lot easier. Contrary to what I've read here I did not have to drop the subframe or pop axle shafts although I do have an auto, the manual shafts may need popping. I also have a low-profile socket wrench that helped.

If you're mechanically inclined and have the tooling (not much exotic needed) you can do it inside a weekend. Just be ready to curse at the car in the process! I ended up cutting the OEM bushings out and making a tool to press the new Powerflex bushings in, to do so I used a standard Ball Joint Press that can be borrowed from most auto parts stores. I used only the large thick disc on the tool then usd 3/4" allthread and some nuts to make a press that fit in place. If you decide to proceed with DIY I can describe it in more detail.

Sequoia

 

With 72k a set of front control arm bushings will really help out. Go for the Powerflex bushings they are the best. We do offer them prepressed in the brackets to you can just lower the subframe and remove the old ones.

 

Replaced with oem bushings at about 33K a few years ago, as I was concerned
about harshness in the winter when it gets really cold.
Now at 57K, they're going again, plus one of the ball joints.
Will get the Powerflex ones this time. I'm assuming they'll outlast the oem ones
by quite a bit according to what I've read here and elsewhere.
Also tried talking to appropriate authorities about the bad road I drive on almost
every day (as if that's going to accomplish anything).

 

I did the same mistake and replaced the OEM bushings with OEM replacement around 30Kmiles. They lasted... well, another 30Kmiles. Then I switched to Powerflex bushings and they've been going strong for the last 55Kmiles.

 

I just replaced mine about a week or so ago on my 03' Mini. I got a left and right pair for 55 bucks on ebay OEM with a 1 year warranty. Heres the link to the same seller I bought from:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mini-...s#ht_747wt_793

 

The CA bushings do go fairly early on Minis. Mine went at 44K. I don't think CA bushings are a very good DIY project unless you are pretty experienced - you are dealing with a steering component and you will need an alignment after replacement anyway. My recommendation -find a good shop and let someone who knows how do it for you.

 

Good point Ed, I forgot to mention I bought them off eBay and had BMW install them for me. It cost 500 for the install and they wanted 175 for the alignment after. I had the alibgment done by my mechanic for free. However, make sure they are going to drop the subframe before whoever does the job does it bc BMW tried to do it without doing so and messed up their tools. It was a 3.6 hour job that ended up taking 7 hours.... They didn't charge for the additional time.

 

If the the subframe is marked and put back in the same position, the alignment
should be fine unless it was off before the job in the first place.
Check that the camber is the same on both sides after - if not, the subframe may
need to be shifted one way or the other to correct that.
Check that the toe is correct. It's easier to get a good reading on this after the
bushings are replaced, since play in the control arms from the worn bushings
can give you inconsistent readings before.