Had a MD state inspection done today and the inner and outer front ball joints made MINI fail. I've been searching all over NAM to find even a basic how-to for doing the replacement, and can't find anything substantial.

For those who have done the job, can you give a quick overview of what is involved? Is this a pretty quick and easy job, or one that's a pain?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

 

Just found this how-to for the ball joints on the control arms from the BMW TIS CD:

http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?1/09/48/81

Is it really necessary to remove the drive shafts to replace the ball joints on the control arms?

 

the control arms. The inner are a another story.
They can be R&R without removing anything but it is a real PITA with very tight space, high loosening torque and you will brusise and cut up you hands doing it and take you about 2 hours just loosening the bolts -just no room to swing the ratchet. Suggest you drop the sub frame where it becomes sup easy and you could do it properly. In fact, you could replace the inner ball joint faster by dropping the subframe then trying to do them in place.

 

Great suggestion - I guess the BMW TIS way of making room to work is taking out the drive shafts, but lowering the subframe could make the room too...

Thanks!

 

You sure that's where the play is?

After helping a local club member change out his control arm bushings, I'd bet on them going bad well before a ball joint would - unless the boot was bad allowing dirt and moisture into the ball joint, not much to go wrong there - where as the control arm bushings are rubber, and seem to deteriorate over time and miles...

 

You're definitely right - I recently replaced the control arm bushings which improved things drastically, but apparently there's too much play in the ball joints for them to pass a MD state inspection too.

I'm not surprised - those ball joints have 115k miles on them and have taken a beating on the streets of Baltimore...

 

OK, at 115K I guess it's not too surprising that they're worn. As long as you're in there, I'd look at all the suspension components including sway bar bushings and ends, upper support bearings etc. Do it all at once, then have a good alignment and you're good for another 115K!

The club member who's control arm bushings we changed yesterday (not a fun job, BTW) had about 150K on them, but his ball joints were still tight as new, that's why I asked.

Another club member's front control arm bushings are just as shot at only 85K! Seems those don't last real long.....

Oh, and a good ball joint tool will probably make this job easier - mine's similar to this one....



You can do it with a pickle fork and a BFH too, since you aren't worried about saving the old ball joints.

 

I bought my ball joint separator on e-bay for $32 and it worked great. It looks very similar to the first picture posted by MINIDave. You will only need the tool for the outer ball joints. The inners are easy to replace. You will only need to drop your sub-frame if you need to change your sway bar bushings. I did mine yesterday and it took me 2 1/2 hours for the whole job (sway bar bushings).

 

I opted to replace the whole wishbone, including the bushings... Was an extreme PITA to do. Two man job, over 2,5 hours from start to finish. Wrote something about it, but it's in Dutch

 

Question for you Mini experts. I cant seem to find the part #s for the inner AND outer ball joints for a 2008 Cooper S N14 engine. Pelican parts implies the car only has the following ball joint on each side (for the control arm).



Penske parts diagarm seems to imply the same. Is this true?

 

Wait... you posted in the r53 section... but you're asking about an r56? Which is it?

EDIT: Looks like for the R56 the ball-joint is integrated into the control arm. Drivers side control arm part # 31126772301 and passengers side is 31126772302

 

My apologies. I posted in the wrong forum. Mine is a 2008 (N14 R56).

Those integrated ball joint oblige us to buy an entire control arm? It cannot be pressed out?

 

It doesn't appear that you can press out the ball joint. ECS Tuning sells 3 different versions at different price points. Either OEM or aftermarket brand.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using NAMotoring

 

I loosened my motor mounts and took a board and carefully jacked my motor up so the bolts would clear the driveshaft boots. I have an 05 Cabrio

 

The inner ball joint comes withe arm. The Outer ball joint is on the dual hole bracket that attaches to the lower control arm. This is for Gen 2 MINIs below. ( NOT Gen 1)

Lower Control Arm / Wishbone With Ball Joint - Left 31126772301

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/31126772301/



and

Lower Control Arm / Wishbone With Ball Joint - Right 31126772302

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/31126772302/



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outer ball joint:

Left 31126772303

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/31126772303/




and

outer ball joint - Right 31126772304

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/31126772304/



thanks

 

Thanks for this info Mr. ECS Tuning.

Whata waste of good metal...all for one lousy ball joint.

OEM part wholesale is $200, I can only imagine what the dealer charges.

More than $20 cheaper from Pelican parts for the FEBI Bilstein control arm W. ball joint. ECS is cheaper for the OEM control arm w/ball joint.

 

Lex, yes, for the 2nd gen, looks like you found the Febi Bilstein arms with joints listed in our catalog here.

Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy the project!

Mark/Pelican Parts

 

The sales people lurk...

 

Unfortunately it's not super uncommon. I had a prelude that was the same way. Miatas are that way too. That's why it's super important to keep an eye on those ball joint boots and replace them if they crack. IDK if you can get replacement boots for the mini ball joint but you can for a miata.

 

I wonder what the calculus is for making the ball joint integral as opposed to a separate part.

Actually, I shouldnt keep blabbering....any full size truck has quite long and heavy steering linkages all with integral ball joints.... Just caught me off guard for such a small and light vehicle.

 

You are welcome. Good luck with the repair.