With all due respect, this is terrible advice: you're just guaranteeing that you'll have to do the job again in 35,000 miles. Go with Powerflex. From what I've seen (and I've seen a lot), they last the life of the car.

 

Yeah I think I'd rather squirt a tube of shoe goo on a naked control arm before I used the oem bushings again

 

My brother has a 2005 S. We took it to alignment buddy and he showed us the slop in the LCA. He didn't point out any other issues. The tires had worn goofy due to alignment issues (maybe these worn out LCAs).

I really don't want to do more work than I need to, and my brother doesn't want to spend more than he has to. BUT...I see folks here talking about ball joints and tie rods at the same time. How much extra work, and how much extra cost? Do I really have to do those now?

The urethane vs. stock question.... Isn't the urethane a lot stiffer ride? Is it noticeable? Are there certain ultra-cheap brands to avoid, and better quality stock style? He's not keeping the car forever and probably only a couple more years.

Can you buy the LCA bushings as a set with new brackets so you don't have to use a press to re& re?

thnx!!

 

I used the polyflex LCA bushings from Way Motorworks with the pre-pressed brackets (Save a lot of time that way) and the ride not noticeably stiffer and I no longer had any rattles or clunks from the front end. My Mini feels and handles like a new car now :-)


Do the sway bar bushings too since it only takes 10 minutes once the sub-frame is dropped.


My ball joints and tie-rod ends were fine and it is an easy replacement if needed when the frame is on the ground.


Good luck !


Get these if you only want to do the job once !


http://www.waymotorworks.com/powerfl...shing-kit.html

 

On the front end here are the items to check out and replace:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ll-joints.html






On the LCAB recommend the PF as its a once and done thing.

 

Has anyone tried this brand?
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/321656546500?...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

So the upper sway bar bushings seem like a no-brainer to do at the same time: relatively cheap and you're already there. Balljoints and tie rods can be done later without having to disassemble the cross member. Man, a hoist/lift would sure be nice for this job

 

Why pay more for an unknown brand when Powerflex is the way to go?

 

where r u seeing the Powerflex brand for less than $72 shipped?

 

Just watch those off brands. PF is well known in the MINI crowd. Good product.

Good luck with the fix, lifts make everything easier.

 

I guess since I started this thread, I might as well comment!

I replaced all of the bushings and went with the PowerFlex per this forum's advice. I'm at 170K miles now (original post was 100K) and I have had absolutely NO problems.

Replace ALL of the bushings at the same time. It can be a really hairy job dropping the sub-frame. I remember my cousin was arguing with me saying we don't need to drop the sub-frame. Finally after hours and a few destroyed bushings later, we dropped the sub-frame and were done in like a half hour.

I also needed to replace an axle and a tie-rod at this time. I had MAJOR problems with cheap after-market axles (Autopart International and ParksGeek.com). One literally fell out while I was driving last year. My mechanic got the latest ones from NAPA and they're not bad so far. If you can afford the mini OEM ($$$$$$) get them.

Get the PowerFlex and get good bushings. They last. Make sure they're pre-pressed too. I can only imagine trying to do that myself.

 

I am in process of replacing these LCA bushings plus sway arm bushings, the inner ball joints and the tie rods. Everything is ready for re-assembly but I am unsure about the sway bar positioning. There are 2 potential screw ups:

1)How do I make sure the sway bar is centered (not too far to driver's side and not too far to passenger side?

2) How do I make sure sway bar geometry/angle is correct to bolt up to the end links?

I assume when I torque down the bolts to 122 ft lbs that hold the sway bar onto the LCA, the sway bar won't move easily in the side to side or pivot up/down directions.

What's it like to slide the subframe back into position and get everything to line up?

 

Got this job completed. Took 3 weeks longer than originally planned since ECS tuning never shipped the way they said they would, then sent me the wrong outer ball joints twice, which kept setting me back to the next available weekend to do it. Good thing I had a spare car for my brother to drive while his car sat disassembled.

All the delays caused me extra time, trips to go pick up parts from my USA address, out of pocket expenses, aggravation. ECS was polite and apologized. They won't reimburse any of my other expenses, not even an in store credit. I find that frustrating. I would not recommend using them. I am sorry I never used Pelican parts. I only used ECS because they approached me through this forum and put together a parts list and shopping cart for me. BUYER BEWARE!!

 

Sorry for the delay on the parts, I know that can be frustrating. If you ever have an issue PM me and we will take care of it asap or see if there is a problem with the supplier sending us the wrong stuff.

I am also here to help if you cannot find a certain part or need help tracking one down.

 

Sorry about your hassle.


I ordered mine from Way Motorworks with the pre-pressed poly-flex bushings.


Got the parts within 3 days and the core refund was deposited into my bank account about a week after shipping the old control arm bushing brackets back


Total job with the help of a friend took 4 1/2 hours.

 

wow, 4.5 hours is great. took me way longer, although I could do it in half my time now. Common problem for me is that I learn as i go and i don't do it for a living. I only need to do it once (hopefully), so it is frustrating when you spend double the time learning as you go.

next up is a leaking water pump. i wonder how much fun that will be on this car.