http://www.piloracing.com/shop/prodd...RCAMBER&cat=20

 

 

Sorry, I got all excited about the camber plate since I replaced mine yesterday...But it's also on that site....

 

That is the one from BMP / Pro mini out of Tyler Tx 1 800 648 7278

 

I checked my strut mounts on my 2005 MCSa (march build) Everything ok at 4.5K.:smile:

But.....I did have "mouse" damage. Damn thing ate the edges off the strut tower plastic cap on one side. He also did a number on the hood insulation!
This time nothing serious. On my Firebird; a mouse ate one of the wires to the radiator sensor. That was a bear to figure out, because it was not in sight.
I guess mice are one of the penalties for living in the country.

Steve

 

Thanks Randy.....just checked mine.....ok at this time......Les

 

am not sure if this was already answered... but what are the safety issues or what can happen if you drive around with a cracked strut mounting plate?

 

Well, your springs are held in place by a nut, slipped through the bearing that is embedded in your upper strut mount plate.

I suppose if you were able to crack the rubber all the way around and all the way through, you could theoretically have your shock go right up and through your bonnet... You could also lose stability and end up flipping your car methinks....

Point is - I wouldn't drive with a cracked upper strut mount and I'd get it fixed ASAP.

I was too tired to post on Wednesday and last night I had to go to dinner.... I will upload my pics hopefully tonight of my install.....

 

I have an 03 MCS, I did notice my strut mount plate/bearing had cracked too.. A buddy of mine let me borrow his stock mount plates form his 04.. Does anyone know if it will fit for my MCS.. I just want a temporary fix since I am in the process of ordering my adjustable cambers..

BTW part number for the 04 one seems to be 3133 676 4884 (number I see on the strut mount)...

Thanks all

///Gilbert

 

You can confirm the part # by calling a dealer and providing your VIN. I believe you will get this part # as I posted before in this thread:

31-30-6-769-741

I believe it's the same for both the Cooper and the "S" since my friend and I both bought the same part from the same dealer on the same day - they did not give him a different part.

 

My upper right strut mount (pass) has 1/4" cracks on two sides and lots of creasing towards the center. I've got an appointment this week with my dealer to get it checked out--good thing I found this thread cause I only have 8,000 miles left on my 50,000 warranty.

 

So I never got a straight answer from my dealer but this is the scoop:

"Will you cover this under warranty since I have no mushrooming of my strut tower?"

"We'll take it out back and see"

"Sorry, we can't do it because you had a strut brace on this car and Mini USA is very particular about aftermarket parts."

What I should have said was "So are you saying that you would have covered it under warranty if I DIDN'T have the strut brace?"

I think I might have to give MiniUSA a call.

Good luck getting it covered and see if your strut tower is flat or not. If it is mushroomed up, they'll say you hit a big pothole and it ain't covered.

 

Just checked my strut mounts... The rubber and the steel portions; they look perfect. Little wrinkles in the rubber but nothing like a crack. I don't expect them to look perfectly new after 30K miles.

Now here's a new one for speculation. I get a scraping sound when driving slow through a parking lot and turning. Kinda like rust on the rotors, but I can't feel it in the wheel and it does not go away when I hit the brakes. Only occurs at low speeds and when the car is cold.

I just can't figure this one out. This is my 3rd MCS (2 in the US and one here in England) and they have all done the same thing.

Any ideas or checks that other members would reccomend ?

Kesh

*EDIT* Not bearings either as I don't get the bearing 'drone' sound when driving or cornering.

 

if it sounds like scraping & does not go away after using brakes then it might b' ur steering column. mine was replaced twice on my early build 04' mcs under warranty. check it out!

 

have u' yet to contact Mini Usa u' should do it before it gets old!!

sorry that paperwork didn't help but stay on it..

 

is this normal? I mean it isn´t cracked but there is a gap between the rubber an the metal

 

That isn't normal. You have a damaged upper strut mount. You shouldn't see any separation or cracks.

 

so you can check whether the upper strut mounts are cracked or not without taking out the strut?

I should go take a look at mine..

 

Yes, just look at the top of the strut tower - you'll see the 3 bolts holding the upper strut mount in place...Pop off the center cap so you can see the bearing and look around at the rubber to see if there are any cracks or rips....

 

Dealer looked at it and said they wouldn't cover it under warranty. I said there is a service bulletin and it's obvious that it's on its way to failure. The SA agreed, but said since it's not completely damaged, no claim can be made---obvious damage that's on the way to failure isn't covered.

Really Lame. So I'll be ordering the parts from Classic and doing the install myself.

Richard

 

Lame is right.

But hey, look at the bright side, you can learn how to do it yourself (not hard if you have a spring compressor) and do another one of your great writeups! Heh heh.

 

Heh heh, thanks--Writeup on the way! I should be doing the install in the next 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll have the parts ordered this week. I talked to my neighbor who is a BMW mechanic and he's going to help me do the replacement--with our $10 spring compressor from HF, it should go fairly quickly. LOL.

We'll be doing 2 MINI's--both 2003 MC.

Richard

 

hey man! sorry so late...that was at sterling!! lay into them, they will take care of it & if u' have a strut brace take it off......

 

Of strut madness. I had mine replaced September 2004. I don't know if these are better than the ones before, but I have had not problems with it since. Thanks to this thread I now know how to check them.

Lolo

 

I heard a soft deep rattle and looked under the hood and noticed the cracked mount on my pass side... read the thread and went back to look and noticed a mushroomed tower. I called my SA and i am hoping they will cover this under warrenty since my car has only 15K....

How does this happen? I have driven my other cars on the same roads at the same speeds and never had this problem?