How many people have experienced cracked upper strut mounting plates? It seems that some MINIs are cracking right around the bearing. Some crack due to hard suspension hits (can be determined by checking the metal around the area where the three nuts secure the upper part of the strut to see if it is "mushroomed"). I'm betting some crack due to fatigue. I believe mine fall into that category. My MINI is at the dealership right now getting them replaced (whew! just in time as I have just 700 miles left on my 50k warranty).

Post here if you're having this issue. Thanks!

 

Man, thats really crappy. Any pics? No problems here with 10K. So, how in the heck do they replace that part?

 

I think I had bent plates, not sure, need to check the work form. At any rate the dealer told me there was a recall and both sides were replaced with heavier duty units.

 

Sorry no pics. My digi camera broke a few weeks ago.

 

Thanks for posting this. I'll check mine tonight.

 

A recall ??? I will call my dealer today!!

I have replacements in my boot and we were going to change the Saturday. If there was a recall maybe I can get the dealer to refund my $98.00

And this is only after 61,000+ of hard miles on a lot of back roads.

Earl

 

Just receiced a call from the dealership. They're in process of replacing mine. I asked if there was a recall on this part ever for the MINIs and they said "no".

 

In the attached picture (pic stolen from another thread...my camera is broke, or I would have taken my own pics), you can see the white arrow pointing into the area where you will need to look. There's a cap there, but you don't need to remove it to see. Just check around the area. The other arrow points to the area that the dealership will check for "mushrooming" to determine if you've hit the suspension hard or not.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=43341

I have just gone through this ordeal. There is a picture of what a cracked fornt strut mount looks like in the thread. You can find the mount on the location pointed out in the post above. Over here in our area, there are already 4 who have replaced their mounts, but I guess the bad roads we have here don't help aswell.

John

 

It sounds like responses in the other thread seem to indication this happens with normal driving. So is this a real big safety issue?

 

I've had a chance to look at the new top strut mounts installed into my car. They appear to be different from the ones I had in there. BTW, the paperwork calls them Guide Supports with a PN of 31-30-6-769-741

 

I cracked mine, but it was from a very large hit.

 

Good looking out, this will require some close monitoring.

 

Here is mine after a pothole hit at 70-80mph

The bottom part with the bearing or whatever was destroyed as well.
Killed two wheels and a few other things.

 

I have H-sport springs on car with stock shocks for 18 months, put on Webb camber plates about 6 months ago. Was replacing my worn stock shocks with Koni's last week & my upper spring perch's were both cracked around center hole & all distorted and out of shape. New front perch's are only $20 at dealer and they're going on tomorrow.

 

Well I've determined that I have in fact "mushroomed" the area where the struts are secured. I hit a pot hole in LA a couple of weeks ago with a car full of people and luggage. I've read about this now on a couple of threads and have not really heard of a solution. A "dealer" approved body shop said that they would have to charge me $2800.00 to fix it properly. Meaning that they would have to remove the suspension from all four wheels, place the car on a rack type system and then straighten out the metal. The estimator said that it had to be done this way or the wheel may never drive straight again. Well the wheel drives strait now and it didn't even crack or affect the rubber mount?? Any info or experiences would be appreciated.

 

I just took my '03 in for various gremlins. One issue was a rubbing sound like rubber on plastic when I turned the wheel to the stops. The dealership said it was the strut mounts and they were replaced under warranty. I'll check the part numbers listed when I get home tonite but if I remember right the paperwork came out to about $320 buck w/ parts being about $80 and the rest labor. I'll post the specifics tomorrow. I didn't get to see the parts because I dropped it off and picked it up after hours. I did have to wait one more day for them to complete that portion of the work but I got a rental from them.

 

One way to strengthen this area is to mount a well designed tower strut brace or camber adjuster. The extra material sandwiched to the top side will help to make it less prone to mushrooming. Of course, the cheaper solution is to use the steering wheel and agility of the Mini to avoid pot holes:smile:

 

That's the path I take

 

When I had my M7 springs installed, my mechanic (Duncan at Terry Sather in Austin-cool guy) found that my right side strut mount was cracked big time. There was a rip a good 220 degrees around the center circle. He said that they had seen this a number of time before and that Mini knew it was an issue. But when I brought it in to the Mini Center in San Antonio to replace it (which they did under warrante) the SM said there was no known issue with the mounts and that the damage was probably due to a bit hit. I bought the car used with just 1600 mile on it so it is concievable that the damage happened before I bought it.
Which side was cracked on yours (original post) my right side cracked and Duncan said that the right side was cracked on the other cases he's seen.

 

Well I was just inspecting mine after a large pothole hit last night that I couldn't avoid due to traffic on Northwestern Hwy (Rye and AGOKART know about this area). It mushroomed my driver's side strut tower top some.

Bollocks. I hate Michigan roads.

 

Both were cracked. Neither tower was mushroomed. I had the older style part. They replaced with a newer style part. The new ones are much beefier looking!

 

This is the same parts I received. Invoice shows cost of 27.37each, 2.8 hours of labor for 236.32 for a total charge of 291.06. Mine was covered under warranty so no fees for me but I though someone out of warranty could use this info if considering aftermarket parts.

 

i have had my right front strut mount replaced--it was making that familiar rubber on plastic noise when turning, mostly in slow driving situations like a parking lot. haven't checked to see if the new one is beefier or not--should the dealer have replaced both at the same time??

 

After finding this thread, I went out and checked my '04 MCS and lo and behold, my right upper strut mount was cracked twice about 1" in size.

I have a Racing Dynamics strut brace...this wouldn't cause the problem, only help to prevent it, no?