Front Tire: Back and Forth Movement: What's the cause

Recently when I was taking off my front tires I noticed a considerable amount of back and forth movement when torquing down on the lug bolts.

I had a few people take a look at it and some said it was the stock bushings and others said it might be the tire-rods.

I had the front bushings looked at and they were intact with no damage.

Both front tires are doing the same thing and when I really hammer the peddle, the car sometime will feel like it wants to jump to the left or right.

I haven't met any other mini owner with this issue.

Here is some video I took of me kicking the tire.

http://www.raiadesign.net/mini/Front_Tire_Movement.wmv

What do you think?

 

wheel bearing? looks more like a sus issue though... or is the car
just rocking back and forth?

 

isn't it just the play in the transaxle? a rear wheel drive has some front to back play also. if not then your ring and pinion's digging in no?

 

That would be the castor setting but do MINIs even have a castor adjustment?

 

Rear tires don't budge a bit. Car is not rocking when I kick it. I have kicked tires of other minis and they are rock solid.

 

That's the control arm bushings. Because of the design they do this when new and just get worse. It is standard on most bmw's. Powerflex bushings work well.

 

That's what I was told by a few other Mini enthusiast, but a reputable Mini Mechanic disagreed. That's why I posted this question too back up what the Mini community had to say before I dumped money into something that didn't need to be fixed.

I also heard the control arm bushing are a labor intensive install. Anyone have any input on this?

Thanks for the info.

 

mines done it since new and handles great .

 

If he means that they all do that, then he is right. It is a matter of taste, If you can't percieve it's effects, then don't worry about.

They are labor intensive, but doable with the right motivation.

 

I witnessed Rob kick his front tires two weeks ago, and while I'm not a mechanic, it certainly did not look normal. When we compared it to my car, the difference in travel/play was significant.

Hope you get this figured out, Rob.

mb

 

Just a wild guess, but could a LSD impact the amount of play in the wheel? MBCOOPS, do you both have/not have a LSD tranny?

 

I would say you cant just look at the stock front bushings and tell if they are bad. Mine looked good to but came out in three pieces due to being totaly shot. Best way to check is to take the wheel off and grab the control arm and see if you can move it, if so, they're toast.

I replaced Mine twice, once with the stock units, once with Powerflex. I made my own tool to extract the OEM bushings.

 

I was told that the Stock Bushings are fluid filled and if they are not leaking, then they are still good......but then again I don't know how long it's been like this. The fluid may have drained out and dried up by now.

Is it technically difficult to replace the bushings, or just time consuming?

 

This might be one of the reasons for the Alta Positive Steering Response System. I've heard that on the dyno, the wheels move almost as much as the engine does when you switch from full throttle to none.

 

jaynicholson - I don't have the LSD.

mb

 

What he said!!

Jim

 

Technically speaking, it isn't that difficult. It does take a lot of muscle and some ingenuity. I have pics of the whole ordeal if interested.

 

Definately interested in the pic's.....I have to install a rear sway bar...might as well make a day of it and do the bushings on the front too

 

Go to the following link to see the pics and a brief description.

http://www.greenwayeng.com/wsmod/cooper/