OK so when i lowered my car i felt a vibration and it was all sorted out after I got my alignment done, well over a year later it came back and it came back really bad.. took it in and checked it out.. Drive Shaft boot is gone because it was lowered so it finally wore out.. Car is vibrating so bad that i have parked it.. the best thing.. no warranty because damage is done due to the car being lowered. Parts cost just over $2400 CND.

I remember we had chatted about what the longer term is to the vibration.. well this is it.. sucks..

I am running H&R RSS Coilovers but i have mine slammed all the way down, i think its about a 2inch drop so thats why my shaft went so fast.. so i am raising the car up a bit and checking it out.. parts are coming in from Germany so I am out the Mini for a few weeks..

totally SUCKS.. so everyone please double check your set up.. dont get jacked like me.

Thanks.

 

Could you explain more in detail how exactly it got wore out?

 

one is that the angle on the CV joint is higher, this means there is more flexing on the boot so it and the CV joint get a lot more wear. One other thing, and this is strut dependant, is that a slammed car will have much less travel for the struts and you'll bottom them over bumps.

In this case, it sounds like it's more caused by the former than the latter of the two things that happen.

Bummer that this has happened. But you're not the first that has been bitten in the butt by this one.

Matt

 

Yup.. the boot wore out and that's that.

 

OK so the CV boot was trashed. I'm assuming you had to replace the whole joint because of grease contamination. I'm curious to see a breakdown of the cost if you don't mind.

 

They are replacing both sides.. one side is $1090 and the other side is about $900 plus about 4 hours labour and taxes.. i think it came out to around $2400 or something.

 

Didn't want to do the job yourself?

Going with the dealer never helps. I wonder if this happens to others if you could get the parts elsewhere?"

 

My 2007 MCS with H&R coilovers only vibrates when I romp on it...normal driving seems OK. But I wonder is this is normal with coilovers? I did have an alignment right after the coilover installation...

John

 

So is it completely avoidable if we don't lower more than say 1.5" ?

 

but as the angle increases, wear will increase. No two ways about that! And there are many a lowered Mini that hasn't had this problem. Almost all I can remember were lowered a lot though...

Matt

 

yeh that's pretty much what I figured. I don't know how much below 1" I can lower anyway, cos my aerokit is pretty damn low as it is....

Then again, the R56 isn't like the R53. The R53 only needs about an inch, whereas the R56 probably needs at least 1.2"....

 

why didn't u re-install teh stock suspension and then claim warranty?

 

Here is the other thread you should read. It is a little more definitive on the subject. I raised mine back up 1/4 inch and I do not have any more vibration.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-lowering.html

 

OK.. my car is all fixed brand new drive shafts and the car runs great! I raised the front of the car up 1 inch.. will see how she runs.

 

I have the H&R springs and they are dropped less than 1.5" They have been on for about a year and a half and I have had no problem. So maybe 1.5" is as low as you can limbo the r56

 

I don't believe the lowering has anything to do with the boot wearing out early. You lowering the car an 1-2 inches doesn't strech the boot nearly as bad as just turning the wheels. When you cut your wheels one way or the other puts far more stress then just being lowered abit. All you guys raising your car back up so that you boots last longer shoud just stop turning and only drive straight.

 

Lowering your mini will actually decrease the angle slightly and should have zero affect on the boot. That being said, when you change the angle of the axle you change it's overall length slightly and that could cause either the inner or outer cv's to fit or wear differently. Sometimes The ball's in the CV's will wear grooves into the joints, lowering can put your joint right on the edge of that groove and cause vibration. I think the tech was correct in diagnosing the axle(s) as the problem, but it doesn't sound like a real diagnosis.

 

I agree with the angle debate being that it decreases. If anything, I would expect the ***** in the joint got used to a familiar wear pattern and upon lowering had to adjust again. Then again, it's too late to know...

 

how many miles you have on your car?
and how many were put on with your coilovers?

 

Now that's a very good question!

 

Mine does this after lowering as well. I have H&R Coils on it and it runs perfect when just cruising but when I step on the gas I get vibration in the car itself. Im fairly low but only about half the threads down on the front coils and half down on the rear as well.

 

no answer on the mileage?

 

+22 on this one, Im wondering if a spacer can be made, my s2000 vibration was solved with a spacer for the cv's.

 

BUMP! I'd like to rejuvenate this thread because I just installed the H&R Touring Cup Kit, which uses the H&R springs (-1.4" all around). I also got he car aligned within spec on the day of installation and I've noticed the problem since. I can't see how 1.4" inches causes such an extreme angle on the CV's...Like N1tro said, lowering the car should only lessen the angle of the half shafts...I also find it puzzling that some guys with the same setup have no issues at all!

Anyway, this pulsation when accelerating is awful and as **** as I am about my car, this is not sitting well with me! There's gotta be a sure fire fix...

 

You know in the couple years since this thread popped up, I've run into a similar problem with a ton of Subaru's I've worked on. It was always due to these crappy aftermarket axles which were a hair longer than the originals, just enough that the CV joints were a bit over-compressed during regular driving. It's quite possible lowering the Mini, which is going to straighten out the shaft and put the same sort of pressure on the joint(s) could be doing the same thing. I don't know why it affects only some cars, but it could just be a little difference in the motor/trans mounts towards one side or another, or having a little extra camber that's pushing the joints past their comfort zone.

I don't have the vibration so I haven't really dug into the problem, but maybe some of the aftermarket guys might want to look into making some beefed up and slightly shortened drive-shafts ? It wouldn't take much to compare the length between the joints w/ the car at stock height vs. the length lowered and then to look at what the relaxed length of the oem drive-shafts are.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mini has/had two different suppliers for the drive shafts and all the people with vibration problems when lowered have the 1 type.
That's my best guess.