Hello Everyone,

First time contributor long time reader. Last year I purchased a 2004 MCS and have loved driving it each day. Today, marks my first major repair and would love to read your advice. A picture of the damage is attached and here are my questions:
1) Is it OK to drive on the highway with this kind of damage?
2) How difficult are these to repair?
3) How many hours should and amateur expect on this type of repair?

I'm extremely bummed about this and hope its an unusual type of occurrence. All your responses are appreciated in advance

Motor On!
Wishbone.pdf

 

I wouldn't drive with it like that. Should take an amateur an hour to replace.

 

I see your a vendor ...how much would you expect this to cost me?

 

The two bolts on both upper and lower wishbone arms have a strange head size which appears to be between 17 - 18mm size. Does anyone have any experience removing these bolts? Can you offer a tip for removal and installation? See pictures attached.

 

Here are a few pics of the bolts and their orientation on the car. Their accessibility makes them difficult to manipulate.

Anyone have some tips?

 

I just replaced both lower arms myself. WMW is right. Not a big deal. I used a breaker bar with a socket on the bolt head to hold it still and a box end wrench on the nut for the center mount. The bolt that mounts the arm to the wheel hub assembly is just a bolt. Remove damaged arm and replace with new. Assembly in reverse order. I believe that I used an 18mm six point socket and 18mm six point boxed end wrench. One hour tops for repair.

 

Boxer,

Thanks for your input. What type of socket did you use ...metric or standard? These nuts and bolts appear to be an inbetween of both standard and metric. My local dealership advised me to change both upper and lower arms because of a change in arm design. Apparently if I only change a single arm the wheel will never be 100% balanced. Has anyone else heard of this?

 

They are metric.
It stands to reason.
There can be mods between model years and production runs.
If it happened to one it could happen to the other one.
I am more concerned by how it broke.
Almost a perfect shear.
Would advise looking at the entire rear section for any loose hardware.

 

Upon close inspection it is a clean break in the steel ...I suspect this was part of a bad batch of steel and there are probably other Mini's out there with the same problem. I realized there was a problem while turning left, onto my street, accelerating in mid turn the car had a noticeble slide to the right. I pulled into my drive way and within 3 minutes was staring at the first picture I posted.

Having never felt or heard a snap or ran over anything large enought to cause this kind of damage, I was totally shocked.

I'll be going to my closest sears and picking up a gator-grip socket to finish the job, asap.

 

I have a pair of rear lower arms from my 05 that I recently took off I could sell for a couple bucks if you're interested. 55k miles on them. Replaced for adjustable arms.

The aftermarket arms in general are stronger than stock and provide performance benefits, if that floats your boat. I have no idea what the dealer charges for arms.

- andrew

 

Andyroo,

Thanks for the offer however, I purchased mine yesterday.

 

Hello everyone! I finished installing my lower wishbone and also removed the top for a close inspection. the upper is made of thick gauge steel versus the original lower arm was made of aluminum! No wonder it broke! After assembly I was eager to get "Cali" out on the road again. Withdrawl was making me itch!

Thank you all for your help your advice was right on and of great benefit.

Motor On!

 

A fellow SSM member just had a lower control arm break just like yours.
Same shearing break.
This is not a normal break by any means.
The stress load runs along the axis from the mounting bolts.
Would expect to see rip break running diagonal.
Shearing 2 pieces of metal at the same point?
Would show this to Mini engineering reps ASAP.

 

Vollgas,

Upon further inspection of the damaged wishbone, i realized it was not an OEM part. I purchased my MCS used and while, the carfax report was clean I suspect the previous owner ran into a curb or gaurdrail or something to cause the replacement of this particular wishbone arm.

OEM parts should carry an import stamp with the country of origin this faulty aluminum part did not have any markings at all. Plus it was aluminum! I suspect the SSM Driver you chatted with was also using an aluminum part.

 

The OEM (steel) rear control arms aren't all that robust either.

 

Cristo,

What's been your exeperience?

 

As I haven't personally had a failed arm yet, I have to say my experience is just following this and other MINI forums for over 8 years, and the observation
that it looks like a cheesy stamped steel part.

 

Have you ever considered replacing the rear arms on Bliksem?
BTW, Your car and street look very familiar.

 

Yes, but given the price, and the fact that mine are still intact, the car isn't lowered,
and my alignment is good, I haven't yet.
If I have a problem, I'll get 2 or 4 in a heartbeat. Probably the TSW or Helix ones.

That's the curbside of my house several blocks from the hospital.
I'll bet I've waved to you on the road here in York.

 

Hello, New to group. Quick ? on the lower rear wishbone. Is alignment needed after this is replaced? thx!

 

The better term for this part is 'rear lower control arm.' And yes, alignment would be advisable.

 

After replacing this part, I rolled out with never a problem. I figure if the tires were not aligned I would feel my ultra responsive MCS pulling to that side or have a dragging feeling. Never had an issue without the post replacement alignment.

I also recommend doing it yourself; the lower arm is very easy to replace.

 

I'll be doing mine in the next week or so, keep an eye on your rear tires for uneven/unusual edge wear.
It may not feel out of whack but it could be a very slight out of kilter that will eat your tires before their time. Just sayin'.

 

John171, that was 2 years ago and I never had a problem! The dealer tried to tell me I needed to replace both sides because of "potential alignment issues" but that was just code for we want more money from the DIY MCS owners. The replacement arms are the exact same length and size of the originals. The only difference is a higher quality.

As a MINI owner you may develop a love hate relationship with your local dealer. I find the parts department and service team to be excellent in getting me the parts necessary to make the repairs and usually understand my urgency in executing repairs. However, they are usually unwilling to share some information about tricks for executing repairs myself if, there are any. Which is understandable to a certain point. I have always thought taking care of my customers always brought me back more business.

The only people at MINI that I took exception with, was the service manager here in STL. Unlike his team I found him to be extremely unprofessional and downright rude.

 

anyone have a link for ther "best" price for the rear lower control arm?