11 replies to this topic

[CharlieCroker]

Hello,

I have recently brought a P reg Mini Cooper 'S' and am looking to replace a few parts.

I have had a quote from a garage to put new shocks and ball joints on my mini and the quote has come in at £500 (parts & labour). Does this sound a lot and is this something that can be done easily enough yourself?

Also if i was to do this myself what type of shocks would i need? I dont want anything too fancy just an adequate replacement.

p.s. I am a complete novice when it come to mechanics on mini's but believe that half the enjoyment of owning a mini is attempting to do some of the work yourself.

Cheers, Ash

[spiguy]

Hi there,

Welcome to the world of mini ownership!

If you just want to upgrade the shocks a bit, personally I wouldn't look past KYB Gas Adjust shocks (I have them on my '95 Spi cooper). They are a fair bit firmer than the standard ones, but still give a fairly smoot ride quality. There are loads of shocks out there, and you could really go mad with this (if you really wanted to) with multi-point adjustable units etc. However, from the sounds of it you are just aiming for sensible not too expensive enhancements to the car, so I wouldnt bother. As I say KYB Gas adjust for me, but I imagine there are a few other makes out there that have an 'entry level' shock too (maybe Gmax) I'm sure others will comment.

For the KYB you should be able to get a set for about £120 new, or you might find someone on here who has shocks to sell for less.

changing your shocks is easy peasy, so you could deffo do that yourself. As for new balljoints, can I ask why you want to do this? did the car fail an MOT for balljoints, or do you have some other reason to suspect they need renewed?

Price wise, for a garage its probably about an hours labour per side at the most. A balljoint kit is about £10-£15 per side. As far as doing it yourelf goes, its not technically very difficult, but it can be a bit of a job if you are just starting out in the wonderful world of car DIY. I would suggest either reading the job through in the Haynes manual, or I'm sure you could find a photo sequence etc online somewhere. Its a good job to learn though, cause if you plan on doing a lot of miles and keeping the car for a while, you'll probably end up needing to do balljoints a fair few times. I have done about 100,000 miles in minis, and I think I've done balljoints 5 or 6 times. They do tend to wear!

So firstly, to assess the garage quote - well, assuming they are fitting basic uprating shocks and guessing at the price for the shocks of about £150, plus about 1 hours labour to change them, then adding say £30 for two balljoint kits, plus an hours labour each side.... if we assume £50 per hour labour, thats about ... £330. With VAT on the labour that could be nearer £360

Of course its all a bit of a guess, I don't know their labour rate or what shocks they are fitting, and they might be anticipating 2 hours per side for the balljoints (that would be a bit much for a decent garage though in my opinion).

I say definitely do the shocks yourself, and give the balljoints some thought. If you reckon that although you are starting out, you have decent mechanical skills, then I would say go for it.

If you do decide to do the balljoints, then post on here first for a step by step, you should get some useful hints and tips.

Hope this helps!
Cheers
Craig

[Kam]

The shocks are do-able even with novice experience, the only big thing is moving the petrol tank to enable access to the rear pass side, it DOES NOT need to be removed completely just shifted enough towards the center of the boot to get enough access to the top nut. Obviously replace the filler cap once its been pulled clear of the neck hole.

If you got a pretty much full tank I wouldn't advise shifting it yourself if its your first time doing this?

For the ball joints, do not get any cheap alternatives, get them from someone like minispares? You will need a ball joint splitter, I got the scissor type as I prefer it over the forked typed. They can be changed with the car just jacked up but to be honest it can be a right mare especially if your first time.

Not saying dont do it this way but it all depends on your surroundings? Where are you gonna be working on this? Driveway, on the road or comfort of a garage, Is this gonna be done where it can be left out of action for a few days just incase?

Have you got any books to help you along? Haynes or something? I got this one and its got the basics with good pics?





Edited to show: Dont try shifting the tank yourself if it is full and its your first time

Edited by Kam, 14 September 2009 - 08:37 PM.

[CharlieCroker]

Thanks for the reply's..

I have just purchaed the Haynes Mini manual so hope this will give step by step guides..

As for the ball joints needing doing.. this is on the advice of the person who gave me the £500 quote (said they have excessive ware)

Do the shocks have to be the gas ones? do they not do the ones that would have been originally on the car?

Ash

[Kam]

The Kyb ones above are called gas-a-just its still gas like all other dampers just with a fancy name but they are a very good alternative to upgrading the originals?

Again is this work you can carry out yourself somewhere where if you hit a snag you can leave it lying there? Is it a daily driver that needs to on the road soon?

I only ask as ball joints aint easy if its your first time? (giving you worse case scenario here)

[j0-rdan]

I upgraded all my shocks to spax gas adjustables, but had my front ones replaced about 200miles previously with standard cheap ones, they worked fine though.
If you want them for £20 + p&p email me and il send you some pictures
(Also the front shocks are the easiest thing in the world to change)

[bmcecosse]

That garage is ripping you off something terrible - steer well clear of them !
Set of Gmax dampers - and fit them yourself in 2 hours max. Ball joints - need a splitter tool, and a large socket - and may be slightly daunting first time you do it - but it's not that difficult. Certainly not £500 difficult!!

[CharlieCroker]

Kam to answer your below question:

Again is this work you can carry out yourself somewhere where if you hit a snag you can leave it lying there? Is it a daily driver that needs to on the road soon?

The answer is no i do not own a garage and the work would have to be done on my driveway and yes it is my daily runner..

Might try another garage for the ball joints?

Cheers,

Ash

[bananaman]

Why not ask someone from a local club or from here to come round and help for the price of a few coffee's and some biscuits? A good way to learn and make some good Mini friends at the same time.

[jaydee]

KYB gas a just are currently on sale on minispares. Replacing dampers is very easy, only complication is that theyre the stiffer dampers i've ever seen so fitting them will require a bit of force.
A couple of hours of work for a novice, do that with the fuel tank near empty.
Probably you need new rubber cones and new knuckle joints, they're most likely the cause of harsh ride on a mini.
Replacing ball joints can be difficult if u're a novice, get the original spares otherwise its a bit of hassle shimming them. A novice can do that job in about 4/5 hrs.

[andyapanel]

I agree with choosing KYB shocks. Ive never used anything else.
Balljoints are a bit tricky the first time you do them, but not £500 tricky! Its a matter of knowing how tight to do them. Personally I do them every year before the MOT to be on the safe side. It doesnt take very long. You will need a decent socket and torque wrench. Ide say go for it and think how much you are saving by not sending it to this rip off garage.You will need to do the job again sooner or later-learn how to do it.

[spiguy]

I agree with choosing KYB shocks. Ive never used anything else.
Balljoints are a bit tricky the first time you do them, but not £500 tricky! Its a matter of knowing how tight to do them. Personally I do them every year before the MOT to be on the safe side. It doesnt take very long. You will need a decent socket and torque wrench. Ide say go for it and think how much you are saving by not sending it to this rip off garage.You will need to do the job again sooner or later-learn how to do it.

Personally I am suspicious that the garage may just be looking for a rip off opportunity. If they have suggested the shocks need doing, then that in itself seems weird. Unless they are leaking all over the place, then its damn near impossible to identify that a mini shock needs replacing.

As for the balljoints, I think it would be wise to check them out before assuming they need doing. Jack the car up (ideally support on axle stands of course) and you should be able to feel any play in the balljoints by grabbing the wheel at top and bottom (12 and 6 o'clock) and trying to move the wheel inwards and outwards.

Agreed that one way or another this is a job that any DIY inclined mini owner should really learn how to do, but whether or not its something that time / circumstances will allow to be done DIY style this time is the decision. The stumbling block should it happen, is likely to be that you end up being unable to split one of the balljoints (ie get the ballpin to seperate from the suspension arm).

I think that by far the best option would be if you can find a mini owner / mechanically experienced person who has done this job on a mini before, and is confident about it, and do it together.

Unless you break something, you shouldnt really get stuck to be honest, if you can't get the joints to split in order to get the hub off, then the car should still be just as it was, or if you do get the hub off and you can't get the domed nuts off to get into the joint itself, then you could always (if you had to) just put it all back together again.

There is a bit of judgement required in shimming the joint I'd say, Haynes makes it all sound so easy - like you can get this sweet spot where its nice and firm but with no binding at any point as you move it - all this without any grease in it.. I always found a light smear of grease was required. I also think that putting the pin into the end of a drill and sort of 'lapping' it in for a bit makes the joint stay snug for longer. Also, I find that its best to test its movement using a spanner over the nut spun onto the ball pin, rather than just by hand - that was a tip from a mini centre.

Not sure if that helps at all, just trying to give more of a feel for the job.