9 replies to this topic

[Jackamilf12]

A while back I bought a radius arm from minisport to replace the worn old one while I refurbed the rear subframe.
Once I had got the subframe back onto the car the toe in on the new arm is alot further in than the original arm.
Now I have read on here that the only cause for this is a bent radius arm, but im sure its pretty unlikey thats the case as it is new.

I should say that I have replaced both radius arm brackets too for standard refurbed ones.

has any one else had a problem with their geometry with new radius arms?

help would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Jack

[Dan]

Your new one is new and so unlikely to be bent as you say, but your old one is old!

[bmcecosse]

You need to check the subframe for damage (or rot!). Assuming nothing serioius is found - just modify the bracket by filing the hole into a slot to get the correct camber angle, and if the wheel is toe-ing IN, fit shims between the bracket and the subby to get the correct toe. If the wheel is toe-ing OUT - you will need to file the hole forwards to correct this - or possibly better to 'adjust' the inner subframe mount for this problem.

[Jackamilf12]

I see what your saying dan, but compared to other minis it looks wrong. I suppose measuring it would tell me, but im sure if I showed you a picture you'd see what I mean.

When I had the subframe off I didnt notice any damage. However, it was the first time i have seen a subframe off the car.
But as I said it was fine before I took it off and I dont think even with the old arm's bearing having play, that it would seem to correct any damage if you understand what i mean.

I will get some shims to put between the bracket and subframe and measure it up as soon as i think.

thank you for replies
Jack

[Boycie]

Don't forget that toe-in was a standard setting. Have you measured it?
The reconditioned radius arms available nowadays must surely be put on an alignment jig before they are remanufactured, or so you would hope.. having said that, I seem to remember something in the past about fitting a 'new' arm and it being 'way out'.

Regardless, as bmc says, modify the arm's position to get it within spec. Both my current car and previous one needed this treatment, neither show/showed signs of any damage or bent components. Mind you, I am quitte fussy about wheel alignment, the car feels much nicer when the wheels are pointing in the right direction!

[Jackamilf12]

I took a couple of pics to show you how far the left toes in. I'm not sure if this is really bad or not..
it actually has 2 ten minute shims in too.. the rubber must be falling off

Don't forget that toe-in was a standard setting. Have you measured it?
The reconditioned radius arms available nowadays must surely be put on an alignment jig before they are remanufactured, or so you would hope.. having said that, I seem to remember something in the past about fitting a 'new' arm and it being 'way out'.

I havent measure it yet.. I dont suppose theres a DIY way of doing it?
was your arms as bad as mine?

[Boycie]

I can't really see from the pics, but a quick 'n dirty way of checking the rear toe is to get a long straight edge (like a 6ft bulb from a strip lamp) and hold it against the wheel.

A car with zero toe-in will leave the straight edge running parrallel with the side of the car (ish....)

It's very unscientific... but will highlight any side-to-side differences.

[YIANO]

ok ive been here before so heres what i did.

having replaced my old tired subby with a genuine heritige item i found the offside rear wheel was massively toeing in compared to the other rear wheel ,it was a bit before with the old subby but anyway..
as these subframes are jigged when made they are straight as can be its the fault of the hand made mini body which in my experience are never square at all.
the remedy is this , get some adjustable tracking brackets and install those instead of the standard fixed type then using a long length of straight wood or similar use the sills of the car to set the rear geometry.
place the wood along the sill so it runs parallel to the hub face and secure somehow so it dont move.looking down on the hub youll now notice the gap between the wood and the hub. measure the gap at the front edge of the hubface to the wood and at the rear face of the hub to the wood . moving your radius arm via the adjustable brackets you can now set the hub to run parallel to the wood and 0 degrees toe .you can now see that applying your toe in at 2mm for example will move the radius arm and hub inwards to the car centreline and create a change in distance from the wood.using your ruler you can now apply the same distances to each side and sort your geometry youll probably find one bracket needs moving more than the other this occurs because the mini bodyshell is as straight as julian clary.
hope this helps
jon

Edited by YIANO, 08 April 2011 - 12:13 AM.

[Ethel]

The misalignment of later cars rear ends is almost legendary. Rover made shims to pack out the subframe on one side of the heel board. If you can find a decent flat surface to park on drop some plumb lines & plot key points on the floor - the diagonals will be the same length if it's square.

[Dan]

A car with zero toe-in will leave the straight edge running parrallel with the side of the car (ish....)

On some cars yes, but a Mini is 4" narrower at the back than the front! The body sides essentially toe out by a huge amount.