2 replies to this topic

[majorj0nny]

I got brand new cones and shocks for the front and finally got round to fitting them - after the nightmare of getting the fiddly bolts out the retaining plate bit on the upper arm pin, the driver side pin just slid out no problem...

unfortunately, trying the same on the passenger side i quickly realised the upper arm pin is utterly seized to the insides of the upper arm. after various attemtps to smash it, oil and spray it, force it, etc... clutching at straws now and wondering wether to chop the pin end off so I can pull the uppser arm out and break the rest of the pin out in a vice - then obviously rebuild with a repair kit.

is there any way tips to getting the pin out the upper arm without having to destroy it ?

1990 998 mini.

ps - theres a little access hole on the drivers side ? on the rad inner arch plate? that atleast allows some access to the bolts. but the drivers side theres nothing ??? fiddly or what ???

[hustybusty]

I went through this but it was easier to bash the pin out with a 3/8th socket extension bar as the subframe was off the car. Then once it was out it was an absolute nightmare trying to get the roller bearings out of either end. You can often pick these up for the same price as a rebuild kit which I would strongly consider. Maybe give it a good spray with wd overnight

Edited by hustybusty, 29 September 2012 - 08:19 PM.

[The Otter]

I had this problem as well, drivers side slid out a treat and the passenger side seized, a very common issue for the passenger side arm to be seized but the drivers side not. No doubt you'll need a refurb kit for the passenger arm.

What I did to get the pin out was to use an old metal bracket (small flat piece of thick steel) with a hole big enough for the arm thread to go through, and a couple of big old nuts as kind of spacers, with the nuts in between the vertical part of the subframe and the bracket. I then screwed on the top arm securing nut on that side and just tightened the nut up against the old bracket, which meant that as I tightened the pin nut it pulled itself out of the arm. I hope that makes sense, here's the only picture I took after the pin became free, which isn't that clear but might give you an idea of what I did! Note that the nut you can see in the foreground got wedged between the bracket and the arm itself, what it should have done was fallen free like the one in the background, after the pin came loose.



Might as well give it a go if you've got a few old bits of metal or brackets lying around like I did, saves you from having to cut bits off and risk damage to other components.

I found the arm refurb pretty easy, as long as you've got a dremel type tool then you can do it the way I did and grind through the face of the bearings to weaken them and allow them to be hammered out with a long screwdriver, but there a couple of other methods out there like putting a bead of weld on the bearing face to contract the bearing when the weld cools. This is after you've prised/knocked all of the needle rollers out of course to get access to the inner faces of the bearing, but I'm going a bit off topic here so I'll stop rambling!

Edited by The Otter, 29 September 2012 - 10:02 PM.