20 replies to this topic

[Elliskwleisk]

I've had my mini for a while now and the handling is getting progressively worse. It sits on 13x7 wheels, which I know reduce handling, lowered slightly and is spaced out. When I first got it the radius arms where absolutely shot and the back end wiggled a bit but the tyre wear was pretty much even somehow. I then changed the rear radius arms for reconditioned units and my tyres wore out in about a week and the rear tracking was out by so much that the back end spun out on me numerous times on corners. So to sort this I bought these fancy brackets from mini spares which do rear tracking and camber and I've had four wheel tracking set up and checked 3 times now to ensure its okay. However something is still wrong. The car pulls to the left when driving and pulls even harder to the left when breaking, so I thought it may have been a stuck caliper but with the car raised the near side wheel spins freely and actually the offside front wheel doesn't turn as freely, weird... I have also fitted 4 new ball joints, new lower suspension arms with new bushes and new tie bars with new bushes. But it's still getting worse, I took a left hand bend the other day and it felt like the offside rear wheel almost folded under the car! But everything looks straight and fine? Gave the misses a right fright. To add to this I have a strange squelching noise from the offside front wheel at low speed almost as if there's some sort of animal trapped in the wheel arch that is constantly being run over. So I am pretty stumpted! I have raised both front wheels and turned the steering from lock to lock and the only thing noticeable is the steering rack appears to make quite a bit of noise while this is happening, almost like a rough bearing. Is this normal or is this my problem and whatever is inside the rack is shot?

Sorry it's such a long one but im at my wits end and can't think of any other causes. Anyone have any ideas or had a similar experience?

[petey81]

Have you checked the wheel bearings and cv joints for play? what sort of noise is the steering rack making? Are the shocks new?

[Carlos W]

Have you checked for animals trapped in the wheel arch?

[Elliskwleisk]

I have fitted new wheel bearings all round within the last couple of months and there is no rough wheel bearing noise when the wheel is spun. I have however noticed that the rear hub nut has come loose... Thank goodness for split pins! I guess I should check the hub nuts more often. What is the torque for the rear wheel hub if taper bearings are fitted, is it different to roller bearings?

How do I check for cv joint play?

The steering rack noise sounds like taking a tescos trolley over a cobbled road, but not quite as loud. Should there be any noise at all?

And yes, no animals in the wheel arch ;)

Thanks for your help guys

[Elliskwleisk]

Sorry forgot to say the rear shocks are new and the front ones are apparently about a year and a bit old.

[sonikk4]

Reconditioned radius arms. Have you physically checked these to ensure they are fit for purpose?? Even reconditioned arms could be faulty.

[Elliskwleisk]

Well the handbrake barley works as it is.. It won't even hold the car on the slightest gradient so I guess that rules that out? They were sold to me as two reconditioned radius arms from a UK company through eBay. There isn't really any play I can feel with both wheels off the ground and shaken at 3 and 9 and 12 and 6 so I think they are okay. How could I physically check that they are not faulty?

[sonikk4]

Well the handbrake barley works as it is.. It won't even hold the car on the slightest gradient so I guess that rules that out? They were sold to me as two reconditioned radius arms from a UK company through eBay. There isn't really any play I can feel with both wheels off the ground and shaken at 3 and 9 and 12 and 6 so I think they are okay. How could I physically check that they are not faulty?

Take the pin out and look to see what the bearing, bush and pin are like. Its worth checking just to be able to rule this out. What is the subframe like?? is it in good condition and all of the mounting bolts fitted??
Check the rear wheel bearings, take them out inspect them and if ok repack with grease and reinstall.

Is the car sitting level at the back ?? Have you got Hi Lo's fitted if so strip out the hi lo the cone and ball end. Check to see if the nylon / plastic cup is installed / damaged.

It really is a case of going through all of the suspension components bit by bit part by part.

I think as mentioned check the quadrants to ensure they are free to move. Then the drums themselves ensure the handbrake arm is free to move, take the drum off and check to make the adjusters work correctly. Strip them out clean them up and rebuild with a dab of copper grease.

Its worth looking at the slave cylinders as well. make sure they move freely.

[Elliskwleisk]

Thanks for all the replies. I've had a quick tear apart, inspect and rebuild of the rear. A couple of things needed a nip up but nothing major... However I torqued both rear wheel bearings up to the torque in the Haynes manual and took the car for a drive to see any improvements. The back definitely feels tighter, but the near side rear wheel is getting hot and the dust cap for the bearing is like burning hot. What could this be as I only changed the bearings a couple of months ago and I have only tightened it to the torque? Also the front end is still a bit wooly. Any more thoughts on that or the rough sounding bearing noise produced by the steering rack?

[tiger99]

Whatever you do next, do not drive the car with an overheating bearing. It will fail, and most probably spectacularly.

I don't know if you used genuine Timken bearings. SKF are also good, if you can get them in the size, but beware of anything else, which is mostly dangerously defective Chinese junk, as we keep seeing on this forum. It is a waste of time and money to use non-genuine bearings, as well as often being dangerous. Yes, I do know that genuine Timkens are expensive, but what is your time and trouble, or your life worth?

Now for the cause of the overheating. You will have fitted the bearings carefully, and greased them properly, so we need to consider that the most likely thing is that the preload is wrong. Actually, if taper rollers, there should be no preload, only slight end float, but a minimal amount of preload is normal on ball bearings. Minis could be using either type.

Excessive preload means that the bearing spacer is incorrect or missing, the outer races are not seated correctly in the hub (e.g. due to dirt), or the bearings have been machined wrongly, which sadly is the most likely these days. Not all bearings have a spacer, on some the inner races protrude to give the same effect, but in every case the complete bearing set must be used together, as they are machined individually. So, you can't use the old spacer with new bearings, or mix a pair of spacerless bearings with another pair.

Please check the stub axle for signs of severe overheating (blue colour) when you strip the bearing, which you inevitably will have to do. If the axle has been overheated, please change it for safety's sake.

Oh, and if you can establish that you have done nothing wrong, take the bearings back to the supplier and demand at least your money back. In my opinion you are entitled to compensation for wasted time too, but I am not a lawyer. If they refuse to give you a refund, just mention Trading Standards. They can get into all sorts of very serious trouble for supplying dangerously defective goods.

[Dan]

You said above that your rear wheel bearing had slackened off and you retightened it. Was this the same wheel that is overheating? If a taper bearing has slackened off, then assuming it has been fitted properly in the first place it has failed and must be replaced, they cannot be re-tightened. If it wasn't fitted properly and had slack from the start, then driving on it will damage it anyway and again it must be replaced.

Edited by Dan, 07 April 2013 - 02:54 PM.

[Elliskwleisk]

The one that had loosened up is actually the opposite side. When the bearings were first fitted if tightened up to the torque they would seize solid. Now the one that was loose had tightened up to the torque, feels right, no play, doesn't over heat, and sounds smooth. The other side hadn't loosend up but I retorqued it and it maybe went 2 full turns on it and now it is overheating. Could it just need a loosen off a bit?

[sonikk4]

If its overheated there is a very good chance it is now damaged. I would not take the chance with it at all so replace it. As Tiger has also mentioned check to see if the stub axle to see if that has overheated / blued as well.

Although not on a mini i had a front wheel bearing fail big style on my RS2000 whilst in the outside lane on the A1M at over 70 mph. Severe brown pants moment and very fortunate not to have a major accident. Believe me it really is not worth your life or others over a relatively cheap and easy item to install / replace.

[Elliskwleisk]

Okay thanks guys ill take your advice and hopefully get a proper timken one from mini spares. Back to the front end steering problems and the rack noise. Can anyone shed some light on that?

[Ipod]

what condition are ya front subframe bushes? (altho wont answer your rack noise)