6 replies to this topic

[TheMiniWhore]

hi ive got a 1991 mini cooper not had it that long and i have some troubles with it for a first the brakes are shocking i have to put my foot to the floor before it starts slowing down checked the discs and hoses them seem fine and also the steering is stupidly heavy and its near impossible to go round a corner without going on the other side of the road ive been advised to grease up the ball joints but if anyone has any other advice it would much appreciated. :)

[geoff-d]

Check tyre pressure

[MiniMaggs]

Check the brake fluid levels first, and bleed the system. This may help with your brakes.

[Alex_B]

A full check over the braking system is in order, its not a complicated system so I would personally check the rear drums over, (take the drum off, check the pads have life in them and not contaminated with any brake fluid, if any fluid is found in the drum then I would find out where its from, mostl ikely to be from the wheel cyl (check under the rubber boots for fluid). Then when the drums are back on, adjust the shoes with an adjuster on the backplate of the drum, rotate until the wheel locks and then back it off 1/4 of a turn. 

If the condition or age of the fluid is unknown then do a full fluid change ( using an eezibleed its easy) that should then mean the brakes are working as they should, mini brakes generally need more input from the driver especially so if you do not have a servo fitted. 

regarding the steering weight, I would check tyre pressures as said, then grease all the suspension points (look for bleed nipples) check all the suspension over for anything that looks out of place, check all the wheel bearings and ball joints (grabbing the wheels at 9 and 3 and trying to push and pull the wheel, same again at 12 and 6) front and back, if its still very heavy then you may need to change the size of wheel (13" wide wheels will usually take more effort to turn the car) or change the steering wheel for a larger one to make the steering lighter 

[TheMiniWhore]

Thanks for the advice I'll bleed my brakes and test my servo see if that helps

[mk1leg]

Hi..and welcome to TMF and enjoy your first mini..................

[Badboytunes]

As stated , take the drums off to inpsect the rear shoes before you bleed the brakes. They system on a mini is very basic and I would put the issues you have down to a leak somewhere.

 

 

If you need any advice, just ask.