15 replies to this topic

[Vinay-RS]

Hi all,

 

Today I took a longer than normal drive in my car since I did some work on some of the components. I noticed that above 70 km/h there was a lot of play in the steering wheel, and at low speeds (30 - 40 km/h) there was a lot of wobble from the front suspension, which could be felt through the steering wheel. I also noticed that under hard braking the car pulled sharply to the right, and when the brakes were released there was a slight squealing before the car started moving.

 

I recently replaced the front wheel bearings on my car. I replaced the ball bearings with tapered roller bearings and replaced the rear brake cylinders since the left one was leaking. I know that the front shocks need replacing and I just bought some new ones to fit.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[cal844]

Id say to put standard bearings in, did you check the ball joints and track rods etc??

[Vinay-RS]

Yeah new ball joints and track and tie rods seem in good condition. I wanted to install the standard ball bearings, but these were the ones the bearing supplier stocked for a classic mini and since they were timken, I figured they were decent. Are timken bearings bad for a mini?

[cal844]

Timken are the best in the market so money well spent, id check the tie bar length and straightness also calipers for binding etc

Edited by cal844, 31 October 2014 - 07:25 PM.

[Vinay-RS]

Ok, I'll do that tomorrow morning. Could the worn out shocks be the issue? Going to change those tomorrow and would be chuffed if it sorts out some of the issues. My car has drums and shoes, so would loosening the slack adjuster on the shoes sort out the squealing?

[cal844]

Ok, I'll do that tomorrow morning. Could the worn out shocks be the issue? Going to change those tomorrow and would be chuffed if it sorts out some of the issues. My car has drums and shoes, so would loosening the slack adjuster on the shoes sort out the squealing?

You want to adjust the brakes so the drum stops within one rotation(all round) id advise you to change the shocks as these do help reduce the bouncing of the car

[Vinay-RS]

 

Ok, I'll do that tomorrow morning. Could the worn out shocks be the issue? Going to change those tomorrow and would be chuffed if it sorts out some of the issues. My car has drums and shoes, so would loosening the slack adjuster on the shoes sort out the squealing?

You want to adjust the brakes so the drum stops within one rotation(all round) id advise you to change the shocks as these do help reduce the bouncing of the car

 

Thanks man, I'll update tomorrow once I make these changes.

[Vinay-RS]

OK, followed your advice. Fitted the new shocks and adjusted the brakes. The squealing is gone, yay :) though the car is still pulling to the right. Wheel wobble is still present as well

[cal844]

OK, followed your advice. Fitted the new shocks and adjusted the brakes. The squealing is gone, yay :) though the car is still pulling to the right. Wheel wobble is still present as well

Get the wheel alignment checked and get the wheels balanced

[Vinay-RS]

 

OK, followed your advice. Fitted the new shocks and adjusted the brakes. The squealing is gone, yay :) though the car is still pulling to the right. Wheel wobble is still present as well

Get the wheel alignment checked and get the wheels balanced

 

 

Alright I'll book it in to have those done next week. Thanks cal844

[Yams]

Have you jacked the car up and given the wheels a wobble to see if there is any play in either the bearings or the ball joints?

[Vinay-RS]

Have you jacked the car up and given the wheels a wobble to see if there is any play in either the bearings or the ball joints?

That's the thing, I fitted new bearing and new ball joints. There is a small amount of play in the wheels, but when I asked one of my friends who has restored a couple of minis, he said that amount of play was expected.

[Covert]

A wise old man said to me once just because its "new" doesnt mean its any good .
Once you have had the tracking done and balanced the wheels i would see if any of the pistons are sticking in the calipers, ie one side working more than the other hence it pulling to one side

[Vinay-RS]

A wise old man said to me once just because its "new" doesnt mean its any good .
Once you have had the tracking done and balanced the wheels i would see if any of the pistons are sticking in the calipers, ie one side working more than the other hence it pulling to one side

Well it wouldn't be calipers, since my mini has drums, but yeah i'll check the brake cylinders as well :)

[Vinay-RS]

 

 

OK, followed your advice. Fitted the new shocks and adjusted the brakes. The squealing is gone, yay :) though the car is still pulling to the right. Wheel wobble is still present as well

Get the wheel alignment checked and get the wheels balanced

 

 

Alright I'll book it in to have those done next week. Thanks cal844

 

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone, especially cal844, my mini is handling fantastically since the wheel alignment was sorted today :) Entire car was crabbing according to the technician.

Next thing is a full service so that the engine runs more smoothly :)