The Problem was all the Mountings including Body Mounts, Engine Mounts, Rubber Cone Suspension, Lower and Upper Suspension Arm Bushes, Ball joints etc, even the Steering rack were all completely worn out.
(New Rubber Cone Set Click Here)
The Exhaust was blowing where the flexy pipe had been broken from hitting the road bumps caused by the suspension rubber cones also worn out and sunk to such a level it all needed replacing, so the Engine and Sub-frame had to be removed this was my first task, apart from cutting out the old rusty o/s front wing and A panel.
The engine bolts - mountings were all removed to begin with from the underside the rubber mountings were completely torn in half you could actually lift the engine upwards with no resistance. I don't not know how this passed an M.O.T. in the first place.
The Front sub frame was in very good condition just a good clean up and re- paint was needed it came up like new. All new poly bushes and mountings were re-fitted. The brake hose pipes front end, were in such good condition they still had the original green coat of paint so this was also good news, no corrosion here and no replacement was necessary here.
Keep reading, follow the Process as Below.
Before trying to remove anything you will need to remove the spilt pin and the Castle Hub Nuts from each side of the wheel axle-drive shafts. This was a real task for me as this car was just neglected. Its real tough getting these nuts off but they will come off with persistence. A real long bar (infact the bar I used was around 4ft towing pole) turning anti-clockwise ) and a good Socket 34mm ; KS Tools 917.1346 CLASSIC Hex Socket, 1/2" /34mm.. did the the trick just nicely. (If your doing a Full Restoration job, you will find this Tool comes in handy as it has a dual purpose. This will also release the Suspension Tower Cone Bolts under the bonnet in each far corner).
The vehicle will need to be on the ground with the brakes on (get some one to hold brakes down) and wheels chocked with blocks of wood. You will need to then remove the discs and brake callipers,the whole hub /Stub Axle in order of removing the Engine from the top, unless you decide to drop this sub-frame/Engine from the bottom, the vehicle will need to be raised to a very high position to get this out from the bottom.
I prefer to remove this in order from the top using either a block chain or Floor hoist/crane .
This is a high quality SGS 2Ton Crane I used See Here
I find this chain lift comes in very handy on occasions having limited space at times in my garage its cheap but certified tested and guaranteed, an effective alternative to a floor hoist.
I usually use a floor hoist for heavier jobs but was very impressed lately with this suspended lift method as it actually comes with an automatic mechanical brake lock, not bad for the price. Just make sure your garage roof can take the weight! if you do not have a steel RSJ across.
Silverline 633705 Chain Block 1 t/2.5 m Lift Height
The Front Stub Axle's were removed completely from both sides, as I was doing a complete restoration this made life very easy to remove the engine from the top once the drive shafts were pulled out from the gear box, either side.
Note the unique design top and Bottom ball joints, these joints take a lot punishment i.e direct weight from the Engine/gearbox also the Swivel movement from the steering can cause these joints to wear prematurely. There are Grease nipples on each joint a good Grease Gun Draper Heavy Duty Pistol Action Grease Gun
is needed here, these joints Must be greased around every 3 months or every service to be on the safe side. Do not Neglect.
Tip : If you cannot get grease into the joint the Nipples can be replaced very cheap fix.
Front Stub Axle Unique Top and Bottom Ball Joints
Once the Hub was removed the next stage was to re-fit the new Ball joints which I bought from Mini spares. It's not a straight forward process as you need to make sure when fitting these joints they are finger tight meaning you should be able to spin the joint with two fingers with no end float. (No Play) They usually come up real tight.or too Loose. You will have a Shim Pack supplied with the new Ball joints this is what allows for adjustment but it's trial and error, don't be afraid it will work.
Top tip here is if you cannot get the joint to move freely, a thou of end float is acceptable.
Infact this is ideal the joints seem to last longer. Just make sure they are well greased.
Infact this is ideal the joints seem to last longer. Just make sure they are well greased.
Get a small Tub of Valve Grinding Paste carefully using a high speed drill fixed to one end you can get the joint to feel perfect as I have done this my self. It worked a treat ! But Don't over do it at the same time the opposite being too Tight will actually increase wear.
I finished off with renewing all the bushes in both Upper and Lower suspension Control arms and cross member Tie Rods Mainly Poly bushes for longer life span.
This was a view from the underside looking up where the Tower bolts go through supporting the Rubber Cone suspension, via the Subframe. This can be a common rust spot ..all good here.
The subframe was then bolted back on with new Poly Bushes Underside, also worth the trouble as you have less vibration from the engine and they last longer.
Brand new Steering Column Bushes were fitted. The White plastic sleeves as above...this is an M.O.T failure
you normally get a little play but excessive play would not be acceptable.
There is a vast amount of hard work involved in Restoring a Classic Mini. The parts are very cheap in comparison to the labour costs!.. is it worth it ? Depends on You, get a Good Classic Mini regardless of model and you will have Fun. But donnot overlook this buying a Mini because it's cheap usually means more work so go for somthing worth spending your time on. If your not a mechanic then keep reading this blog you will be at an Advantage. If your in the Trade I hope you find this interesting and I'm sure you can still learn a few tricks here as this is a genuine Restoration project which had taken me Two years part time to complete.
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