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| Front suspension bent. https://ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=102337 |
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| Author: | 68+86auto [ Sun Jun 16, 2024 12:46 am ] |
| Post subject: | Front suspension bent. |
Which parts usually bend in the front to give too little positive camber? (one degree increased SAI). It's got to be bent somewhere because the ball joints, bushes and pin are all new. It's probably been like it for years but I was only recently told, I believe the steering wheel was previously moved as the "solution". It's the same mini which was running low hydro so that won't have helped. |
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| Author: | Steam [ Sun Jun 16, 2024 8:55 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
It was always a bit hit and miss from the factory regarding caster and camber and no two minis were ever alike. The bottom arm is what sets the camber so if it bends it will cause more positive but it would take a fair bit to bend one. The tie rods will also affect the camber but not so much and caster will also be changed. But any loose pins, joints etc will cause issues. Actually. you want more negative camber for good feel on the road. |
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| Author: | 68+86auto [ Sun Jun 16, 2024 9:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
Steam wrote: It was always a bit hit and miss from the factory regarding caster and camber and no two minis were ever alike. The bottom arm is what sets the camber so if it bends it will cause more positive but it would take a fair bit to bend one. The tie rods will also affect the camber but not so much and caster will also be changed. But any loose pins, joints etc will cause issues. Actually. you want more negative camber for good feel on the road. I wouldn't be complaining myself if both sides had reduced positive camber. Even just to begin with, the factory settings were designed for cross-ply tyres and poor roads. The problem is that the LH is at 1.83 degrees (within factory specs) but the RH is at 0.5 degrees. That means there's a 1.33 degree difference which is easily the cause of the pull that it has. Caster is almost identical on both sides at basically 2 degrees which is on the low side but within the factory specifications. |
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| Author: | 68+86auto [ Sun Jun 16, 2024 9:14 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
One of my ideas is that it could be the bottom pin, seems unlikely but if it's not that then it must be worse. As it has been running low for so long, if it hit something and the bump stop was hit then there would be more force than normal on the bottom pin & bushes. It has gone thru many bottom bushes. |
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| Author: | FNQ [ Sun Jun 16, 2024 9:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
What about the subframe? https://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/topic/281332-major-positive-camber/page-2 |
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| Author: | 68+86auto [ Sun Jun 16, 2024 10:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
FNQ wrote: What about the subframe? https://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/topic/281332-major-positive-camber/page-2 That's the other option. |
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| Author: | Steam [ Sun Jun 16, 2024 11:31 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
Of course the height of the suspension changes both caster and camber so it is theoretically possible to gain some equality by adjusting the pressure in the wet system. The factory specs are more about what a mini had rather than what it actually needs or what works best. |
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| Author: | simon k [ Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
my dad's car needed adjustable arms to get them the same, they were a long way out, my assumption was that the subframe is bent somewhere - I haven't had it out to check/measure/replace |
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| Author: | 68+86auto [ Sat Feb 22, 2025 7:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
I should've noticed the cause long ago. I also find it funny that it had been looked at by a "mini specialist" multiple times before me. They had adjusted the toe using a tape measure claiming that was the cause of wear to one tyre. Toe is never the cause of unequal wear between tyres. Attachment: IMG_20250222_190546_(2040_x_1530_pixel).jpg Attachment: IMG_20250222_190533_(2040_x_2720_pixel).jpg The hole has flogged out or someone has modified it. They've then welded a rectangular piece of steel with the correct size hole in it. I had actually noticed that the pin wasn't sticking thru as much as it should but I missed why. I had always suspected there was a pin issue since the bushes on this side kept failing. Somehow I missed the cause many times. I guess I've volunteered myself to spend a day fixing it. |
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| Author: | FNQ [ Mon Feb 24, 2025 6:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
At one stage when i was looking at replacing my tierod and bits (after going down the track on three wheels and a bit of the tierod arm) i wondered .... a) what was the correct placement of the two differing bushes and b) would there be any worth in welding on a reinforcing plate that had a 'set' wedge to attempt to make the bush/washer more perpendicular? In the end apart from spending some nice time staring at the underside of the mini universe, I just made sure the rod wasn't bent and carried on, but I can say the uprated bits were good. |
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| Author: | 1071 S [ Mon Feb 24, 2025 7:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Front suspension bent. |
IME tie rod bushes are symmetrical.... Are you perhaps referring to the offset lower control arm inner bushes?? .... (which is what you picture shows). These are normally used to allow extra caster (made possible by adjustable tie rods) ... should you want to improve turn in (with a consequent increase in steering weight). The other solution is to use a lower arm with an inner rose joint. We're not mixing up caster and camber are we?? Cheers, Ian |
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