Reggie: The '96 Rover Mini

Started by LilDrunkenSmurf, September 21, 2015, 12:22:43 PM

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MiniDave

#50
It took me two days to get the bolts out so I could install the rear camber/toe plates on Buzz. Back the bolt out as far as it would go, squirt some Kroil on it, run it in again, let it set a while, back it out again, maybe a tiny bit further, juice it again, run it in again etc etc.

But in the end I got them all out without damaging the threads or breaking one of the captive nuts loose. In retrospect I should have gotten out my acetylene torch and heated them up and saved a lot of time.

Yes, I think you can remove the retaining strap and swing the tank out far enough to reach the nuts on the top of the shock, but unless it's full I'd just remove it.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

Gotta remove the tank but it's easy enough to do. 

Heat and penetrating oil on old stubborn bolts. 

Willie_B

Here is the lower mount that Classic Motorsports did on their mini.

MiniDave

They must be in Australia!   ;D
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Willie_B

It is right side up on my computer but it flips it when I post. Tried it twice.

MiniDave

So, try posting it upside down and see if it's right side up then?  ;D
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring


MPlayle

From the look of the fabricated bracket, they were installing on a 'A' block (pre-A+) as though swapping from a generator to an alternator.  That conversion requires a longer upper bracket.


Willie_B

I was posting it up for the lower mount, made from a turn-buckle and end links. Makes it easier to adjust the belt.

MPlayle

Quote from: Willie_B on March 27, 2016, 02:09:40 PM
I was posting it up for the lower mount, made from a turn-buckle and end links. Makes it easier to adjust the belt.

I definitely agree that the turn-buckle would make the adjustment process much easier.  I wish I had taken a picture of the adjuster on the green Panel Van I had last year.  It had an interesting adjuster on it.


LilDrunkenSmurf

#60
Picked up a balljoint puller and 1-1/2" socket yesterday. Got the top left side balljoint done, need to hammer out the collar to get the bottom one done. Tried installing the camber arm, but I couldn't get the old bushing out, so I'll be ordering new ones, as well as bolts. Got the rear left side shock done behind the gas tank, so that corner's finally done. Got the rear right shock done, but when trying to remove the old bracket I think I managed to snap the retaining nut.

Is there an easy way to get access to the back of this nut to reweld it, or do I need to drop the subframe? (Also, what bushing is that on the radius arm? I should likely replace it.)


Camber plate by Jory Irving, on Flickr

Once I have the new bushings and bolts, I can put together the front end again.

Also got my new Falken ZE914 tires mounted (165/60R12), which look pretty good. The wheels have a lot of corroded crap on them. I'm debating between trying to clean them using wet sanding, or saying screw it any getting them painted or powdercoated, but I'd lose the dual-color on the wheels. Also have been trying to clean up the bubbling on the chrome gas cap and chrome boot lights, but it's not going well. I might need to say screw it and order new ones, unless I can figure out how to restore or re-chrome the pieces.

Edit:
I have a few options as I see it.

1) Ignore it. This means I can't install the camber/toe bracket.
2) Drill it out. I lose 1/4 bolts, and have the retaining nut rattling around the inside of the subfram.
3) Drop the subframe, there's an access whole that's pushed up against the body of the car. I'll need to drop the exhaust, disconnect the handbrake and the brake lines.
4) Cut a hole on the bottom of the subframe. This would be the easiest, that would resolve the issue. I could ask my welder friend nicely to reweld the nut into place, and potentially weld a plate to cover the hole.

Alternatively, I could take it to a shop, and let them deal with it.

MiniDave

#61
Drop the subframe.....do it right has always been my motto. It's more work but in the end you have a proper repair, not a bodge. While you have the subframe out pull the control arms and rebuild them if needed.

See this is what happens with every Mini job, you want to do one small thing on the front and wind up rebuilding the whole front end, repainting the engine compartment - rebuilding the motor....... ask me how I know!

No, don't............. :-[

Where did you find a deep well 1 1/2" socket?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Quote from: MiniDave on March 29, 2016, 08:45:07 AM
Drop the subframe.....do it right has always been my motto. It's more work but in the end you have a proper repair, not a bodge. While you have the subframe out pull the control arms and rebuild them if needed.

See this is what happens with every Mini job, you want to do one small thing on the front and wind up rebuilding the whole front end, repainting the engine compartment - rebuilding the motor....... ask me how I know!

No, don't............. :-[

Where did you find a deep well 1 1/2" socket?

Princess Auto.

http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/pro-point-1-2-in-dr-1-1-2-in-deep-impact-socket/A-p8474066e

If I'm going to drop the subframe, I'm assuming I would be replacing a bunch of bushings. If possible, can you give me a rundown of what I should be ordering?

I'm thinking:
2x GSV1125 - Radius Arm Rebuild Kit
1x MS43 - Rear subframe bolts + bush

The radius arm rebuild kit mentions reaming the bush for the radius arm. I have no idea what's required to do that.

Also, since I didn't order them the first time round for the camber arms:
1x C-STR632 - Poly lower arm bush (4)
2x 2A4362MS - Lower arm pin

Alternator mount:
1x 12G2627 - Alternator adjustable bracket
1x 12G289 - Alternator bracket pillar

I'm also having a hard time finding out how to drop the subframe. Would I just undo the front trunion and rear trunion mount bolts, disconnect the handbrake (how?), disconnect the rear brake lines (booo), and drop the exhaust? (easy).

There are already hi-lo's in there, and the trumpet looks fine, so I won't worry about replacing those.

LilDrunkenSmurf


MiniDave

#64
I thought the later radius arms had roller bearings, like the front upper control arms? Worst case, take your arms to a machine shop and have them press the bushings in and ream them - should be no biggy.

Also, the major parts places like MiniSpares and MiniSport sell rebuilt radius arms with everything already done.

Yes, that's pretty much it for dropping the rear subframe.

Replacing the rear brake hoses is always a good idea on an old/high mileage car.....braided hoses aren't really necessary for street driven cars but they look cool.

I learned my lesson the hard way on those front control arm bushes - buy the poly ones!

I hate to keep spending your money, but take a good hard look at your rear wheel cylinders while you're at it, it's about as cheap to buy new ones as rebuild the old ones. Check the brake adjusters too, they tend to get rusted up due to lack of use but you should be able to get some penetrating oil on them and get them loose if they are stuck.

You're experiencing "project creep" first hand!   ;D
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Well, its a '96 with not too much rust underneath, so I've been fairly lucky, aside from the bushes drying out. The rear subframe kit is all poly bushes, same with the new ones for the lower control arms.

I'll pick up the full braided hose kit. If I'm going to bleed it, might as well do all 4 corners. What do you mean by the rear wheel cylinder?

MiniDave

#66
The rear brake cylinders  - where the hoses attach.

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Brakes/Front/GWC1102.aspx?0401&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/wheel

If the inner bushings on your radius arms aren't worn too badly you can just change the outer roller bearings and leave the bushes alone. Put the new shaft into the old bushing and see if it fits smoothly or is loose - that will tell you if they need changing.

The bit you circled in your pic is part of the dirt seal, it keeps the dirt out of the outer bearing and the grease in - it's not critical if you keep them greased and don't drive in a lot of water, but if you're going to pull the subframe anyway, "in for a penny" as they say....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Ah. Well, I'll hold out for now, since I had a local mini shop take a look, and apparently the rear brakes were fine. I'll worry about it when I'm replacing the pads in the drum.

Placed the order. Should be here late this week or early next week. I suppose I can drop and start tearing down the subframe in the meantime. Any tips or writeup on how to drop it?

MiniDave

There are several videos on You Tube but the camera work is so bad (cell phone cameras) that they're painful to watch - at least to me......here's one.




If the car isn't rusted badly, just give all the bolts a good spray of penetrating fluid and let them sit a few days, re-apply every day, then they should come out more easily. On Buzz, I had to back them out till they bound up, give them a spritz and run them back in again, then let it sit a few hours so the penetrant could work in a little farther and repeat the process - a LOT of times - till they finally came out undamaged. Once out I ran a tap thru the captive nuts to make sure the threads were clean of rust, then it went back together easily.

As on the subframe, if you break one of the captive nuts loose inside the heelboard you have a real mess - you'll have to cut out that chunk of metal and make up a new one and weld it in.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Well, that's where it all started. I snapped one of the captive bolts for the camber plate.

Yeah, I've been subbed to him for a while, but when he goes under the car to disconnect everything, it's pretty much black under there.

MiniDave

That's the poor camera work I was talking about, not only is it black but the camera jumps all around making it difficult to see what he's pointing at.....

Sometimes the best way to learn is just to jump in with both feet and go for it......
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Got the lower balljoint on the left side done. Question, the old balljoints were packed/covered in grease or anti-seize, but I haven't found anything about repacking the new ones. Do I need to pack them with grease, or can I just use the zerk fittings and a grease gun, rather than pulling them apart?

Also crawled under the car to start the process for dropping the subframe:
To do for subframe drop:
Remove exhaust
Remove brake line (7/16 and 9/16 flare wrenches required)
Remove battery +
Remove handbrake cable (how to?)
Remove fuel filter
Unbolt shocks

I'm stuck on how to remove the handbrake lines. I thought if they were loose enough, I could disconnect them for the.. balancer? that sits at the end of the exhaust tunnel, but it doesn't look like it, and most of the line is covered by heat shielding. Should I be disconnecting it inside the car or something?

MiniDave

I thought you could loosen the adjustment and remove it from the join plate too.....why won't it come out?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Quote from: MiniDave on March 31, 2016, 08:34:59 AM
I thought you could loosen the adjustment and remove it from the join plate too.....why won't it come out?

No idea. There's no bolt to take the join plate apart, and the cable is covered inside the piece from what I can see. It looks like you have to thread the piece to the front of the car, and it covers the cable, so I need to disconnect it from the front, bring it all the way back and unthread it?

MPlayle

I will be underneath "Flur" later this afternoon and see what I can determine from its arrangement.  I will also get pictures.  It should be close to what "Reggie" is as they are not that far apart in actual age.