409 replies to this topic

[1984mini25]

Just spent a few hours this morning replacing the front cv boot with the help of the top half of a 2l pop bottle and replace the knuckle joint/fitted the rear hi-low on the same side, leaving just the fuel tank side still to do.

[1984mini25]

While I had the back end jacked up...

 

[1984mini25]

Just had it's yearly mot after having to go back a few hours later as the first appointment I'd booked had some how been booked by someone else. But it passed with a few advisories, namely being it was running a bit rich and was borderline on failing on the emissions. One of the bottom ball joints was a bit tight and the whole thing (the dome nut and pin) was turning in the bottom arm. Although it was because I noticed the pin rotating in the arm along with play in the joint on the old one that I replaced it, so it could be the bottom arm is worn. And the last advisory was for the floor pan section I'd just welded in, as it's buckled up from being jacked up on it even though it's not a jacking point.

 

[Archived4]

Have they jacked it up under there?? Awesome car by the way. Love the fact it's used daily. I plan to do the same with mine :)

[1984mini25]

Have they jacked it up under there?? Awesome car by the way. Love the fact it's used daily. I plan to do the same with mine :)

 

Yep the tester jacked it up and then blamed the floors buckling up on my welding, still nothing a large hammer wont fix.

[1984mini25]

Having just only done 17 miles since the mini passed it's mot I now have rear brake/wheel bearing issues, with the off side rear wheel locking up with smoke pouring from the drum/wheel.

[Archived4]

Gulp. Hope you get it fixed and it aint a problem! Sounds rough

[1984mini25]

Unfortunately not. I stripped down the rear hub earlier to find that the wheel cylinder is seized solid, witch has then cause the shoes to drag on the drum heating the inside of the drum up and turning it blue. It's also caused the wheel bearing to run hot melting the grease and even the rubber grease seal, witch must have been were the smell/smoke was coming from. But also as the bearing has run much hotter than it should have the pin is also now a bluish colour, so I might even have to change the rear radius arm as well.

 

So I'm now looking at a new rear wheel cylinder, new brake drum, new rear wheel bearing and maybe a new radius arm as well. only a week ago I was looking at having a car with tax and insurance but not being able to afford to mot it and now this week I've got a car that's taxed, insured and moted that I can't use and can't afford to fix. 

[Archived4]

Is it a spacered drum?

Edited by Smiler258, 10 September 2013 - 06:29 PM.

[1984mini25]

I haven't really done much over the last month thanks to my current financial situation, I could probably find more in lose change down the back of the sofa than what I have right now. As such I've been borrowing in the hope I can pay it back, just to fix and keep the mini on the road, witch in the case of my rear brakes/bearings didn't exactly go well.
 
After stripping down the overheated rear drum, it turned out that one of the pistons in the rear wheel cylinder had seized, leaving only one working. Then what I think had happened is me over adjusting the handbrake just added to the problem. But it must have just been just pure bad luck that it showed up after the mot, as with one side of the wheel cylinder still working the brake was sill working enough to pass the mot. But with the hub already removed and the back plate off (quick wire brush and paint), it was simple enough to replace.
 



 
Replacing the wheel bearing though turned out to be a complete nightmare though as I'd unexpectedly bought and tried fitting a set of unbranded cheap chinese wheels bearings that once correctly fitted wouldn't rotate if torqued correctly and would only rotate if the hub nut was left nipped up by hand. Unfortunately after contacting Mini-mine about the problem I got a reply back saying that they had never had a problem with said bearings, that they were not cheap chinesse copies, dismissed others similar experiences with said bearings (hence the topic on tmf) and that the problems I was have were down to fitting problems (I do happen to know how to fit wheel bearings properly and not just on minis) and that it must also be down to a worn hub/radius arm.  
 
So in the end I ended up refitting the genuine bearings that I'd previously removed from the hub to change, repacked with grease and used just the seal and split pin from the new ones. Witch just so happened to torque up correctly, rotate freely and without any play, so there can't have been anything wrong with the hub/radius arm. with that done the mini was finally drivable again and got me to and back from a local meet without too much problems.
 
With that done, I finally fitted a fuel filter after finding a brand new one I must have bought and put in a safe place only to be lost in the garage ever since. time will tell if it's effective at solving the running problems and crap building up in the float bowl.
 

 
Also with funds being low and not actually being able to put fuel in the mini, I decided it was good opportunity for me to do some work on my own mini for a change. So as soon as the mini was in the garage out came the front and rear screens so I could clean up behind the rubber and sort out the rust that had been appearing. The rust around the rear window lucky cleaned and sanded off, but was worse behind the headlining, as the brown staining shows. It also gave me a good opportunity to fix the wiring for the rear screen (witch still doesn't work) and the wiring for the parcel shelf speakers.   
 



 
The front however I knew was gong to need a new section or two letting in.
 





 
Also while I had the bulkhead stripped, I removed the clutch master cylinder, changed the rod that had worn, cleaned up the wiring, washer tubing and gave everything a rub down and lick of paint (I'd already made a start on) before refitting everything, painting the scuttle and popping the screens back in.
 

Edited by 1984mini25, 21 October 2013 - 01:25 AM.

[minimikej]

Nice repair work to the scuttle there. It's rubbish being skint

I remember having a similar problem with rear wheel bearings years ago. There are 2 types fitted to minis, a taper roller type as fitted to GTs and all minis after 1984 and a ball set for earlier cars. There is a spacer for taper bearings which didn't use to come with the kit, and which was clearly too narrow in my case as the bearings would bind up when correctly torqued. Wasn't a problem with the ball race type, I forget what I did in the end.

[1984mini25]

Unfortunately there does seam to be a load of non-genuine Chinese rear wheel bearings, that in my case once measured turned out to be 0.28mm undersized with the built in spacer compared to a genuine set. It's also that the set I bought/was sold, was under a rover part number and not that of the known Chinese ones otherwise I would never of bought them. But that's done now and I shouldn't have any brake or bearing issues, hopefully.

One dilemma I do have though is I did buy a load of panels to replace the front end and a few other sections over a year ago now, but can't afford to fit them. But do I sell them at a loss or keep them until I can afford to fit them.

[Ben_O]

Hi mate! Nice to see an update. Sorry to hear about the money problems but the Mini is coming on nicely!

As for your panels, i would hang onto them unless you really need the money as they will not be cheap to buy again when the time comes.

 

Good luck with everything.

 

Cheers

Ben

[1984mini25]

True on the panels. I did think about selling the minilights and going back tostandard steels and hubcaps, as I was given another few 25 hubcaps recently. But after working out if I got £100 for them on a good day, that it would still be £40 less than what the new tyres cost me before refurbishing them. Plus I'd need at least 2 new tyres for me to have a set of usable steels.
I just find it ironic that I was blackmailed and effectively paid to work and weld up someone elses, as thanks to doing my back in and my previous work history, I couldn't sign on (not that I'd want to) but now can't afford to do mine.

 

Edited by 1984mini25, 24 October 2013 - 10:55 PM.

[1984mini25]

I currently have both parts of the rear set, parcel shelf and rear cards in front of every available radiator in the house drying off. As I discovered the rear seat was a little 'damp' earlier today and that the recently refitted rear screen now leaks.