I recently finished a lot of work, and the car now sits 3cm lower on the right side (at both the front and rear wheels). I took some measurements, mostly at the rear as it is easiest to access. Suspension setup is stock (no Hi-Lo), with the exception of adjustable lower arms in front.
- Front left upper arm is on the bump stop, the front right arm has space between the bump stop and the arm.
- On the left side, the bottom of the damper is flush with the bottom lip of the frame, while the bottom of the damper on the right side is 3.5 cm above the lip of the frame (frame sits lower).
- From the rear lip of the trumpet to the metal band on the cones is very similar, with the right cone 3mm shorter. This is with full car weight on the wheels.
- All cones appear to be seated correctly.
- The right rear tire has large positive camber. Maybe related, maybe not?
- The plastic cups for both rear knuckles have a few mm from the radius arm to the lip of the cup, but it is the same on both sides. Not sure if both aren’t seated fully or both cups are just too deep. I would have thought the weight of the car would seat them.
Here is what was done to the car before the issue developed:
- 4 new suspension cones
- Rebuilt all suspension arms, front and rear. Rears were done by a Mini specialist.
- All new knuckles and cups
- Rear subframe refresh (all new bolts, bushings, etc).
- Alignment by a shop. Front for sure, can’t remember if rear was checked.
I had the Mini specialist look at it while in for something else, and the consensus was that it just needed to settle. This work was all done over 4 months ago, and the car has maybe 100 driving miles since then (yeah, need to drive more, but we were in the process of moving). The car was trailered over 1000 miles though, which I would think exercises the cones at least some.
I’m not sure what to do next. It seems that the rear cones have close enough to the same compressed height to call it good (?). Knuckles seem the same. I’m not sure what else to measure to help figure it out. The fact that the front and rear both have the same amount of unevenness seems like too big of a coincidence.
This post discussed worn arm cups. I did reuse my arms, but since my issue is on front and back I’m not sure if this would apply.
https://www.theminif...+uneven +height
Any ideas what to check next?! I hate to just start taking it apart to check it over with no idea what to look for.