10 replies to this topic

[ads]

hi, im new to this forum and not very mechanically minded. sorry if this is a problem thats been covered before but ive searched the forum and cant find anything relating to it. ive a 1275 1984 austin mini and ive a problem in that when im driving and turning even slightly i get a skidding and squeeling noise from the wheels even at speeds as low as 5mph. it is becoming more frequent over the past weeks and was wondering if anyone has any idea what causes it. all the tyre pressures are as they should be. ive been given a few suggestions from bearings and tracking but the big tyre companies ive seen about it dont think its that (even though they wont test for it, they say its a fan belt problem even though it comes from the wheels!) to a problem in the arms or lack of lubrication on the steering/suspension (it also has new adjustable suspension but ive no idea how this works or if the prob could be related to this).

any ideas would be appreciated from anyone that may have come across this type of prob before as ive been quoted up to 300 to get it fixed and dont want to shell this out if its just a case of getting it jacked up and lubricating the steering suspension joints underneath.

thanks
ps ive also started to get a scraping sound when left turning from the front right wheel a wonder if this may be related.

[biggav]

could be any number of things... but it needs looking at and sorting. where abouts are you? perhaps we could recommend a place to look at it.

It could be anything to do with suspension, tracking or braking components

[Ethel]

It should be obvious if the tyres are rubbing by marks on the tyres or body work. get some one to move the steering wheel while you look for spots where the wheels come close to body. If you find any suspect spots rock the body to see if you can make it touch the tyre. Then all you'll have to do is figure out how to stop it

[biggav]

what i was getting at is that any number of components being worn out, broken or in need of adjustment can cause symptoms you are describing.

Tie rods, ball joints, hub bearings, rubber cones, upper and lower arms, shocks, Cv joints, brake pads/discs (shoes if drums)

Depending on the age of the car, you may need to give the whole front end the once over and consider replacing worn out parts (also a good opportunity to replace bushes and mounts.) Thankfully, Mini parts are cheap as chips. you also have the option of upgrading any bits being replaced to higher spec or adjustable ones. you will notice a hell of a lot of difference with handling when its done.

[minislapper]

Does it happen everywhere or just in certain places as there are certain tarmacs they use which can cause this noise. Car parks seem to be the worst culprits!

[JetBLICK]

Check the toe angles of the front wheels. Mine were squeeling like that after i'd been playing around with my adjustable camber arms. It resulted in having a fair amount of toe-in, which was making the tyres squeal even in a straight line. It should be easily noticeable on the tyre tread too - you should notice its been stretched sideways. Anyway the cure for that was simply adjusting it with the steering arm track rod ends.

[Dog]

And what wheels have u got?

I found that my Van used to "squeek" a lot round Mini-Roundabouts, car parks etc, due to me having wide wheels on, I know this due to me going back to steelies, and the 'problem' has gone

[Big_Adam]

Cheap ass tires (like mine!) skid at the drop of a hat on a roundabout near tesco.....which is fun.

[Turbo Nick]

check that the steering arms haven't started to come loose on the hub, and check all the other steering/suspension components for wear as has been said above.

[ads]

hi all,thanks for your replies and suggestions on this problem. as i live in south yorkshire was hoping if anyone could recommend any mini specialists in the area because the garages ive taken it to are large garages (national tyres/hawleys/challenger) who dont seemed to be too interested because its 23 odd yrs old i think, except national tyres who think it might be the arms but theyve quoted 250+ to sort it!

ive only had this car for a couple of weeks and the previous owner said it has new rubber cones all round as well as alloy wheels and tyres and ive had the breaks sorted during a recent service. im gonna try the suggestions pointed out here tomorrow as lubricate steering/suspension and take it from there (hopefully fixed or to a 'mini sympathetic' garage when i find one) and check for rubbing areas as this could seem likely if the wheels are touching the body what with it starting to make crunching noises when i turn left as if the front end was scraping on the floor!.

since ive had the car it has become worse and does it nearly all the time now on all types of tarmacs(its making a right raket, i sound like starksy and hutch pulling into the petrol station down the road at 10mph!) so dogmatix,am not sure whether its the type and width of the wheels due to the progressive nature of the problem.

ill check it out and get back.

thanks again for your suggestions

[stefaz]

i know of mini bitz in sheffield and how to get there, but not the address i'm afraid phone number 0114 255 4630