Irish Mini Owners Club

hi ive a 99 mini cooper every thing replaced from bushings bal joints radius arms shocks the works , tracking on front a1 , camber on rear at 0 but feels very wandery on roa like driving on ice , any ideas or help b great thanks

Steering arm to hub bolts ok ?

yes every thing new and all checked a few times case there was anything left loose , its sort of fish tail effect wouldn't trust past 40 miles an hour , its very strange

Subframe mountings?

What size wheels are you using?

came with 175 ,50 , 13 it cooper sportpack . all subframe mounts and new or poly bushed

Have you adjustable cones? Are they set too high? As a rough guide, the distance between the centre of the wheel and the bottom lip of the wheelarch should be 30cm.

ya they are , but I on way to brands hatch for weekend , so when I get home ill measure them and see thanks for advice

I had the same or similar problem. No one could solve it until one day someone pulled back the carpets and discovered the 4 bolts holding the steering rack were loose, very loose. How they became loose no one knows. Hasn't happened since.

that could be it as body shop that painted had rack off and I never checked that , wll do Monday thanks again

That defo a probable cause, check the splines on the steering column, with big wheels they will fail, when u turn the wheel it will slip over the splines on the rack, also check the floors where the front subframe is connected, make sure there are no cracks

new floor pans and rack fitted when restoring at xmas , thanks for help though tried the ride height it 29.7 cm , re tracked was ok steering rack bolts all tight colum not slipping either but car still the same ,

I take from another post that you changed the diff, what did you put in?
What make and size tyres and are they at the right pressure?

didn't change bought brand new engine and box complete in uk , bought the car with everything in a box but crank shaft missing , so was easier replace the lot .tyres continental 175 50 13 , tried from 26 psi down to 22 , still handles same , its grand one direction but after bout 50 mph it feels like drivin on slippery surface wet or dry

What spec engine and box, would it have a limited slip diff?
Anybody else using the continentals in this size?
Was the car driving ok on this engine and box before you changed the suspension parts?

bad wear on the radius arms, or camber brackets loose, are the wheels tight? Check the front bottom engine steady, the subframe cracks there,

Check the toe on the rear of the car.

If the rear is toed out it can make the car feel very unstable. Ideal road settings would be toed in 1/16 inch.

Can you be a bit more descriptive of the handling problems, you used the phrase 'fishtailing' would this be like oversteer, pushing out at the rear, or is understeer more of a problem? or is it more of a chaotic front end wandering and a snatching steering wheel? did the handling problems come on suddenly or gradualy?

don't know how to really explain , it just feels like car rear end gets light after 40 mph , is there any where within 100 miles that able set up for me

Try Mike Lyons in Miltown Malbay. He specialises in restoring Minis.

I did he helped in restoration of car , he thinks it drives ok but I just wouldn't trust it feels drifty ,

In the absence of any obvious play or misalignment of the rear subframe and its componants it may be worth checking the rear brakes for drag and the cylinders for sticking. If the cylinders have never been replaced then for the small price it could be worth doing just to rule brake drag out.

My sportpack once had a sticky left cylinder that gave me some quite spectacular right hand cornering, it took me a while to find the cause, those wide wheels don't put enough pressure on the road letting things slip a little bit easier.

sound thanks ,brakes are a bit tight on back when I brake it locks on back quicker , ll play around withj them hopefully will solve issue