I just bought a mini yesterday. It’s a j reg mini sprite. When I test drove her, she was absolutely fine. So I bought her and took her home. As soon as I went to take her out for another spin, I noticed that I could turn the steering wheel a quarter turn with no movement in the wheels.
The car had been MOT’d a couple of weeks prior to buying it so i figured that the tester would have picked up on that. The only advisorys on the cert were Offside front wheel bearing has slight play, Offside track rod end ball joint has slight play. and a couple of boots needed changing.
Dose that sound likely or am I right in thinking the whole steering rack needs to be replaced? I’m thinking the latter, as she has been riding on 13"x7" for the majority of her life and I know wide wheels take their toll on the racks.
Any advise is greatly appreciated as I’m currently terrified to drive her.
Hi ya. The rack could be loose. I could get the front up in the air and have a mate watch what’s going on as you turn it.changing the rack it an simple job tho. If you do have to change the rack you undo the bolt at the bottom of the steering column then lift your front carpits and look for the 2 little nuts on each side of your floor undo them then get the front of the car in the air ie ramps of stands. Then get s block of wood under your gear box followed by your jack take the weight of your engine undo your top engine mount then undo the bolts from under the car that hold your sub frame on. Then VERY slowly lower your jack little by little it doesn’t need to be lowered much really at a guess 2/3" then you can slide the rack out after a few little taps from the inside on the studs. happy days!! Then pop your new one in do everything back up and then go find some sweet roads!!!
Check the spline at the bottom of the steering column. It has a habit of wearing, especially when a column drop bracket has been badly fitted. If the spline has stripped, the pinch bolt will retain the column, but allow a lot of rotation on the rack pinion before the rack starts to move.
I just got your advise today, but sadly the steering went yesterday. It could not have happened at a better time though. I took the car to Minis-r-us in Twyford to get looked at. They had a poke around and said I’d need the steering colum replaced and gave me a quote. As I pulled out, I couldn’t steer and almost went into a wall. So now it’s at the garage ready to get done. Can’t wait to get her back.
Offside front wheel bearing has slight play, Offside track rod end ball joint has slight play. and a couple of boots needed changing.
happy days!! Then pop your new one in do everything back up and then go find some sweet roads!!! 