I'm in the process of replacing the strut mounts and I was wondering if my struts are going bad. I'm the third owner of a 2006 MCS and don't know if these are the original struts. I took the springs off and can compress the push rod completely down but it only returns 3/4 of the way back. The strut mounts were showing almost 1/2" above the tower when the car is on the ground.

any suggestions?

 

Guess not...

 

Pictures would help. Are they black and have little tags or anything that says "MINI"? Also, how many miles on the car?
If the answer to the first is yes and to the second, over 60 to 80K then replace them with KONI FSD struts and at the same time add strut tower defenders and a 22 MM adjustable rear sway bar. Best bang for the buck of all possible mods you can make.

 

Thanks Brick, I already ordered the Bilstein B4's and new strut mounts. Now after thinking about it I'm wondering if I need new springs as well. The car has 95xxx miles and the struts I took off did have the original Mini label on them.

The reason I'm wondering about the springs is that I had already previously replaced the strut mounts 5000 miles ago and the mounts stretched through the top of the strut tower which seems like the springs have sagged also.

Thanks for your reply.

Randy

 

Springs last much longer than struts/shocks, but overtime the will get "tired" and sag. If you decide to get new springs, with the touring class struts/shocks you will need to stick to OE springs as they are not meant to be paired with lowering springs. What strut mounts did you go with 5,000 miles ago? Are your strut towers mushrooming? If you haven't already I'd recommend strut reinforcement plates HERE. It could also be that your struts were so worn out, which was causing wear on your mounts as the rebound doesn't slow down the upward movement like it should have.

 

Fortunately there is no mushrooming. I don't recall who made the last set of strut mounts but they were definitely not the $110+ strut mounts that Mini/BMW sells. If the new struts don't fix the problem then I will probably have to bite the bullet on new springs and OEM mounts.

Thanks for the response.

 

You're welcome. The OEM supplier Lemforder strut mounts HERE are a sufficient replacement if you don't want to go with the Genuine mounts. They also are very economically priced. For the rear shock bushings you could always go with Powerflex HERE as a great alternative as they're much more stout and are more cost-effective than OEM bushings. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.