Thursday, April 26, 2007

Ouch! Cracked Strut Mount!

While at AMVIV it was discovered that my poor MINI has fallen victim to the much discussed "Cracked Strut Mount and Strut Tower Mushroom". No- not a delectible Mediterranean dish fried over an open-flame, but a plague like design "issue" in the front-end suspension. (You can read the never ending thread on NAM here, here, and here- yeah- i told you!)

One thing I noticed in my research however, is a lack of photos of the fairly obvious symptoms. Fortunately, I have a digital camera!*

Here is (not a very good shot of) a non-mushrooming strut tower. Note it's "flatness"

Here is my other (passenger-side) strut tower, with mushroom syndrome. Note where the VIN is- that should be flat. But it is not.


Here is where the plot thickens- a severe example of a cracked strut mount ("shock mount"/"bearing something or other").
Here is that same shot with the crack marked off. Ouch!

*(super hi-res versions available here (strut mount) and here (strut tower).)


The MINI is in the shop as I write this- getting the strut mount issues repaired. Now, how do I convince them to take a 4x4 and a sledge hammer to pound the mushroom'd tower, flat? more news as it develops- now back to you in the studio!

4 comments:

  1. ouch. So is something like this covered under the warranty? I hope it is, but maybe not.

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  2. Anonymous3:14 PM

    Most stories I've heard have the dealer blame it on driver, hitting potholes and such. I've yet to run across a story where the driver/owner says, "and the dealer fixed it for free", even under warranty.

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  3. All the pictures are broke.. i would love to see the pics of the busted strut tower and strut. please.. can you repost or email them to me? remsikt at gamil . com

    Thanks much!!!

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  4. hey s'man- thanks for the headsup- i'll see if i can find a copy of those photos and repost them!

    have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete