Hey Everyone, I have a 2002 R50 Cooper and have noticed a strange wobble when cornering to the right, when all the weight is on the left side of the vehicle. Also, when I go over a pot hole, the back left tire makes a rattleing springing noise, like the coil spring discharging compression, but when I took the wheel off to take a look, everything felt very solid. I was wondering if it's just the shock portion of the strut going bad, or something worse like a control arm falling off. Has any one else had this problem? I'm hoping its only an old shock
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2002 Indi Blue Cooper
Hella 500FF Rally Lights, K&N 57 Series Intake, American flag window decals, Hoonigan
Start with the simple things and then dig deeper. That it wobbles sounds more like a cross link in the rear is bad. They are cheap constructions and the bushings will fail over time. That you are mentioning toe angle changes ( changes in course thru a corner ) sounds like a bushing failure.
Check the rear wheel bearing. Lift the left rear corner, grasp the tire at the top and bottom and rock it in and out. If you can moveit then it could be the bearing is going bad. If it does not rock but some thing moves in and out then you have a bushing going in the rear suspension. You will need a second set of eyes, someone to move the tire around and a second person to watch the suspension bits.
While it is up check the rear swaybar link. Take a large set of channel locks and see if the upper or lower ball joint in the end link is bad. Any small movement in this can lead to clunking noises under rapid loading changes like potholes.
Good luck.
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2007 MCS Laser Blue 2010, 2008 BMW Oktoberfest Autocross - Stock Mini First Place
2009 BMW Oktoberfest Autocross - Stock Mini Second Place BMW CCA Driving Instructor/Engine Mechanic/Speech Recognition Specialist
I actually took my car to a buddy of mine's shop, he's a mechanic, and we concluded that the strut mount in the rear was worn out, and that was causing the wobble, and the strut itself was getting old (100,000 miles on the original strut) and it was causeing a squeaking noise. thanks for the help though!
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2002 Indi Blue Cooper
Hella 500FF Rally Lights, K&N 57 Series Intake, American flag window decals, Hoonigan
