I pulled the mini down to the workspace today and egads it tilts!
There is a significant lean to the passenger side, with a noticeably smaller gap between wheel and wheel arch on that side.

At the same time I noticed a knocking from the front passenger side wheel
The photos attached are of that wheel.

There was a broken cable tie (?!) there and it just doesn’t quite look right to me.

Is a person much wiser than me able to determine if there’s anything to be concerned about on those photos? Do they offer a hint as to why the car is leaning?

It seems to be tilting both front and back wheels on the passenger side. I’m baffled. I don’t mind the tilt as long as it’s not a sign my wheel is going to fly off.

Thanks for any thoughts.

That is pretty vital running gear in that area, you'd be wise to strip it all down regardless if there's a probem or not and check it all over and renew anything in need. Eg new wheel bearings and brake hoses and check over the brakes. It all looks quite old.

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1972 Mk3 Mini 1000, 1150cc supercharged.
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95872

Maybe the CV balls?

Yep. I'm guessing the nylon(?) ball joint cup has worn thru. And dirt has probably entered the CV where the boot has slipped off.
Time for a full rebuild methinks.

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - all painted up, ready for fit out.
1969 Cooper S Mk2 - claimed by 2nd. born
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

I would be checking the knuckle joint area. Most likely area to be.
Looks like a long time since any servicing has been done though

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1963 Morris 850 Smoke Grey
1963 Morris 850 Shadow Blue
1965 Morris Mini Smooth Van
1966 Morris Mini Van
1969 Morris Mini Deluxe Resto
5/72 Clubman Gt

These bits

Thanks guys loads of food for thought. Handy pics above too as I’m a complete novice.
Yes it was stored in a barn for 10 years or so, and the dust is impressive.


If the back is tilting too does it have the same bits that’d be causing the issue?

Yes. The strut rod has a similar ball on the end & plastic cup in the suspension arm.
The never get lubricated when in service, so have a pretty miserable existence.

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - all painted up, ready for fit out.
1969 Cooper S Mk2 - claimed by 2nd. born
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

If your car had hydrolastic suspension then the most common reason for tilting to one side is loss of hydro pressure/ fluid leak.

That was my first thought but when I looked underneath I saw shock absorbers - I assume it’s one or the other so the hydro has been replaced?

It looks low enough to be riding on the bumpstops at the front. From the factory the top arms were near horizontal, and yours are quite angled.

If it's dry suspension the cones are probably squashed flat. Being an 850 it would have been dry from the factory

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Are you saying you are not sure if it's a hydro sprung car or not? That's an important part of the fault diagnosis. Are there two hoses looping up and then down on either side of the firewall in the engine bay?

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Assuming he only has one car I’d say it’s dry
viewtopic.php?t=97637

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Yes that’s the car. Dry it is then, guess it must be a combination of a few things.
Work to be done! I have a Haynes manual so hopefully I can teach myself a thing or two and solve this one

Here is a comparison of yours and mine (once I replaced the cones). Yours looks to be resting the top arm on the bumpstop where mine has about 2cm of clearance. My driveshaft is more or less horizontal too



Mine was previously that low before I changed the cones and installed some hi-los (which mean you can adjust the ride height). There are some photos of before and after here if you're interested.
viewtopic.php?p=994361#p994361

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