OK - on call for work today so moved the laptop into the garage and fiddled with the Mini. Decided to look at the new disc brake units with the non genuine ball joints and tighten by MOWOG the gorilla with view to replacing them genuine ball joints. MOWOG is winning! Cant get the retaining nut undone off car even with impact driver. Looking up the big blue book of destructions it indicated the swivel hub ball joints can be removed with hubs insitu with everything disconnected ( Tie rod upper and lower arms - but not steering tie rod) Would not it be stronger for leverage to only disconnect the necessary arm etc for the sake stability?

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

They are supposed to be torqued to 72 ft/lb, your Chinese? gorilla may be bigger.
Take them off the car and do it on the bench. I bolt the drive flange to a plate which has a 1" bar welded on, bung that in the vice and use Mr 3/4 drive breaker bar.
Most cheap rattle guns sold now are toys...

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

When I have been really stuck in the past I have borrowed a mates SnapOn rattle gun. I reckon his 3/8" drive SnapOn is more powerful than my 1/2" no name one. The previous all depends if you know someone that has a $500 rattle gun lying around......

Otherwise I would definitely choose to struggle with it on the bench rather than partly attached to the car.

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina