Okay, here goes...
I have experienced 'noisy' front brakes since my last autocross. Noisy meaning a bit squealy on light pressure that went away with more pressure, but there was also a slight grinding felt through the pedal/wheel when at or near full stop. Again, moderate to light pedal pressure.
Grinding, well I will pull the brakes apart and see what I can see. Squeal, I figured that they got a little glazed, so I pulled them to sand the rotor/pad and re-bed.
Everything went as expected with the brakes. Disassemble, sand, reassemble. Driver side was good, nothing crazy. Passenger side everything was kosher except...
I grabbed the caliper to shove it back over the rotor and the whole assembly shifted laterally (Dynamic Toe, WooHoo). As in grabbed it at 9 and 3 and it had what seemed to feel like .25" of play left to right.
Movement seems to be related to the tie rod end. That was the simple diagnosis, but could the hub/bearings be gone too? :confused: I have never experienced grinding d/t a bad tie rod end. Wheel bearing yes, tie rod, no.
Opinions are greatly appreciated.
Specs: 2004 R53 MINI Cooper S JCW with standard sized brakes, 50K on the odo.
grab it at 12 and 6 and see if it has any play that way, thats a good way to check for just wheel bearing without the tie rod coming into play
the bearing is done. I get the same thing after 3 track days in the xB without fail (my MKIII VW also went through them like fat people at a buffet).
Sounds like bearings. My SVX eats the rears for lunch with similar results.
12 and 6 has zero, I mean zero play.
I was hoping just the end needed replaced. You guys are crazy fast. Thanks for the responses
If it has no play vertically, that seems to rule out the bearing, though I've seen stranger things. Can you lie under the car and have someone push on the wheel in the direction it has play? You should be able to see everything move, and with that much play, I'd think you'd be able to see which joint has the play in it.
If you have a big pair of channel locks, you can also squeeze the ball joints on the tie rod and see if they move around.
Oh, I saw the movement in the tie rod end and the knuckle where the strut came in. She moves pretty good.
I was just wondering if that is my grinding noise, or if it's another culprit. I guess the answer is start with the link and move on to the next one.
