limping car!
Turbo Mini Forums

hey up all,

well as the title realy, i decided to drag my mini out of the shed on sunday and give it a quick run down the road to make sure everythings free and working before i strip it down and have another play with it over winter.
anyway i pulled out of the farm yard, gave it a bit of welly to warm the tyres up and despence of the crud on them. one wheel cought a dry patch on the road it snached and it sort of limped off down the road pulling badly to the right!
ive checked all of the usual stuff, subframe mounts, engine mounts, tie bars, nothing is visibly broken on the outside.
the only thing i can think of is the lsd, its a tran x one.
its only a few months old, and it still seems to lock up when i lift one wheel and try to turn it. but i suppose the engine will put a lot more pressure on it than i can.
ive never had one in bits before so tbh im not sure what can or would give way in one if it was to blame, other then the plates wearing? although i wouldnt have expected them to go in such spectacular fashion!
any sugestions or help much apreciated
steve

doh! why did i start messing with it!

Have you checked the shafts are still intact?

yeah driveshafts are still in one piece, output shafts might be a different story will have to get it taken to bits i suppose. hopefully its something glaringly obvious.
steve

doh! why did i start messing with it!

Sometimes you can bust a cv joint and the shaft will still stay in one piece. Remember that with a plate diff if you bust one shaft you will still have 1-wheel drive which might explain the odd feeling when driving it.
My moneys on one of the CV's!
Good luck

will have a look tonight mate, i never thought about looking in that end of the shaft tbh! oh i have to admit i was being a bit naughty and trying the slicks i got off iain out at the time which explains why it snached so badly. i just couldnt resist it and hell they get sticky quick lol :$ wont be doing that again in a hurry
thanks tom apreciate the help
steve

doh! why did i start messing with it!

Well from that further info almost without a doubt a bust CV, slicks as you have found out have a LOT of grip, one side with loads of grip and the other on a cow pat and then the sudden shock load as you find some grip has finished something off.

lol planning on taking the engine out tonight anyway so will have the whole lot off and will find out for sure. im sure there will be some nice parts to go on the shelf of doom in the shed, theres a nice steel flywheel with half a crank nose friction welded in it, numerous bent tie bars, a chocolate layshaft, and 1/2 a grey diaphram which just exploded for no apparent reason!
all good fun :-
steve

doh! why did i start messing with it!

did it pull one way on throttle and dive the other when you lift off?

no it was more pull one way and then as normal when throttle was off. it was pulling hard enough so that i was having trouble keeping the steering wheel central.

doh! why did i start messing with it!

it does sound like you have 1wd

got to be a failure in the drivetrain on one side...?

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

hey up didnt have enough time to check everything last night, but i noticed the oil level was very low. i only topped it up a few weeks back but obviously it was using/loosing a tad more than i thought!
would this have had any bearing on how the lsd works?

anyone know of a good online guide that explains / shows the workings of one? ive had a look about and i cant seem to find anything very usfull

will have a propper poke about round it tonight hopefully.

steve

doh! why did i start messing with it!

update... cv's all present and acounted for driveshafts all ok too.

engine is ready to come out but my mates borrowed the engine crane so i'll have to go nick it back over the weekend and then we'll know a bit more..

steve

Edited by hippyinamini on 24th Nov, 2006.

doh! why did i start messing with it!

might be worth a close look round the suspension arms, maybe a sudden "tug" one side has moved/bent something/ killed a bush ect.

well update!
finaly got the engine out and the diff housing appart, the output shafts are both fine, and as far as i can make out theres nothing wrong with the diff, and i cant see anything that can break in there realy anyway. what i did find tho was a very mangled circlip from the end of the drivers side driveshaft! plus the remains of the end cap in the back of the pot joint. god knows how i missed it when i looked at the shafts before but i guess i was looking for somthing bent or broken not totaly missing!. so without the circlip that cv joint can move about, although its still tight enough on to need persuading off the shaft will investigate a bit more this weekend! its maybe managed to move enough to dissengage the splines or something?
at least (touch wood) its nothing too expencive!
steve

doh! why did i start messing with it!