Next Mini has finally arrived.

[94touring]

I wouldn't go more than an 1/8th total.

[cstudep]

I just dialed mine in the other day as well, it was way off which explains why it was so sketchy in the corners and my tires are so worn on one side.

I looked at the caster/camber gauge thing that Edd used on his orange mini, it was a lot more expensive on mini spares than I thought it ought to be for something so simple. A few days before he updated the vid to link to it I had already contacted Tenhulzen Automotive about their handheld caster/camber gauge to see if it could be easily modified to work with 10" wheels since it says it is only for wheels 12"-22" (it looked like it was just a matter of drilling some new holes). They said the newest version has additional holes that "should" work with 10" wheels, which basically confirmed my thought that it could be easily modified. I thought I might give it a go, it's "digital" and looks to be easy to use.

here is the link if anyone is interested. https://www.wheelalignmenttools.com/product/hand-held-camber-caster-gauge/

[MiniDave]

Wow, $140 for that....how much is the one from Spares?

[MPlayle]

I have my friend coming over again Wednesday to assist in bleeding the brakes again.  Even though I was getting mo air bubbles and clear fluid, I still have almost no pedal pressure.

After we get the brakes sorted, I will come back to fine tuning the toe setting further.

[cstudep]

Wow, $140 for that....how much is the one from Spares?

Seems like the string one from mini spares was 75 or 80 pounds so not quite as much but pretty close. It and that toe gauge were about the same price with one of them being slightly closer to 80, can't remember which one.

[94touring]

This is what I use.  http://restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=1592.0

[Willie_B]

I have the string one from MiniSpares. I could not wrap my head around how to use it. Anyone that wants to try it I will be glad to send it to you.

[MiniDave]

I'd give it go, since I taught steering and suspension at college and used the alignment machines with the frickin laser beams, it would be fun to compare. Do you have the floor plates too? If not I need to come up with something for that -  and the toe gauge. I had never seen a toe gauge that only did one side, like Edd did on his orange ball....all the ones I've ever used did both sides at once.

Edit: Never mind, my floor is so unlevel that I doubt I could get anything close to accurate.

[94touring]

If it's the one on spares website I'm looking at it says level floors not required.

[MPlayle]

For caster & camber, I have a tool just like Dan uses.  I have a set of the toe plates from Jegs:

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/81680/10002/-1

The plates are significantly longer than the Mini's wheels and the front-to-rear difference gets exaggerated over distance, so that is why I settled on the 1/4" difference yesterday.  As noted, once I get the brakes sorted, I will bring in the toe a bit more.

For swivel plates I use two pairs of vinyl floor tiles.  I put grease between them with the smooth sides together.

[94touring]

Are your plates the same length as the ones I use?  I put all of these tools to good use between a few minis and my bus suspension rebuild. Money well spent!

[cstudep]

All the toe plates I have seen are about the same length, heck they are probably all made in the same place. For as simple as they are they sure are expensive, but that is probably down to them being aluminum I suppose. I have a pair of "homemade" ones I use, but they are heavy since they are made out of 14ga steel.

I am going to look into the caster/camber solution you guys are using as I would really like to get something to adjust those numbers.

I have some left over laminate flooring planks I use under the tires, the old original style stuff that was real smooth and would dull a saw blade in about 30 cuts. No grease needed between them as they are super slick when you put them face to face, not really needed on the mini so much but I can put the front end of my 3/4 ton dodge diesel on them and turn the wheel with one finger.

Sorry for hijacking your thread 

[MPlayle]

Are your plates the same length as the ones I use?  I put all of these tools to good use between a few minis and my bus suspension rebuild. Money well spent!

They may well be the same length for much the reasoning cstudep says.  The link on Jegs is the exact set I have and they are 24" long.

The 1/4" total toe out I have using the 24" plates works out as 1/8" each side at 24".  Using some 24" rulers to replicate and back measuring to the 19.99" of the actual wheel/tire diameter gets me 1/16" each side for 1/8" total toe at 20" plates.

I will still consider another shot at getting it closer after getting the brakes sorted.

[Willie_B]

The one I have is actually from Calver. If anyone wants to try it.

[MPlayle]

I ... Have ... Brakes!

Another couple of rounds of bleeding with the vacuum bleeder did the trick.

I also made another slight toe adjustment and now have 1/16" total toe out in the front.

I managed to finish in time for a couple short "shakedown" drive before heading to the Round Rock TxABCD show on Sept 24-26.

 

[94touring]

Perfect!

[BruceK]

Great!  You got a lot done in a relatively short time.

[MPlayle]

When I bled the brakes yesterday, I found out my friend that helped me with the "pump & hold" sessions previously had been mistakenly pushing the clutch pedal instead of the brake pedal - too many years driving only automatics.

When I went to do a "parking lot" test of the brakes yesterday, it took pumping the clutch pedal a bit to keep it from trying to grind going into reverse.  So this morning I decided to bleed/flush the clutch system as well.  It now goes into reverse nice and smoothly even still on high idle with a bit of choke from just starting cold.

One more maintenance item off the list.

[MiniDave]

My wife, who has driven stick shift cars most of her life until I bought her the first Audi about 20 years ago, now needs me to remind her which pedal to push when she's helping me bleed brakes....so I understand your friend's mistake.

[MPlayle]

Had the Mini out for a couple errands today as a "shakedown" drive.  It performed nicely - good braking, easy shifting, even lost the slight pull left it had previously.

Next is a good wash in prep for the show.