Front Control Arm for a Mini Hatch in Uprated

A Mini part: the arm with the bush and ball joint, which is the Mini's equivalent of the BMW front control arm advisory.

We are an independent parts supplier. We are not BMW AG or MINI, we are not appointed by them, and BMW and MINI are their trademarks. What we sell are parts that fit those cars, described as such. Every listing states the chassis codes and engine codes it fits, the production date range, which quality tier you are buying, the labour time the job actually takes, and whether the part needs coding to the car before it will work. Where a part is only made in plastic by the factory and fails because it is plastic, we say so and we offer the metal one.

Specification and fitment

• Fits: Mini Hatch R50 R52 R53 R55 R56 R57 F55 F56 F57 and Countryman R60 F60, as the title and the chassis option state
• Engine: W10 W11 on the R50 and R53, N12 N14 N16 N18 on the R56, B38 B46 B47 on the F56. These cars change mid production, sometimes twice in a model year, and two cars built four months apart can take different parts. Send us the last seven digits of your VIN with the order and we check the part against the build record before anything is dispatched. It takes us two minutes and it is the difference between a part that fits and a return.
• Production dates: 2001 to 2022 depending on chassis
• Quality: redesigned where the original failed. On this site that usually means metal where the factory used plastic, or a reinforced guide where the original wore through, and the specification says exactly what was changed
• Part number: cross referenced to the original equipment number for your VIN and confirmed before dispatch. We do not publish a single number against a listing that covers several build variants, because that is how people order the wrong part
• The failure this addresses: The N14 in the R56 Cooper S has the timing chain rattle everybody has heard about, and the tensioner alone rarely fixes it once the chain has stretched. It also carbons up on the inlet valves like every direct injection engine of its era, which is a walnut blast rather than a part. The N18 that replaced it is better and not immune.
• Labour time: one to six hours depending on the part. On a Mini the front end comes forward on a service position for a great deal of engine work
• Coding: no coding, but the adaptation values want resetting with a diagnostic tool afterwards or the car will run on the old learned figures for a while
• Also needed: coolant, engine oil, and the O rings and seals disturbed by the job, all in the kit
• Torque: plastic housings low and in sequence. The Mini uses a great deal of aluminium and plastic in the cooling system and it does not forgive an impact driver
• Weight: approximately 3.2 kilograms
• Warranty: two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first
• N14 chain: the tensioner alone rarely fixes a rattle once the chain has stretched. Measure it or replace the set. The full kit is on our timing chain page
• Carbon: direct injection with no port injection means no fuel washing the inlet valves. At about seventy thousand miles they need walnut blasting, and no additive in a bottle will do it
• Service position: most engine work on a Mini needs the front panel moved forward. It is not difficult and it is not obvious, and the instructions cover it
• R53 supercharger: the Eaton unit has an oil service that is not in the book. It is on this page and it is the difference between a supercharger lasting the car and not

What arrives

• the part as described
• O rings, seals and clips disturbed by the job
• coolant or oil where the kit includes it
• instructions with torque figures and the service position notes

Fitting

One to six hours. Most Mini engine work needs the front panel moved into the service position, which is straightforward and is not obvious from under the bonnet. The instructions cover it.

Which version to buy

Two things dominate Mini ownership at this age and both are on this page. The N14 timing chain, where the tensioner alone is a gamble and the full kit is the answer once the chain has stretched. And carbon on the inlet valves, which is a walnut blast rather than a part, and which no bottle of additive will touch because the fuel never goes near those valves. The N14 in the R56 Cooper S has the timing chain rattle everybody has heard about, and the tensioner alone rarely fixes it once the chain has stretched. It also carbons up on the inlet valves like every direct injection engine of its era, which is a walnut blast rather than a part. The N18 that replaced it is better and not immune.