Mini Cooper S Rear Suspension Fail - Edd China's Workshop Diaries 18 

The fact the threads stripped out is actually excellent content. I mean, any of us who work our own old cars have seized/snapped/stripped bolts to contend with quite often. You begin to think you are doing something wrong. So nice to know it happens to the pros and to see how they fix it.

Refreshing to see a show where real world problems arise and not everything gets tidied up in a half hour. Crack on Edd. 👍

Ed great content. I agreed with your view that WD was going in the wrong direction away from what most viewers wanted to see i.e. detailed content. I applaud your decision to go with your gut and start doing this channel where you go in depth and show your loyal viewers really top class detailed content. Thank you. I have learnt a lot from you over the years 👍🏻

I hope that Neil could give Ed a ride and film it. Would be awesome!

I am loving to see this complete series about suspension. I dont think its getting boring and cant wait to see the final results

Edd China... You are simply the BEST

Just realised Edd has a new channel.. absolutely ace.. feels just like the Edd bits from classic wheeler dealers which I have missed dearly.. makes me feel right at home.. Great stuff

Would be great if you could prefix the videos with an episode number like you were doing to start with. Makes it much easier to catch up and for downloads with RU-vid premium!

I will gladly wait a year to see your electric salt flat racer... thanks for the great distraction and illuminating content

This show “airing” on a Friday was genius. End of a long work weak and cozy up with some wrenching with Edd.

This channel has gone from strength to strength. I hope we will get some footage of Neil's car in action.

I absolutely love this content. Informative and cool, but deceptively relaxing. A cup of coffee here in the morning and I'm absolutely comfortable lol

Thanks Ed for speaking up for tall guys. I am 6’6” and also have trouble fitting in many cars. The “big” electric belly tank racer is going to be fun to watch. Thank you for doing all that you do!

Electric drop-tank racer, what a great idea! Thanks for making my Friday evening interesting, Edd.

Such a great show! Informative while solving real problems but without drama, like WD with that Brewer character. Can't wait for that electric fuel tank race car!

Wow Ed, I can't believe that thread! Was a high torque tho😂. Great video, you and Neil work well together👍

Ed, As I watch this episode I’m actually packing to travel to Bonneville for this years Speed Week. So was excited to see your belly tank project announcement. There are a couple electric streamliners running on the salt already but they need more competition so get that project going and come out next year. See you on the Salt!!!

My heart sank at the noise of the thread failure, it's clearly under engineered. Ed, I think it would be jolly decent of you to give Neil one of your nice shirts as his is looking a bit knackered.

7:00 - My ghastliest emergency rally repair memory was from a club event in Kenya [East Africa] in the 1980s. We'd smashed (all right - I'D smashed) the nearside front wheel on a buried rock just outside Kericho. The road was red dust - as fine as talcum powder, 18" deep. The stuff's impassable in the wet, but fortunately conditions were dry. We grovelled about underneath the car, trying to stop the jack(s!) from disappearing, then found we'd stopped right on a massive column of ants who were moving nest, carrying eggs and food and grudges. Great big bitey buggers, they were, with a bite like a pair of pliers. 🐜 We were covered in them. They got EVERYWHERE. It still makes me itch thinking about it now.

That’s a bummer, stripping out the alloy threads , great video guys !!! Keep these video coming , they are like the old days Edd 👏👏👏👍🇬🇧😎

I do like how you'll happily talk about Wheeler Dealers and Mike with no unpleasantness in your voice. A good charcteristic to have 😊 Hopefully a timesert will fix the stripped threads or broken bolt in the suspension arm 👍

edd I am very pleased that you can illustrate us on how to improve our vehicles, with practical ideas, I hope you have many successes, we continue to support you from Mexico, a hug and congratulations.

I used my wife's label maker to label all the wires in my engine-bay. Great little tool!

This Tornado fuel tank reminds me Camille Jenatzy and his wold speed record from 1899, also on electric car, very aerodynamic and first time over 100km/h. So great idea Edd. Thanks for video.

“So it’s not going to spring off and break my fingers, which is rather lovely” 😆

Absolutely love Ed’s combination of sheer talent and eccentricity, loving this show, and Neil’s involvement , he clearly is a man with deep knowledge and talent, but unaccustomed to wearing purple I think 🤔 😀🇮🇪

Burp! “Brilliant”! Awesome! Nice work, Neil. :)

Hey Ed. Just watching you cleaning up the thread. I don’t have dues for all the sizes i use and find a wire brush is a great alternative. Keep up the good work. Rich

Nice edit at the end, when the threads collapse, then you calmly roll back .. is there a Christmas DVD available with the un-edited cut? 😉

The look on Edds face when the bolt stripped.

How about a cup of tea, I will never argue with that. With me it’s coffee but the same enthusiasm. Loving your show here in Detroit!

As soon as Ed said 165nm I thought ooh this will be interesting... I would be helicoiling or similar into all those major alloy components to make them serviceable. They were only designed to be done up once, plus the grease probably meant a bit more strain on the threads at the same torque. Loving the show Ed, thanks for making the effort.

The torque figure is probably for a dry assembly (no grease) adding a lubricant makes a significant difference

I really like this kind of content, is highly didactical and realistic. Authentic science!

Edd, you are a genius. The drop tank speeder is a brilliant idea and it is such a fantastic shape with the tail fins. Definitely something to look forward to. The stripped thread! Blast! When I heard it I thought it was the aluminium housing cracking so I suppose a stripped thread is slightly less disastrous. I'm sure it is fixed by now and I am looking forward to the next video. 👍😊

Hi Ed. I feel your pain with that suspension bolt 😢 You will overcome the problem I'm sure. Interesting concept regarding the aircraft fuel cell. Looking forward to see how it pan's out. See you in the next one. 👍👍

Loving the real world feel of these shows... Showing the fails as well as successes.

My Saturday morning wrenching fix. Thanks!!

Tea, biscuits and Edd what more could you want for a Friday :)

Ahh, man! So close, and then you hear something fail right at the finish line. Well, I guess it's better that the threads strip out while at the shop, instead of on the rally course.On the positive side, Neil & Edd have the professionalism & a sense of humor aspects covered - & this Mini will be sorted & ready to race in no time. As for the electric belly tank racecar, I can't wait till you start on that - it would be awesome. Thanks for a very interesting series Edd!

I have had cars since the early eighties, and as a metalworker, the bodywork was not a problem, BUT trying to do mechanical stuff with basic tools, and no workshop, I began to hate it. watching you doing stuff is such a delighyt. why wetren't you available back when I was a kid? loving your videos, and no irritating sidekick with a cockeney accent interuppting!! Thank goodness you have this show!

Edd’s RU-vid content is so cool that even the threads explode!

I'd just drill out the hole and use a bolt and nut to fasten the shock. Looks like you got the clearance.

Another vote here for using Timeserts. I use them all the time in aluminium and they make a great repair. They also give you the confidence to screw bolts in multiple times without fear of the threads stripping. Where I have a need for undoing bolts and replacing them multiple times at high torque I now fit them from new rather than waiting for the threads to strip.

Stuff that makes you want to scream happens regardless of who you are, with my current restoration, where this is happening a lot, it offers a massive reality perspective when the pros like you edd do not cover it up and edit it out. Thank you for your honest diary entries, they are so valuable to my knowledge, perspective and want for these set backs not to get me down. Cheers edd.

Great stuff, Edd! I'm currently arsing around trying to get my mk2 Clio 1.6 valver back together after a cam belt change, the cam belt was a doddle but the auxiliary belt is a total nightmare 😂 It's strangely relaxing to see someone else do a better job than I could ever hope to! P.s. Neil sounds quite like Tony Pond!

Liking that you stop for a cup of tea - so British!

it's so cool to see you on youtube, with your own show... the ed china way, has been a fan for many years

Hi Ed miss you on the wheeler dealer's been watching it for many many years

Edd: "Mylord, I have a _cunning plan_ ..." BA: "Go on..." Edd: "It involves a Hurricane drop tank." :D

Love this series and seeing how it all works. I’m sure neil is a great fella, at least this episode he has come to life a bit

Hi Ed, I'm no fasteners expert, but here goes, hopefully someone who is can correct me: After you chased the threads it looked like there are shiny/dull lines along the length of the bolt. If I'm right, this is because the bolt is deformed into a slightly triangular shape in cross section. When this triangular screw is threaded into the aluminium, it will slightly flex the aluminium thread into a triangular shape because the tips of the triangle are slightly larger than the diameter of the female threads in the casting. It will still go together with typical bolt and thread tolerances, but provides a lot more friction on the thread than if it was just a standard bolt, giving it good vibration resistance without the need for other locking devices. I imagine this bolt needs the locking to prevent it coming loose. Which is fine for production line assembly as long as you don't intend to take it apart. The thing with bolt torque (and everyone please feel free to get angry) is that they are only a pretty rough guide of what we are actually trying to determine which is: Bolt tension. The bolt must be tight enough to stop anything from slipping, but not so tight it breaks. I say it's rough, because the thread friction accounts for more torque than bolt tension does, and bolt friction varies wildly. I have a graph somewhere that galvanised bolts getting smoother each time you undo it and do it back up. This difference in friction literally DOUBLED the bolt tension for the same torque. If you want to accurately measure bolt tension use a micrometer and measure the bolt as it stretches. This is one reason some bolts are single use. So I suspect smoothing the thread by re-use, chasing the thread, and grease as others have said increased the bolt tension above the capacity of the female threads as others have commented. But this is only because the factory set the torque way up to overcome all the friction in their locking system. This is actually a good thing IMO. I know it sucks when it happens, it happened in the shed, not at an event. Going forward this design is not going to be reliable for racing. The challenge will be to find something that can be assembled and disassembled repeatedly, but not of its own accord. I would suggest if you use helicoils you might want tie wire or similar to be safe. Another option might be a stepped stud loctited in place with a locknut on the inside. If there is enough space and a flat surface on the other end, a through bolt with a nut might also work as others have suggested. You could also get new arms, new bolts, torque them to spec and pray you never need to take them apart - and that they survive the extra vibration of rally with rigid bushes.... Happy to hear where I'm wrong guys - it's all knowledge. Also, let me know if you actually want more info. I should probably mention the Ajax fasteners handbook and Carrol Smith's nuts, bolts, fasteners and plumbing handbook as great references

Great to watch a Specialist with incredible Knowledge entertain us all.

I’m glad I watched for the burp at the end. ;)

Please make show hour long episodes we want more time to watch👍we love your new show

165 Nm sounds like a mad for aluminum part from start, so I was already expecting something like that kind result

Ed, good afternoon. Impressive your work and capacity for solution and innovation. Your videos are just great. Best regards from México. Fernando Esparza M.

Love to see edd doing what he loves

I am so gland I run into your chanel. I love your show Wheeler Dealers👍

Hey Edd, great name and really glad to be able to see new content from you again. Super unfortunate about the end of this and must just be bad luck. I did the rear struts on my wife's Mini R56 using a similar torque spec without issue. I've always enjoyed working on cars as a hobby but watching you work always inspires me to get out and take on bigger or more complicated repairs - please keep doing what you do and look forward to watching you solve this one!

24:52 thank you for being the first English speaking person to pronounce “Öhlins” correctly ! 😅👍🏻👍🏻

Hi mister Edd China.I love this art because of you.I have been watching you since I was a kid.My biggest dream is to meet you one day Please be understanding as my English is bad

You have to admire Eds fortitude when things go wrong. Who hasn't hurled the odd spanner when things go bad?

Can't wait to see how you fix this one Edd!

Be glad when that mini is done and out of the way.

Ed, use a timesert, they are used to repair cylinder blocks and are signed off for use by most OEMs even on head bolts, used a fair few on my Triumph (motorbikes) aluminium crankcases.

That sound at the end, gutting, instantly knowing you wasted all your time and Neil's money! I feel for you both.

Ouch! Thanks for showing the fail. Makes things more relatable to me. My brother and I broke so much stuff when we were young and hopping up our Datsun 1200.

Silicone grease is a dielectric compound that will help deter galvanic (dissimilar metal) corrosion. Also, switching over to stainless as much as possible helps too. Some heavy grease still has sulfides in them to this day and that can be detrimental to aluminum.

The question about the drag racer reminded me of an episode of monster garage, where Edd helped to design/build a drag racing milk-float.

Using drop tanks from fighter jets as drag racing car is GENIUS! I never actually ever thought of that! Usually people do create them from scratch using pile of aluminium bars and sheets. But this? Very promising one so far!

THIS IS BRILLIANT!

I cannot wait for the next episode dealing with the "crack" of those aluminum threads. This happened to me recently when I was installing an air conditioner compressor on a Honda. I just stopped tightening the bolt and just left it like that. I am quite sure that was NOT the right thing to do, but the car is old and I just needed it to work for a while until I got another car. There has been no ill effects, the air works and the belt doesn't squeal but I am sure there is a better way.

Ohhh, my heart wrenched when I heard that big "chunk" sound. I have had bolts break that same way, though I don't recall stripping out the threads quite so violently. Sorry for the complications!

so glad I hung on for the burp

Perhaps a counterbore bit to cut a flat landing surface for a nut (or the bolt head!) on the outboard side of the trailing arm, and clear out the remains of the threads in the arm.

Just about to do the rear suspension on my R53. Will take factory torque specs with a grain of salt for anything into Al. By the way, I'd never heard of wheeler dealers. Just came across your youtube channel. Fantastic! Outstanding video quality mixed with a modest demeanor that I find very relatable. Stands on it's own merits head and shoulders above ALL other youtube car channels. Subscribed

I've been watching you for years now Ed and I love your new channel I'm a fellow grease junkie.

This is absolutely excellent programming. Well done Edd and team.

EDD this gets better and better thankyou so much i love it x

Love this show. Gutted to hear that thread stripping. Every mechanics nightmare!

After the "Jamais Contente", behold the new electrical monster.

What a shame, I hope it’s an easy fix! So much effort! Looking good 👍🏼

Usually you'd panic but then having Edd on the job.. you wouldn't even cry lol - Paddy, Grimsby.

This channel's really found its feet after a shaky start. Keep Neil on as a co-presenter, you make a good pair :)

Either a thread insert or making a flat area on the other side of the hole so you could use a nut should fix the issue.

Edd, i'm enjoying the series but I would like to say well done with your book, I've enjoyed every page.

ordered Domino's a soon as I saw the upload. Cheers from Israel. A big and a very long time fan

Same sort of thing happened to me earlier this year while torqing a control arm bolt, with captive nut in the chassis, managed to drill and tap a larger diameter. Don't fancy working with Aluminium...

You sat back in complete shock at 29:50 like Walter White at the beginning of Ozymandias

I was not expecting a drop tank hahaha

Nice work edd and sorry for your time loss keep on

From across the pond. Will your former assistant Paul ,from the original W-D episodes, be joining you? Thanks for the explanations of the mechanics, whys and wherefores. Narragansett Bay.

I used a longer high tensile bolt & a nyloc nut, Ed. A bit of machining to create a flat & hey presto... problem solved! Cheers. Leigh. PS: I enjoy the Channel immensely!

I haven’t watched it yet but believe me I can’t bloody wait. Waiting for my curry before I do haha. Cheers again edd. This mini is going to be epic!!

Edd , keep up the good job .

So "glad" to se that im not the only one to get into unexpected troble. Keep up the good works. Like your show. 👍👏🙂

I feel your pain. I beheaded a bolt that goes into my motorcycle’s engine block a week a go. Fortunately got it back today and the engine was saved… although not my wallet

That "pop" at the end though.... Brutal.

Thanks