The big end of the cone has a steel rim bonded to it that sits against the subframe. There are no fasteners.
The smaller end that goes against the trumpet has a steel insert in it with a threaded nut welded in the centre of it.

Look at pictures 15.3 and 15.4 in your Haynes manual. 15.3 shows the rear trumpet, cone and subframe assembled. 15.4 shows the hand removing the cone. In the middle of eh cone, you can see the threaded hole.

The rear suspension does not need a cone compressor - you undo the shock absorber from the top inside the boot, and yes, you must remove the gas tank. Support the rear hub or it will come crashing down.

The front suspension You should have a proper cone compressor for the front suspension.
First, for safety - something home-made might blow apart under the strain and severely injure you.
Second, the tip of the proper cone compressor has a pointed tip to centre it in the hole in the cone.
Third, the threaded tip has thread-cleaning notches in it to clean gunk, rust, dirt out of the threads in the cone and has the right number of hardened threads for a solid connection.
Threaded rod does not come with a point, the thread is not hardened, and if you cut it or grind a point the thread will have lost its 'starter" thread that makes a bolt easy to start into a threaded hole. 

By the time you have futzed around making something home-made and then trying to get it to work, only to damage the threads in the cone and used up all your curse-words several times, you could be back on the road.

 i see the point now...i thought all the while that the lip of the rubber cone is facing downward, i was wrong, the lip faces upward, my question now is,  is there a notch or anything inside that frame that attaches the lip into??of fuse the lip into? or just the weight of the car that will hold it in place?  now i see the logic, i can make my own compressor then...

The cones are springs. In good condition, even after you remove the rubber rebound buffer (see Haynes, section 10.8) the cone may continue to put pressure on the trumpet and it won't come apart. It can be even more difficult if cone, trumpet and knuckle are stuck together with age. Old cones that have collapsed may come out without the compressor, but getting the new ones in and assembled may require the compressor. Some people remove the upper control arm, which can get around the use of a compressor, but if parts are stuck together it can be frustrating. Also, if you remove the arm, you will probably have to do its bearings etc. In other words, you get into even more work. But, your arm bearings may be due for replacing anyway.

Have you removed your rubber cones? 

If you haven't yet, try removing one of them without a rubber cone compressor.  As I suggested earlier, you could probably borrow a rubber cone compressor for FREE from a local mini club or a local mini enthusiast. 


I know that if one of my local club members was in need, I'd lend the tool...

Question:  Why do the cones need to be compressed??  

Wow sir jeg you are really a wealth of information, very detailed, you know if i ever choose between you and mighty mouse,  i'll choose you in any day.
Thanks for the infos , i dont have any idea about the anatomy and physics of mini suspension, still learning,and still connecting dots.  Your input helps alot.

Um, ...  You really don't think a whole lot about safety, do you...

If you've removed the old rubber cones, you'll notice that the center has a metal plate.  The cone compressor compresses the cone by pulling upwards and allows the relatively fragile aluminium strut to be inserted between the knuckle joint and the rubber cone. 

Under no circumstances should you try to lever or force the aluminium strut into position, for risk of cracking or chipping the cone seat.  Buy, borrow or build a cone compressor if HiLo's aren't in the budget.  If you choose to build your own rubber cone compressor, be aware of the forces involved - it's extremely dangerous if it all goes wrong, so don't be tempted to use a bit of plumbing pipe or half-assed materials. 

In the end, it's sensible to just buy the tool and do it right.  Oftentimes a local club will have specialized tools that get passed around between club members, so ask your local club - after you join, of course...

I mean just to get away of the need to use a compressing tool, the purpose of the compressing tool is to pull the thin lip of the cone to insert it on the grove of the trumphet right?  If i can do that inserting procedure outside of the frame . 

WHY ????? would you want to fuse the cone and the trumpet together ???????
A lot of manufacturers tried and failed even BMC/Leyland/Rover with different models but the Mini outlasted them all.

agreed sir dan, i got no choice, i may really need to get those cones, at least for the front, i don't care about the back suspension, they're so spoiled, the front cones takes all the beating., it's lettuce season, im gonna start picking lettuce to raise that money to buy that hi lo thing... we'll see,,,

Silly question: can i possibly fuse the cone and the trumphet together BEFORE i slap it inside the steel frame? Or is the space tight? 

Haaay!!  If only sir Alec is alive, im gonna suggest a lot of things to change in the mini,,grrr, lol

No, the Smooth-a-Ride cones don't increase the height to 4". Only maybe 1" or so more, and that settles out before too long. The kit comes with adjustable trumpets to fix that. But I still suggest you use the stock cones.

thanks for the idea.. i find these moulton cones very tall, although they look durable, they are simply huge, our minis as is looks dorky,how much more if i put moulton cones in front, it will be like like an ostrich running in the street,so tall. gosh. on my car, the tire to front quarter panel clearance is about 1 1/2 inches, not too bad, it still looks sporty, if i put that moulton thing, it might go up as high as 4inches..wow, i may need to wear my pants as high as my chest if that happens,talking about dorkiness.,reminds me of the 3 stooges. i'd probably go to the standard rubber cone.

I'm doing OK thanks. First round of Chemo was last Friday and as a double-dose.

The coil-over solution isn't as simple as the picture suggests. The parts probably will cost more than a set of cones and adjustable trumpets, and won't last any longer. The steel springs are not progressive (affects ride) and can break. One thing about MR. Moulton's original design, the cones are impossible to break.

Wow, 39years of hard work!!!  It withstand Potholes, speedbumps, sudden acceleration and sudden stop.,,  
i cant stand tossing this away in the garbage, it has served my mini for many years.
maybe it can make a good pencil eraser. Or pendant for my necklace

Wow 1.75 ounce only?? Gosh, i think i swamped my CV joint about 4X  of that, hope the boots wont burst at high speed, good thing i only go 45shh max. 

I'm sure the Haynes has a paragraph or two which covers adjusting the headlights...


I'd suggest watching classic mini repair videos - YouTube is full of them and they might be more relevant...

I also believe it's not advisable to give the CV joint or pot joints too much grease either.  Unfortunately, my Haynes is in the garage, but I just checked a couple of factory manuals here at home; as near as I can tell, the late-model outer joints came packed from the factory with 3/4 oz (UK). grease and the larger late-type inboard offset sphere joints (aka 'pot joints') 1.75 oz (UK) grease. That's all they need, and why one could once buy a sachet of grease from the service department. 

Howdy Sir Dan, its 6:22pm in ottawa now, how you are in good health and spirit.   
Someone mention about the coil over shocks, it didnt seem to sink in until i saw this picture, i think this is a more easier to install set up, i may use the ATV coil overs, i can see mounting points in the mini feasible for coil over shocks. 

That's why you buy Hi Lo's they make the height fully adjustable.

The Moulton Smooth-a-Ride cones are taller before they are installed, but the extra height has a thinner wall, so that part compresses more once the weight of the car ins on it. BUT! they are also harder to squeeze into the subframe tower. You may find you must remove the upper arms to get them in. Once the cone is in you would probably need a cone compressor to get the trumpet in.

I suggest you use standard, good quality front cones.

Once the car is back on its wheels, it is easy to adjust the headlights. Just remove the chrome ring (one screw) and then adjust the up/down adjuster (one more screw). You should adjust them anyway, no matter what cones you put in. You may find that the way the car was before you started, the headlights were not aimed well anyway.