I'm thinking of doing this to replace the LCA bushings and ball joints when they're worn out. I'm a bit confused on the drive axles though, do they have to come out to drop the sub frame? why? It doesn't look like they interfere with dropping the subframe.

__________________
This post was auto-generated based upon a question asked on our tech article page here: Pelican Technical Article: MINI Cooper - Subframe Removal

It looks to me that the axles were removed in the article.

However, not always necessary, if you drop subframe down just enough to get to fasteners. BUT - in my area the fasteners are often rusty and require direct access from above to break free.

- Nick