Hey guys -

My '06 S 6mt has started to make the dreaded "whine" sound when releasing the clutch in 1st gear. It seems to only happen within the first 5-10 minutes of driving, and only when moving from a complete stop into first gear. As I gently release the clutch, it makes the whine sound. I dont notice it in any other gears, or even after 5-10 minutes have passed.

I've done a lot of searching on this topic and read a number of threads. Am I correct that the "glazed flywheel" seems to be amongst the top of the possibilites? Several threads were a year or more in age, so just checking to see the current thinking.

The car has its 4 year warranty through November, and I'm wanting to get it resolved, but I haven't found the service guys at the local dealer to be as thorough or helpful as some other BMW guys in the past - so I think I will need to be armed with information.

All thoughts MUCH appreciated.

- Pete

 

Do you mean whine, or squeal? Whine sounds more like it would be related to be gears. My flywheel chatters at idle, and on some mornings the clutch squeals at me upon take off, but quickly goes away. I have diagnosed it as a glazed flywheel and the chattering means it's not doing it's dampening job anymore. If you aren't getting any slippage then just keep driving it until you want to pay the gobs of money to have the clutch changed or you want to tackle the job yourself.

 

Is there a way to absolutely make sure this issue won't return?

I'm guessing an aftermarket clutch/flywheel replacement, preferably single-mass so it won't chatter as well, correct?

I named my car Chewbacca because of this crap.

 

The Chewbacca sound is from a stuck dual-mass flywheel. You can replace it with a single-mass flywheel, but you'll need to get a sprung clutch disc. My recommendation is to do nothing until you need to replace the clutch, which can be tens of thousands of miles: it's too expensive and labor intensive to replace the clutch assembly for a brief wookee howl upon start-up.

 

Every time I see a helix post I get all excited about the mods I'm gonna have you guys do to my car.

The money's all there but the retarded responsibility side of my brain is telling me I gotta wait 'til I build up my savings a little bit more.

Stupid responsibility.

 

Look, responsibility is for the responsible, and who wants to be responsible?



Tonight I'm going to teach my 7-year-old how to light of firecrackers

 

My car (2006 MCS) has the squeal and I've demonstrated it to MINI. The say it is a glazed flywheel, it is normal and they are not replacing it under warranty.

I asked if it were normal, why everyone did not experienced it. To me, normal means all the cars do it.

Maybe if a bunch of us got together and appealed directly to MINI we might be able to get them replaced.

Mine does in infrequently, but when it does it will do it all day or for a few days ...and then it might go away for months at a time. It happens only on launch and usually in damp or cold weather.

 

If you are referring to a "whirring" sound when you let out your clutch, it's probably a worn throwout bearing. My old '02 MCS started around 80K miles (it had 115K when I totalled it and was never changed). My current '06 MCS has already started, though it's not very often at this point.

 

If you do decide to have the clutch/flywheel replaced, I suggest you do not do it at a Mini dealership. I had mine replaced under warranty at a Mini dealership and they installed a remanufactured flywheel/clutch set that feels much softer than the original (it now feels like a R56 clutch). I do not like the clutch and wish I would have never had the dealer replace the clutch. Also, in my case, it did not even resolve the infrequent noise I heard.

 

When my clutch is cold it impersonates Chewbacca, but otherwise feels great and actuates smoothly.

But when it warms up and loses its voice, it gains a crunchy actuation feel. Sounds and feels almost like opening a door with old, un-oiled hinges. It only feels this way after warming up. Any ideas? Could this be the throwout bearing? Or something up with the master/slave cylinder?

When the clutch finally goes in this, I want to make sure it feels like new again (and stays that way for a long time) when I get a new one put in. On my previous car I got my clutch replaced and it still felt like crap, crap that no longer slipped. I'd like to avoid that considering it's gonna be a costly job.

 

That's your throw out bearing moving poorly on something called a guide tube. Both need to be replaced when you do your clutch. The TO bearing comes with a clutch kit and the tube is extra to the tune of about $30.

To a previous post: if your clutch is making the Chewbacca sound, it's not a glazed flywheel, it's a jammed flywheel, and you should insist on having if tixed under warranty, if you're still covered.

 

My '03 made the Chewbacca sound the whole time I owned it, never caused me any problems. I say leave it alone and don't worry about it....

However I do wonder why I've never heard this noise in any other car that uses a dual mass flywheel - like Porsches and VW's?

 

my 03 MCS has had no such problem at all i think the clutch might've been new when i bought it though?? cause it sure was sticky

 

My '06 JCW has made the letting-the-clutch-out-squeal for some time now. It doesn't always do it, but when it does, it's usually on a colder morning. Other than that (and it goes away very quickly), the clutch works perfectly.

I'm of the mind that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And an occasional squeal doesn't qualify as broke. There are too many idiots out there posing as mechanics and if you knew how much of the car needs to be dismantled to get at the clutch, you'd think twice, thrice and four times or more before handing the keys over to some guy with a certificate from mechanic's school.

I say leave it alone. And when the clutch actually does need replacing, get an aftermarket unit that is more conventional in design. And find a pro who knows what the hell they're doing to do the work. No dealers and none of those chain shops. Preferably a shop that does high performance work and mods that really knows the Mini and who's reputation and therefore their income hinges on doing quality work.

 

Lawguy107075,

If you can, try taking a video of the problem when your MINI is cold and post it on Youtube for us to look at. Since we have presented several possibilities, that can help in narrowing down which one is most likely.

 

Does Helix do clutches and do they have a kit that they recommend?