I'm just in the process of replacing my stock clutch with a Clutchmasters FX300 and light weight flywheel and here in lay my problem...I bled the slave cylinder as per k-huevo tutorial and the bentley manual and upon bleeding it the manual recommends depressing the clutch pedal slowly 10 times, well now it seems that the clutch pedal feels way lighter than stock and upon looking and the slave, it dosen't begin moving until the clutch pedal is depressed aprox. halfway, this seems very wrong to me as all post about this clutch state that it has a slightly heavier feel than stock so now does anyone please have any thoughts as to what the problem is as the car is halfway back together and If something is wrong I'd rather fix it now as opposed to later.
Thanks

 

I don't mean to be critical but there seems to be a whole lot of people here that take on a assignment on their cars in trying to either upgrade a part and or fix a problem without being completely sure in how to do the job right. I'm wondering why would anyone take on job like that if it's not their expertise?

Why not have a professional shop do the work?

If it is the finances that makes one to try to do a "do it yourself" and trying to save money, then why spend money in an upgrade project trying to upgrade a part that you can't completely do a correct work on??

Again, not I'm trying to be critical or negative here, but the concept of this thing is incomprehensible to me as I would never have anyone let alone myself to take my car apart if it's not what I and or they do for living and am not a professional.

Sorry for the rant.

 

there are sometimes where the only way to learn is to pick up a manual and get dirty...its how i learned

 

Not sure what k-huevo's instructions where so I may be just saying what he said.
You have air in the slave, plain and simple. Unbolt the slave and let it hang down so the bleeder is at the top. Now bleed it, the slave cylinder, by compressing the piston with your hand.
Process should be like this. Make sure you have plenty of fluid in the master res. Loosen the slave's bleeder so fluid can come out. This is usually several turns. Make sure the bleeder is the highest part. Air rises and this really comes into play when bleeding Now push in the piston by hand and air and fluid will come out. Before you release the piston, put your finger over the bleeder. Now do that about three or four times so there is no more air.
What your doing is pulling the fluid through rather then pushing the fluid through and also getting rid of that air that just loves to stay in the slave. Now bolt the slave back on and you should be good to go. If it's soft then just do a few pedal pump bleeds.
The clutch slave is a PIA, but I have found this to be the easiest and best way to bleed it.

 

By the way, if anyone feels they can take on the work by themselves then go for it. 99.9% of any problems you may have are easily fixable by someone. Just remember to walk away before the foot goes through the grill.

Go for it!

 

I figured it was somthing very simple like that, thanks onasled! I just want to clarify that I didn't talk to k-huevo, rather only used his install thread as well as the one by Dr. Mike and both the Mitchell and Bentley manuals. I have a mechanic friend working with me on this project and we both were stumped as to the problem, but it's nice to see someone had another method to try. Again thanks onasled , sometimes even mechanics need some help.

 

To SharoSC02, you didn't mean any harm with your comments and I hope you don't take offense to mine, but you hit a nerve with your comments.

This forum exists for all of us to gain knowledge and get help with the trials and tribulations of MINI ownership. When I was young and wanted to make some sort of modification to my car at the time, paying a professional was the last thing on my mind. I plain and simple, didn't have the money to fork over to someone to do something I "thought" I could do myself. So I tackled the task and by hook or crook , reading books, talking to friends and friendly mechanics figured out how to do it. I learned and the next time I was better prepared.

If I had never taken on a task that I was not already a professional at doing, I would never figure out how to do anything. Part of the joy of ownership is doing and taking care of things yourself.

Some people are just not mechanically inclined and also know that fact about themselves. So those people usually resign themselves to the fact that they are going to pay someone else to do mechanical things. But those same people may excel in an area that would scare me to death to tread.

I am an instructor at a major University and the comment I hear the most and the one that frustrates me the most is "I can't read the book and figure out what I'm supposed to do, I'm a visual learner and I need to be shown how to do it". My comment back is usually, since you are a visual learner, then use your eyes and read the book.

Most of these students have never actually tried to do anything, they don't want to, and that is their choice, but for someone who really tries and is struggling and is asking for some help, telling them to go to a professional is not why they asked the question. They are admitting they need some help. And that is what this forum is for. We are here to help each other. BTW, that is also the reason we happen to exist on this earth, life is not easy.

Again sorry for the rant, and I mean nothing personal.

My input to the OP is you still most likely have air in the system.

YD

 

I found out that the hardest part of any job is getting over the fear of screwing it up. Let's remember that most line operators (the people who put the cars together originally) are just like us. Many are significantly less educated. They just have better access to tools and methods.

That said, the only caution I have on any job is making sure that if things don't go well you're not screwed. Don't start a job right before you have to use the car. If it's a long job make sure that you have access to other transportation (so you can buy the part you forgot or tool that you need that you don't have).

Then go for it! Fastest way to learn for sure.....

Matt

 

Had a similar situation after mine was replaced. Bled mine the lazy way. park car down hill or jack up rear. Press pedal to floor, wedge something between seat frame and pedal to keep it depressed overnight. Problen cured the next morning.

 

That's what I see most of the time...fear of embarassment over not knowing how or just too lazy to learn themselves...You've got to own the fear of not knowing and be willing to make some mistakes in order to learn. I only can do what I can do because I just do it.

Chad

 

UPDATE: Clutch, flywheel, and Lsd install is complete and all is well. I bled the system using Onasled's method with great success. I'd like to thank the fallowing NAM'ers for all their input, advise and tips for a successful install: Jan at RMW, Longboard Mini, Danny at Minicorsa, 002, and Onasled. All the info given to me was a big help
Thanks Again
SC

 

What i would like to know is how was there air in the line if you never opened the system?

I ask b/c i just did the same job today and mine is EXACTLY the same way and i figured the samething but couldnt figure out why i would have air in there since i didnt open the system also....i will be bleeding it tomorrow too

 

I really don't have any idea how air gets into the system it just does. My mechanic buddy thought the exact same way you do, but as the posts show I had air in the system. Fallow Onasled's method of bleeding and you shouldn't have any trouble.
Best of luck!

 

just gotta run to the store tomorrow and get some brake fluid. just odd the pedal felt fine before and now with the stronger clutch it was so much softer and half the pedal travel. i will say this....i thought for along time i was having engine mount problems with the motor rocking so when i removed my flywheel and i couldnt believe the amount of movement the dual mass flywheel had by hand which was the cause of what i was feeling for all this time.

 

The limiting factor for taking on jobs for me is the lack of the right tools. Be it specialty BMW tools, or a full blown lift. For the few times I'd use the specialty tools, it is cheaper to have someone else do some of the work.

 

Here's a how-to using the pressure bleed method http://www.lonestarminiclub.com/foru...read.php?t=476

 

Dont have those fancy tools....i opened the slave valve and the fluid just started coming out so i let it go for alil and closed it. filled up the res and took it for a spin...pedal is def better but im still not happy. had my neighbor come over and do the old skool pedal deal....pumped and bleed, pumped and bleed etc etc. pedal is even more stiff but the clutch doesnt grab until about half way. still not happy but i have no more time to mess with it today

is anyone else getting alot of chatter at idle and when coming off the gas at about 40-50mph from the trans....the throwout bearing chatter is alot more pronounced than before so i wanna see what everyone else is hearing as well

 

I got lots of chatter. But I knew to expect it, the only time I hear it is if I'm standing outside the car while it's running, as long as I'm driving and can't hear it, it's not a problem.

 

where does ur clutch engauge on the pedal travel?

u dont get any vibration noise when letting off the gas?

 

My clutch engauges very close to the top of the pedal travel, very much the same as stock. As far as the chatter, I hear a little bit of noise a low rpm letting off the gas, tho It's very faint and I kinda really have to listen for it. My wife can't detect it so it is fairly quiet. The only time I can say that it is detectable is when the car is running and your outside the vehicle, then it kinda sounds like a diesel car or truck.

 

Wow this is all too strange in terms of timing. I decided this weekend to tear apart my MINI again and install my clutch, flywheel, and LSD along with tweak my front suspension geometry.

We got the whole smash installed and I go to feel the clutch and it plunks to the floorboard with zero resistance. I double check the slave cylinder and yup, it's bolted up and pushing against the clutch fork. Another set of eyes watched it while I got back to the car. The clutch pedal was still on the floor, not cool. I had to pull it up and when I did we both heard mega air being sucked back in. [insert expletive here]! Somehow a bunch of air got into the system, though there are no leaks whatsoever. We did a quickie old-school bleeding [I don't have a pressure bleeder...yet] and it barely helped. The slave cylinder only starts moving with the pedal pushed halfway down, and there isn't enough pressure to push the pressure plate enough to release the clutch, so I can't drive the car [booo during beautiful weather!]

It appears this thread starter experienced a similar thing I did. Does anyone else have experience with this? Through my clutch install I never did anything but push the slave cylinder out of the way, and I've installed a couple clutches now over the years and this is the first time the hydraulic system has caused a delay of game.

From onasled's wisdom it appears air got in through the slave cylinder. Does this imply I should replace the slave as a precaution, or are they that sensitive and I just got lucky the other times?

TIA!

 

That is strange Ryephile. How is the blasted air getting in? Past the seal on the pushrod of slave? Past the slave bleeder? Or brake master resevoir(did fluid somehow drop below the inlet to the clutch master? Oh well, at least this is making you bleed the system down to start fresh with your new parts.

When I do my clutch, flywheel, and diff next month I'll be bleeding out the whole system(brakes and clutch lines). On that are you going to suck your resevoir dry and fill it up with clean fluid from the start of bleeding or just top up through bleed sequence? And are you going to use a blow system like K-heuvo or a suck system. I've only used the right leg and mighty vac(sucking system). Let us know how you make out-GOOD LUCK!

Jeremy

 

The reservoir level did not change during the whole process; it always stayed at "max". I still have no drips on the ground. My guess is like yours; perhaps air got in around the slave cylinder seals.

I just ordered a Promini pressure bleeder; hopefully it's a decent effective tool to keep around for when I do my brakes in the future too. When I do bleed my clutch I don't plan on going nuts and purging the whole hydraulic system as the fluid isn't that old. When I get my BBK finished up later this year and installed I'll go and flush the whole system at that time.

I might just bite the bullet and order a new slave cylinder. I don't know why it would've gone bad other than old age. Perhaps I moved it in an odd way during the tranny removal/install routine, I dunno. I'll be sure to post when [if!] I figure it out. In the meantime any ideas or experience would be helpful!

 

It happened to me with my install; it happens. Fortunately, I had plenty of guidance and was prepared for it.

There's 90k on the slave and 16k since the last disconnect & bleed; there's no problem with that part.

 

I suppose its possible that air came in with the slave piston fully extended, but after doing this job well over a hundred times (for various reasons and not on the same car ) I have never had the pedal go dead one single time (I have just jinxed myself). Clutch hydraulics are are a mystery even to the most experienced professionals, don't feel bad about having trouble with it no matter what your skill level. I have found that after getting the air out, when there are no more bubbles (and if you had not opened the system, there should not be any) then get in the car and pump the begeezus out of it, Fast and Hard. This has always worked for me along with Onesleds method of using the slave to pump the fluid through.
--Dan