Hi all!

I have a 2004 MCS, heavily modified. About a year ago I swapped the stock clutch out for an OS Giken STR clutch/flywheel combo. The clutch was horrible. When ever it got heated up (i.e. used for a while) the clutch peddle would stick at the bottom before quickly releasing. Eventually it became hard to get the car in gear unless I pumped the clutch peddle a few times. We bled the hydraulic system several times and still no luck. After a while it blew out my slave cylinder and the clutch peddle wouldn't come off the floor. Long story short we replaced the slave cylinder 2 times and the end result was always the same. We ended up working with OS Giken who eventually came to the conclusion that the clutch/flywheel combo was defective. They RMA'd it for us and I swapped it out for a GT version.

We installed the new GT clutch/flywheel combo and a new slave cylinder just to be safe. It's now been about a 1000 miles since the swap and the clutch feel great, however I'm starting to have the same issue with getting the car in gear without pumping the peddle a few times! The clutch appears to be working perfectly but when its tough to get the car in gear, the clutch peddle will also feel a bit more tight until pumped once.

All the work above was done by George and the folks over at MiniMadness so I know the clutch was installed correctly. I took it to Mini and they stated that the OS Giken clutch was probably too much for the stock slave cylinder to handle. However I know plenty of people who've installed OS Giken after market clutches with out any issues at all. George said he's done a bunch and so far I'm the only one with an issue.

I'm really at wits end here and I've got absolutely no idea what the next step should be. Has anyone had a similar issue?

 

Are you resting your foot on the clutch? Sounds like the clutch disk is overheating and sticking to the pressure plate.

 

Hi v10--thanks for the reply.

Actually I'm extremely careful about not riding the clutch. After we RMA'd the 1st clutch OS Giken stressed the importance of not even resting my foot on the clutch peddle much less holding it in during stops at lights, etc. I never really rode the clutch before but now I'm even more careful.