Hello everyone, my Mini is my first manual car so I'm still new to clutches. Today I notice when I stepped down on my clutch, it seems to grind. I made sure of it by turning off the car and radio. It's the process of stepping down on the clutch where the grind occurs. About 2/3 way down, the clutch seems to feel gritty as I step down on it, even with the ignition off. Is this normal? Or is there some oil that I can change to better lubricate this? I didn't notice it at first, but maybe it's because I'm more sensitive to the clutch now. Any comments is appreciated. Thanks.

 

try lubing the pivot point this should help that and the arm?
and see where that gets you....then post this...

 

Hopefully lubing will work. I had to get a new clutch assembly friday. Mine was doing the exact same thing.

 

i don't think it's the pivot point, because it's only effected on the deeper part of the clutch. i could be wrong, but I'll try. any lubes perferred?

 

I'm having the same problem, maybe it's a Pepper White issue.

Kidding aside, this is my second time. The first time the dealer replaced the "clutch kit" under waranty and said the pressure plate was bad. That was in Oct. of 2007. The same simptons returned last week. I took my MINI back to the dealer today and they said that since the clutch is still functioning, they will not replace it at this time. My car has 46,655 miles on it, and when I asked "what if it fails at 50,001 miles", they told me my replacement "clutch kit" is waranteed for 2 years from date of install.

I have not decided what I want to do yet. My original plan was to start modding the motor after I got out of waranty. If I do that they might try to blame the mods for premature clutch wear. I'll probably go ahead with the engine mods, and if/when the clutch goes out replace it with a better quality aftermarket clucth and flywheel.

Keep posting on how yours works out.

Van

 

Yeah same about my clutch. It's working perfectly fine. It's just sometimes doing the "chair scraping" noise when first warming up when I engage it into gear. Which I head is normal for MINIs. But I'm thinking about spraying the pivot point with WD40. Is that a bad idea? or worth a try? My car's got 57K miles now, so it's out of warranty...

 

Have a listen with the driver side window down, the hood (sorry bonnet) open, and the engine off (not running).

My first thought (the first time I had this prob.) was pivot point of the pedal in the car. I can clearly hear my noise coming from the engine compartment, which makes me suspect the pressure plate.

I used to own a Datsun 510 that made a similar noise, but it was the slave cylinder rod rubbing on the clutch fork. A little lube fixed that temporarily. I miss when cars were easier to work on.

Van

 

Sorry, I didn't answer your question.

I think lubbing the pedal pivot point will just make a mess. If I remember correctly the pivot is a plastic bushing.

Van

 

I am sure there are no noise coming from my engine compartment except the lovely revving sound when I slam the pedal.

 

Now you're talking! Either that or crank up some good tunes and what clutch noise!

Van