So I just changed the clutch on my '02 R50 Mini cooper yesterday and finally put everything back in its place today and took it for a drive. Things seemed to be fine except for a tiny clunk noise. I reach around 30 mph and you hear it get louder and it seems like the tire/ suspension (i dont know, something lol) from the driver side starts jumping up and down; and kind of vibrating a lot when i hit 40-50 mph. there was a tear in the inner CV axle boot and it kind of seemed like the outside part was not in the inner part of the shaft. So i decided to try and put that shaft in and the boot tore right in half. the car still made the noise and vibrations. I dont know what to do... and can anybody give me some feedback on what it could be or if its happen to anybody before. ( i know i have to replace the boot)

thanks!

 

I would take it out and visually inspect it. If there has been a tear in the boot long enough then tons of road grim has gotten in there and screwed up everything. The boots aren't cheap at $60/ea so if you have to replace the CV then it would be pointless to buy a new boot for the old one.

 

well its only been test driven with the torn boot after the new clutch. I couldnt get that axle out of the tranny so i removed the strut and supported it with jack stand. but as i was putting it all back together, i noticed the boot had tore during the project. Axle should be fine as there was nothing wrong with it before. but it seems as if the outer part of the axle (hub, shaft) isnt all the way in the inner part of it. ill post pictures within an hour or so.

thanks for input!