Bit of quick help here please. I ran into a time/money jam trying to replace the clutch in my wife's '03 R50, so off to the local shop it went. They just recently started working on MINI's and apparently haven't done a clutch before. They quoted us $450 or so (in addition to the rest of the work) for a dual mass flywheel, but I think I remember reading somewhere that the R50 has a traditional flywheel that probably can be resurfaced. I think I read it in the Bentley manual which is in the boot of the car in the shop !

If anybody has a definite answer on this on I'd really appreciate it. I don't want to call them up again about this unless I know for sure- and I don't want to pay to replace a flywheel that isn't bad. And I don't want them to put in a dual mass flywheel if it's not supposed to be in there.

Thanks-

Val

 

Not a Dual Mass on the R50

 

Only the R53 S has a dual mass flywheel. I would have them actually look at the flywheel you have and see how it looks. If it doesn't have hot spots or look damaged you probably and just clean it off and put the new clutch in. We've done several without resurfacing and had no problems.

 

Thanks-

That's maybe why they hadn't found a part number for the flywheel at the time they wrote the estimate.

I'll assume that the stock flywheel can be resurfaced if it's in OK shape.

(Way- saw your post after I responded to the Professor. Thanks for the info- they're closed now so I will call them in the morning. I would imagine that they will discover this after getting into the clutch but I'll call them anyway.)

Val

 

According to Seattle MINI, they do have a "twin mass" flywheel and they gave the part number as 11227624121. It shows up on this page on Real OEM.com as well as another part number. One is in red, the other isn't. Maybe one is dual mass and the other isn't? Was it a BTO option at the time? My wife's car is an '03 R50, exact build date unknown. Anybody else want to weigh in here? Am I about to pay for a "twin mass" flywheel that I don't need?

Val

 

Way knows his stuff so give him a listen.

I also work at Mini and the R50 does not have a Dual Mass.

 

If you want to pep up the performance on your R50, put in an aluminum flywheel.
It's weight is just around 14 lbs. and will really allow the R10 engine to rev out.
Just an idea.

 

Anybody with some authority want to call Swedish Automotive (206-938-8685) and straighten them out on this? If you do, be nice, they all seem nice but I know MINIs are new to them. We picked them because they are close and we could nurse the car there. Plus it's good to know about a local shop.

That said, I hope they will realize once they are in there that the flywheel in the box is completely different than the one that is on the car and will recognize it as a traditional flywheel (and not replace it).

What if they do and I have a traditional clutch plate (with springs) and a dual mass flywheel? How will the car drive?

Val

 

Part of the confusion is that the R50's oem flywheel is listed as a "dual mass"
unit on the BMW/MINI ETK (Elektronische Teile Katalog), but the actual part is a single mass style one.
It's also a lot lighter (about 17#) than the R53 dual mass flywheel (about 28#).