Folks, I've begun the process of replacing my clutch. Lewis is in the garage on jack stands, wheels off, silencer box off, and turbo discharge line to intercooler removed. Still a LOOOONG way to go.

I read on a UK forum one poster's reason for premature clutch failures: That the clutch does not fully disengage when you release the pedal due to flaws in some of the clutch hydraulic hardware. He said the hydraulic line locks some pressure, causing the lever to not fully disengage the clutch. I've done alot of searching and only came across this once.

Anyone heard anything similar? There has got to be a reason for all the premature Mini clutch failures. I'd like to implement the correct fix so I won't be replacing the clutch again anytime soon. Any thoughts? Thanks, Rich

 

I replaced my own clutch, but I've never heard of a direct cause for the premature failure. I've noticed on this forum, though, that it seems to happen a lot around 40k-50k miles. I don't know what you're doing to get the transmission out, but when I did mine I used this (click me) and it worked awesome. The only problem I had in the end was not lining up the starter right, so every so often when I started my car the starter gear didn't mesh with the fly wheel and my car wouldn't start... hint. I fixed that of course.

 

My clutch went at 75,000km. I didn't do it as a DIY. I had the dealer replace it. Symptoms before the failure were a rattle at idle when the clutch was engaged (clutch pedal out) that disappeared when the clutch was disengaged (clutch pedal in). I believe it was either due to the DMF or the throw out bearing. I'm pretty sure the clutch was disengaging properly on mine.

I took photos of the clutch and flywheel and they were extensively heat damaged. The DMF was full of heat spots, in fact everything had signs of heat damage including the clutch plate. The friction disk was not down to the rivets, but the clutch was slipping in 4th under high load.

 

Not sure about incomplete clutch disengagement on the MINI, but my MG experience has been that one symptom of clutch drag is a graunch when going into first gear. With the first-motion shaft and layshaft being driven instead of spinning freely, the synchros are unable to match gear speed. All I'm saying is that if your clutch was dragging, you'd have gotten hints... Like graunchiness.

Spridget

 

I could believe that. I replaced my clutch and it still gets stuck after I left completely off the pedal every once in awhile. Though I did have the clutch pedal under warranty because it was binding up and getting stuck. Good luck with getting your clutch replaced that is a big job.

 

Could this be the reason that one of the big 2011 updates was the self-adjusting clutch. As the owner of a 2011, I am hoping the self-adjusting clutch resolves this issues. I know I am very careful driving making sure I get off the clutch fully at each shift. I also avoid high rpm takeoffs from stop.

 

Unless there's a pinch the hydraulic line will not "hold some pressure".

 

Yeah, I’m at 52K and the pedal’s high. No graunchiness yet, but I was also wondering if there is a better replacement than OEM. I would rather upgrade to a clutch that will last longer than 60K so this job gets done once in the life time of the car.

And what’s the dealership charge for this? Around $2,000?

 

OS giken is a good way to go but it is expensive.

 

Scooter09, I appreciate the info and I will take extra care with the starter alignment upon re-assembly. Thanks!

Spridget, I'm not quite sure what you mean by a "graunch". Is that a kind of a sound? I posted incorrectly, I should have said that I'm thinking that a problem could be that the clutch isn't allowing the full clamping load, rather than what I put not fully dis-engaging.

Bigpfred, Yes, I think a pinched line could cause a "locking in" of pressure, but I really can think of anything else that would. I'll be looking for any line pinching, but I"ll be surprised if I find something like that.

Porthos, OS Giken is REALLY expensive, but they come with a new flywheel as well, which I suspect is one reason for the high cost.

I'll post up some pictures when I finally get the transmission out. I hope that I"ll find the smoking gun then. This is an awful lot of work that I'd prefer not to do too often (but would prefer even less to pay someone else to do! )

Thanks all for your help! Rich

 

Os Giken is pretty expensive because it is a performance clutch with a lot of time put into R&D so that it will perform when it matters.

 

Porthos, I hear you about the R&D and do appreciate the time and expense involved in product development. But what substantiation can I use to subjectively determine that this clutch is better than the OEM clutch in my mostly street application? I"d hate to spring for this clutch system and then have the same premature failure -- ouch! Rich

 

If you are nervous about it then don't get it. It is as simple as that. Its kinda of a hit or miss. I have no idea how long it will last in a MINI. Go with what you are comfortable with.

 

I poked around on the OS Giken site - didn’t see any pricing or a clutch for the MINI. Saw BMW... My problem would be finding someone to do it. I’m not like the OP - I wouldn’t be able to tackle it myself so that leaves me with the dealer and installing OEM or finding someone to install non OEM parts. Would you trust your average transmission shop for this?

 

Take a look at some of the reseller's sites.

For example:

http://www.waymotorworks.com/os-gike...5-r56-r57.html

The below one is more for the daily driver.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/os-gike...-cooper-s.html

 

I had WMW do mine. I have done a clutch on a FWD car brfore and it is a pain in the ***. So i just pained to have it done.

 

I always suspected the clutch in my 1993 Civic (bought used at 95k miles) wasn't releasing fully because I had a heck of a time downshifting. When it started to get bad, if you tried to coast slightly while in first gear it would make a horrible scraping sound.

Anyways, it was all better and much easier to drive after I had it replaced at about 110k. (And was still working fine when I sold the car at 220K miles!)

 

For reference, WMW quoted me about $1300 to do a clutch, parts and labor.

The rattle with the clutch out, no rattle peddle in is probably the TOB. I have that issue right now. Trying to gauge whether to do everything now, or wait. The clutch itself grabs pretty darn well right now.

 

Hey Mindspin311, What is "TOB"? Thanks, Rich

 

Throw-out bearing

Basically, the link between the clutch fork and the pressure plate.

 

I finally put the new clutch back in! I bought from the local dealer as after all the searching and lack of information I felt the dealer parts would be a safe bet. The parts were all "Valeo". The old clutch had worn down past the rivets on the transmission side. Sadly the new clutch isn't really alot thicker than the old one approximately 7-8mm total thickness new compared to about 4 mm total thickness on the used clutch. Both the flywheel and the pressure plate had radial cracks on the OD and the clutch on the flywheel side did not wear evenly on the clutch. You could see the slots in the friction material on the ID of the clutch, but they disappeared about halfway towards the OD. I don't know what would cause that. Hopefully the new flywheel, pressure plate, and clutch will give long life.

Scooter 09, I'm thankfor for the tip on the small transmission jack. I picked one up from Harbor Freight and it not only made removing the transmission easier, I also used it to remove the subframe. Good tip, THANKS!

Now I just have to replace the litte plastic trim bits and plastic rivets I broke taking it all apart and I'll be good to go. That was an awful lot of work!

 

can you say about how long it took you to do the job and how much you spent on parts? I'm fearing this one for my car.

 

I'm only to the point where I have re-installed the transmission to the engine, the trans side engine mount, and re-installed the subframe. The car has been in my garage for months as I had the time to get to it, so any time estimate from me would be pointless, sorry.

I spent roughly $1100 on new flywheel and clutch kit, purchased a small transmission jack ~$90 I think, purchased a racing-type floor jack ~$90, purchased a 6-piece set of new "e-sockets"~$10 (needed because of these new fasteners I've never seen before), purchased a T-55 Torx drive to remove the flywheel bolts ~$5. I've yet to purchase the small plastic bits (rivets and clips) that broke during dis-assembly, new transmission fluid, etc.

Its a pretty big job and I only attempted it because I have other cars I can drive and I like to to my own maintenance.

 

Scooter09 or someone else, did you happen to download the clutch replacement directions from the link above: http://www.lonestarminiclub.com/cgi-...page.cgi?t=747

that link is no longer valid.... but it had great information on replacing the clutch

 

I am in the process of getting my clutch replaced at 48,000 miles. I bought the car used so maybe the first driver was rough on it. Hoping that's the case. Any updates on the replacement clutch and overall feel after the replacement?

When I bought the mini I was thinking it was odd that the clutch didn't start to engage until about half way through the pedal travel but I thought it was normal for minis. Will my clutch pedal engage earlier with a new clutch?

After they got everything out they found heat cracks in the outer edge of the fly wheel and the fly wheel moves when you press on it or turn it by hand. We are assuming that's a bad thing and ordering a new fly wheel now too.

Love the mini but this is getting expensive fast. The dealer had quoted 2,000 for the clutch replacement before the fly wheel even came into play so I'm doing it with a local repair shop that hasn't done a mini before. oops.

Thanks for the feedback anyway! Hoping the new clutch will last longer.