so I recently bought a 2003 R53 with about 107K miles on it.

last week while I was running some errands i noticed that right before i his the friction point on the clutch that i got a noise that sounded a lot like i was dragging a metal chair on a tile floor.

the funny thing is it only will happen when i am starting in fist gear esle wise it's pretty quiet.

I read in a few posts about the infamous "chewbacca" noise and was wondering what you guys thought. I ran it past my brother in law who is a Diesel mechanic and he thought it could be a throw out/pilot bushing.

 

usually that means your flywheel is starting to glaze over. The noise the throwout bearing makes when it dies is different. You can keep driving with your flywheel glazed for a while as it doesn't really affect performance, it just might be annoying.

 

can you describe the noise the throw out makes when it's dieing? would having the trans fluid changed help at all?

also i have noticed that since the noise started it is a little bit harder to move between gear in the gear box, just takes a little bit mire effort to move between them

thanks

 

You can typically feel the roughness on your foot when pressing the clutch if it's a bad T/O bearing. You can try changing your fluids and see if it helps your situation. It's pretty easy to replace.

 

my old R53 stopped doing the chewbacca noise later in its life( dual mass flywells squeak and cause the noise,"it was a normal got use to it ", item with R53 for 100,000 miles)throwout bearings only cause problems/noise when in gear, the clutch pushed in and stopped.

 

Well mine kinda made a kerBANG noise and then started screeching with the clutch pedal depressed, but most just make a little rattling noise and you should be able to feel the clutch pedal vibrate like it feels rough.

The noise won't get any better with a trans fluid change since the fluid doesn't ever contact the flywheel.

If that is the case where it gets harder to shift between gears your throwout bearing could very well be on it's way out. I know when mine exploded I could barely shift into any gears, but my throwout bearing was as flat as a pancake when I opened it up.

 

Our 04 R53 sounds like a wooden office desk pulled across a wood floor the first time the clutch is let out. After that it goes away. Does this have to do with the clutch?

 

@ole97Texas,

That is the same sound I'm getting from mine. It only happens when your just ahead of the friction point of the clutch.

@sniperdetailing,

How much did you have to pay when you had to have yours replaced? Just wondering so I can ballpark how much to put into the car emergency fund.

 

I replaced mine on my own and I upgraded to a Spec stage 1 clutch and Fidanza flywheel, so parts for me costed around $750, but I have heard that clutch replacements for minis is around $2000 parts+labor for oem stuff. Although if you're just looking for a stock like alternative you could go for the Valeo single mass kit which runs about $450 and offers pretty much stock feel and slightly better holding power.

 

@sniperdetailing

having done the clutch, is there a pilot bushing/bearing or is it just the throwout bearing. or are the one in the same. I guess i'm showing my ignorance here.

 

it's all just one bearing between the fork and the pressure plate fingers. If you do it yourself make sure to check your throwout bearing guide tube as it may be pretty gouged if your throwout bearing was as bad as mine was. Also make sure the kit you order comes with flywheel bolts and pressure plate bolts.

 

take a look at my recent post of me replacing the clutch on a 2002 R50 to familiarize yourself with the MC clutch system where I also posted a bunch of photos of the clutch system. Even though yours is an MCS with a different flywheel, tranny and clutch fork, they function the same way and will help you visuallize and understand the system.