Hey guys I know this isn't the place for this but this is my first post and I love the site.

Anyways...

SO

Feel free to strip me of my man card.

I'm 23 years old and about to go off again to finish college. So, what do my parents come out of the blue and offer? To buy me a used car. HELL YEAH. After a long search of all kinds of vehicles;

I fell in love with a base 03 5 speed chili red mini. And it was mine. I was so happy. My iphone camera had never taken so many pictures in rapid succession. I instantly felt like I needed to learn as much about my car and possibly get into modding. (From reading this site of course.)

One problem. I had never driven a stick IN MY LIFE.

So today was my first time ever taking it out alone. Previous to this my mom had given be a 20 minute lesson. I had literally owned the car less than 48 hours.

So, I go out. Stall getting out of the driveway but quickly bounce back and I'm off. Everythings going great. When suddenly I find myself on a hill. I panic and stall out about three times. I start to think Im not going to be able to move this car. But. I hang tough and get out of the jam and continue around the lake I'm circling.

I come to my last turn before I was going home.

A stop sign from hell.

I stalled out at the stop sign. and tried to go again. and again. and again. I wasn't going anywhere.

My car would go into gear but nothing would happen. I could shift into everygear and my motor sounded fine but I was going absolutely nowhere.

Long story short I had to hitchhike home(wasn't hard because i was still in my OWN NEIGHBORHOOD) with my tail between my legs and tell dad I had just caused something to break in the car he JUST bought me.

We called and had it towed and in a matter of hours we we're told it was the CV transmission axle (I'm not sure if this is the exact thing we we're told as I was at work)

So? Why am I here?

For starters to ask forgiveness to the Mini gods and gurus that are on this site for coming on here and bleeding my soul.

Secondly has anyone had experience with such an issue and repair? I (having absolutely zero car know-how (IM EAGER TO LEARN DAMMIT!) I thought it HAD to be the clutch/flywheel or transmission.

I was already loving my mini and it had awoken a new love/appreciation of motoring and I just pray to god I just didin't curbstomp it.

Please NAM friends. Make me feel better. Soothe my soul. Advise me.

-Dan

 

Cv joint sounds plausible, as would a clutch. Suffice to say you didn't break it, they take ages to go wrong.

The reason your mini wasn't $30k was because it was used. Most used cars have something wrong that has been ignored by the previous owner pending the upcoming sale. Always budget 10% of the purchase price to fix immediate problems on a used car. Pocket the other virtual $22k you saved buying new.

Once you get it back, try this trick my mother taught me: when activating the clutch, pretend that you are wearing a pair of tights that are too small, such that as you move the clutch up, the gas must go down at the same time AND VICE VERSA. And as I tell my wife, imagine you are using your feet to stroke a cat for all gears, rather than stamping on a 'roach.

 

Go somewhere flat and empty. With the car running and in 1st gear, practice letting the clutch back up slowly and controlled without touching the gas pedal at all. When you feel it start to "catch" resist the urge to let it pop up and stomp on the gas. Continue to let it up extremely slowly. Feel the car start to roll. Now you can give it a little gas.

I learned to drive stick on my R50 as well. I took a few lessons from a pro because I had no one to teach me. That was the method he used and it was very helpful. He also made me start on a steep hill using the clutch only and no gas.

"If you can get it moving from a stop on an incline without stalling or using the gas, you can drive a manual in any situation."

I stalled a few times but I got it. Give it a try.

 

The way I learned hill starts was on a hill. I'd already gotten basic control of the clutch bite, then we moved to the hill.

With the handbrake on and the car in gear, bring the car up to the bite point and feel it begin to squat and depress the button on the handbrake. As you gently lower the handbrake, the car will roll back a bit, add some gas (say 2k revs) to prevent the stall whilst coming gently off the clutch in line with post #2. By keeping the button depressed you can use the handbrake to catch any rollback.

Don't practice for more than a few minutes without stopping to let the clutch cool down.

 

I appreciate the feedback guys. All the tips are making feel more relaxed. I was feeling real guilty.

Now my dad was driving it around just fine but he made a comment that he thought the clutch was weak. I guess referring to the engagement point?

Is this something that is consistent with ya'lls minis or was this possibly an indicator that mine was on the way out?

Thanks again.

-Dan P

 

The tips above are all great. It's not that hard to learn, and you'll pick it up quickly. Practice, practice, practice! Fortunately, a MINI is not that hard to learn on. Not as forgiving as a Honda, but also not a 1969 MG. By the way, there is no such thing as a "base" MINI, other than one with no options at all. MINIs are either S or non-S.

 

The clutch engagement is sort of soft compared to a really heavy clutch on, say, a 370Z. It's fairly high up on the Cooper, or mine, anyway (and has been for the 30,000+ trouble free KM i've been beating on it.)

 

As a clutch gets old, the bite point moves further up the pedal travel, because the clutch pack is getting thinner, in the same way brake pads do as they wear down.

A FWD has cv joints and they take a lot of wear. A stick shift may also see a lot of wear to the clutch if the previous driver wasn't that good at it.

As to when they go, I'd guess about every 60-80k.

 

My clutch is decently heavy; not as heavy as on a more serious sports car like the 370Z as has been pointed out by dannyhavok, but definitely solid enough where any experienced manual driver wouldn't make a comment like the one your dad made. That's not to say your dad is ignorant, but that he is probably right and the clutch is light (no rhyme intended) and it may be coming on time to get a new clutch. However, mine is an S model with the 6-speed, and I wouldn't be surprised if the clutch on the 5-speed base model (non-S) is lighter. Someone who's driven both a 5-speed R50 and a 6-speed R53 would know. Hopefully there's some such person reading this thread who can chime in.

Edit: welcome to the wonderful world of manual transmissions, btw! Once you get the hang of the stick, automatics will bore you to tears.

 

I am pretty sure the clutch on the S models is heavier

 

Nope. Same clutch. I believe the JCW clutch is different, though.

 

Mine gives me quite the calf workaround compared to the 05 Justa I used to have...

 

Grats on the new ride! I can certainly empathize with you on your car not moving. Same thing happened to me back in May. I ended up being towed and needing clutch/flywheel/slave cylinder/motor mount replacement. Two grand later and I am on the road again. These repairs are not for the faint of heart but I'd have to say they are so worth it. I love my car and I am hoping that with the help of the lovely people here I will soon be able to do some of my own repairs

 

I couldn't drive a manual either when I got my MINI. I stalled it twice on the test drive. But while it was sitting at home for me to stare at and sit in, I was taking lessons at a driving school, driving an old 1990's toyota corrola and a 1990' toyota conquest (hatchback of the corrola) Well it was difficult at first because firstly, the instructor AND my dad(who was teaching me in the MINI), were giving me lessons in three different cars. The clutch in the toyota was like butter and changing gears felt like moving air, just when I thought I was getting the hang of manual transmission, and just when I started feeling extra optimistic about the whole driving thing, I got in the S, and it was a whole different game, the clutch felt stiffer, like it was constantly pushing up on my foot, and changing gears felt notchy and like what I always thought changing gears should feel like. Steering in the CooperS felt like I could feel the road in my hands, very different from the "artificial" or I deem it "steering air" feel from the toyota's. One year later, shifting good and loving Manual transmission!! .

 

Driving a manual is indeed an art. I learned, by force, at 18 when my ex-husband (then boyfriend) taught me in his Chevy S-10 truck, lowered, with no power steering. Everything after that seemed like a breeze. When I bought my MINI last October I hadn't driven a manual in over 8 years but I jumped right in and took off. Once you know how to drive one I don't think you ever forget.