So my clutch started fading a while back when accelorating harder like in 3rd gear so I knew the time would come. More recently the clutch is making a squeeking niose when engaged and now there's a bit of a burnt metal smell so I believe the time has come and I'm considering a DIY here.

My question would be first, if my diagnosis sounds about right but most importantly, given the scale of this job, what other mods or upgrades should I make while she's all torn apart? The job is a bit intimidating but if I go that route I wanna make the most of it.

 

I did the clutch on my 2004 S a few winters ago and while I had the trans out I changed the crank seals, diff seals, shift cables, oil pan gasket (rock hard and brittle), oil filter adapter gaskets (also hard and brittle), sump and valve cover gaskets, all water hoses, removed and serviced the supercharger, replaced water pump and thermostat, replaced serpentine belt. I know, a lot of stuff not related to the clutch, which I replaced with a Valeo kit. But, once you're in there for the clutch, so much of the other stuff is easily accessible and with 165,000 miles on the Mini (at the time, now 211,000) I didn't want to have to go back in for a long time. Plus I added a limited slip differential since I found it easier to split the trans case to remove the old driveshaft seals so I figured it was a good time for the diff swap.

If you want to keep costs down, I'd do the seals and clutch only. All depend on what you want to spend.

Eric

 

Nice! I figured the same. If it's all taken apart may as well take care of some other stuff. Tks

 

I was going to DIY my clutch last year, ended up paying someone to do it, but they used all the parts I had acquired. I replaced the clutch, rear main seal, trans input and output seals, the diff (love the quaife) the oil pan gasket, oil filter housing gasket, lower control arm bushings, sway bar bushing, steering rack bushing, serviced the supercharger, replaced the water pump, replaced the thermostat and housing, and replaced my cracked radiator. It was alot, but I figured better to just do it once. My car is an 03, has 110k on it and I manage to use it on track and as a daily so I wanted to eliminate as many potential failures as possible.

 

I might have to add the diff to my list!

 

Before you replace that clutch make sure that you check the crank pulley. If it's a stock item, it has a rubber core that can separate causing it to burn, smell and also slip mimicing a bad clutch. You don't want to go to the time and expense of replacing your clutch if the pulley is the issue.

 

If doing a clutch you will have the subframe out. Ideal time to do maint and replace the control arm bushings with powerflex, along with ball joints, sway bar bushings, and an LSD
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...0-r52-r53.html

https://www.waymotorworks.com/quaife...ferential.html

Then inspect the car for other repairs such as gaskets, power steering lines, and such as they are also easy to do.

If it's got 100k go ahead and put an oil pressure sensor in it, they are cheap, but common to fail as they get old and when the do they fill the wiring with oil and ruin the car.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/oil-pr...0-r52-r53.html

and some clutch fork bushings when you get it out.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/clutch...-cooper-s.html

 

Just curious if anyone agrees with my conclusion that its the clutch based on my description in the first post. I'm making a list based on your suggestions while I'm in there but I'm also hopefull that my diagnosis is correct.

 

This looked ok to my eyes but honestly this is new to me. I'll get deeper in there and see if anything looks wrong. Thanks.

 

A slipping crankshaft pulley will not minic a slipping clutch except for smell.

Easy way to diagnose a slipping clutch is to find a steep long hill and use a slightly taller gear to climb it. If the RPMs increase without the car accelerating, you know it's the clutch, not the crankshaft pulley. You can also get on the highway and use 6th gear at 45mph, slightly lugging the engine- you'll feel the engine speed increase much faster than the car.

 

Yeah I have felt that. I might have both issues. The grinding noise during clutch engagement too.