I have been looking for a beater - something to put miles on, but still have a little fun. I have an opportunity to buy a very cheap '03 Cooper, but it needs a little TLC. Cosmetically there is no damage per say, just some painless dent removal and a hardcore detail. Mechanically, it needs at the very least a clutch (possibly a flywheel) and front brakes. I've searched some threads and it seems that most have an independent do the work. I can get the clutch done for approximately $1K or with flywheel for another $600 or so. Seems reasonable. However, in order for this car to make sense for me, I need to put as little $$ into it as possible. Is the clutch a feasible DIY?

I'd put my mechanical skill at just beyond changing your pads and rotors. I've swapped a few BMW suspensions over the years. On the plus side, my father-in-law is a mechanic. Pretty sure he has never worked on a MINI, but he has been a mechanic his entire life - both in automotive and aviation.

Any advice for me?

Thanks for looking!

 

$600 seems like a large increment for just the flywheel. There certainly isn't any more labor involved.

 

I just got a quote today for my '06 S...$1800 for clutch kit installed, no flywheel!!

 

Wow....prices vary lots...
shop around...
doing a clutch on a mini is prettt tough...but a good mechanic can do it in 3 or 4 hrs....learning curve is kinds steep, so imo, do the brakes, and work your way up to bigger jobs.....having a car stuck in parts in the garage can get kinda $$, espically if you must pay to do it a second time if not done right....

 

You are going to need to drop the subframe, or remove the engine with trans. It's pretty tight in there. It's something that can be done in a home shop, but it's a whole lot more involved than brake or suspension work. Do you mind sharing the price and miles?

 

Good point. They were quick approximations, but I'd rather error on the high side.

It would be a third car, so it could sit - not that that would be ideal. Yeah, from what I gather, the clutch job does seem quite tough on a Cooper - if for nothing else, because of a lack of room in that area!

That is what I was afraid of. Obviously someone with experience could knock it out pretty quickly. Price hasn't been pinned down yet, but definitely less than $2K. Miles are approximately 145K. I do have concern over the reliability of the tranny, but it seems like the Midlands are hit or miss.

Seems steep to me.

 

I responded to this thread last night (and again now), but I suppose due to my newbie status my quoted posts need to be moderator approved?

 

Deleted - duplicate post.

 

So is the car drivable at all? I'd want to test drive a pre-05 R50 to see if the transmission is ok.

 

In its current state, I would not consider it drivable because the clutch is gone. Miles are 145K and price has yet to be finalized, but under $2K for sure. Yeah, the Midlands transmission has me slightly worried. I feel this could be a big bargain or a large headache - not much in between!

 

May want to read this and then decide.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ow-not-to.html

 

Positive it's just the clutch? I blew my Midlands at about 50k.

 

Nice Price (for you Jalopnik readers). For that price, I'd like to pick it up for a dad/son project for the future (he's only 7 but loves MINIs- we have two) but it's a bit early for that.

I tried a clutch job on my wife's '03 but got stopped about halfway because she needed the car (it couldn't sit) and I apparently skipped over the part about pulling the spindle nuts, which was impossible once the subframe was dropped. Maybe an air wrench would have worked, but my breaker bar just wasn't going to get the leverage on the wobbly shock/spring.

I was eager to drop the tranny and do it myself, but just didn't have the time. If/when my clutch goes, I'm definitely going to do it now that I learned the spindle nut thing.

We paid almost $2800 for the clutch job, including a new master cylinder and a new flywheel. They said it was a dual mass flywheel, but I don't believe that the R50's have a dual mass flywheel so yours can probably be resurfaced unless it's really bad off. Not insisting they re-use ours cost us about $500.

Good luck- if you have the time this will be very rewarding. Please post pictures of the car and your progress.

Val

P.S.- yes, you will need a transmission jack. Once for the subframe (don't forget to put PowerFlex sway bar and control arm bushings in since it's all apart anyway) and once for the transmission itself.

 

they are that expensive , I have one for sale in the marketplace ,like new for $100

 

One tip...
If you do find a good mini mechanic, the basic cooper clutch can SOMETIMES have the clutch done on a lift, without droping the subframe, by a very experanced mini mechanic...i have seen it done. But even the mechanic said that it was so tight, that it only worked on some mini coopers....
Just proves that sometimes an experanced mechanic can save you big $$.
as far buying a high mile car you cannot testdrive...
Wow...assume everything is bad....
i mean, you could swap the trany, clutch, and get a ton of lights..hesitations, etc. It is a huge gamble....there would have to be a huge discount to make me chance it...
Enough that if that was the ONLY issue, the owner would gladly toss a clutch in and sell it....

 

I paid $1,500 for my 2002 R50 knowing the Midlands was gone. It had an excellent body and interior. In retrospect, I feel I paid too much. I decided on a 6 speed swap. I bought as many used parts as I could, and shopped for the best prices on what I couldn't buy used. I did all of the labor myself, and didn't need to buy any tools. In the end, I have as much into this car as I think I could get for it. In the end, I guess it was worth it, but I could have just taken the $4,400, maybe add a few hundred, and bought a decent car in the first place.

Now $2k if you are SURE the trans is ok, and you are going to do the labor yourself, is a much better deal. If the clutch is not slipping too badly, you can probably still get a good idea about the trans.

 

DIY is part of the fun!