Some of you may have remember my earlier post. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-mini-buy.html

Well, I'm in it to win it as they say!



The issue was the throw-out bearing failing and destroying as much as it could on the way out.



Here is the hole that the little piece of throw out bearing punched into the trans. It looks to be exactly the same size as the little piece next to the coin in my previous post. (no I don't have the little piece)



Here is a picture of the damage done inside the bell housing



Fly wheel isn't looking too good either. Think I should replace it?



So, we're not sure on the new fly-wheel. I've got a new trans and we're going to try and find a new clutch/throw-out tomorrow.

 

So this happened while owned by the previous owner, correct? Know anything about that person? Abuse? Neglect? How many miles?

 

132k miles

This mini had two owners before me. Apparently the first owner had the clutch replaced in 2006 and I think ~2007 is when the person I bought the car from got it. The friction plate actually looks pretty good and fly wheel doesn't look glazed, from what I could tell.

Right now we're guessing one of two things, either the person who replaced the clutch didn't replace the throw-out bearing (who knows why not) or we are just a one-in-a-million case here where it actually failed.

 

There have been 2 or 3 threads like this in the past couple of years...one person said something about hearing the TO bearing clanging around...but (Trying to remember) decided to drive it home...broke the tranny case...
Not common...but the bearings are junky...
Have heard from a mechanic that sometimes they have looked at "2 or 3" different throwout bearings before finding one they "liked" or "felt comfortable installing" when having a stretch of bad luck with clutch packs/kits....

 

if you want just weld that hole closed again. and re-use the trans. crack it open to take a look inside to make sure everything is in good shape, maybe clean it out. as for the fly wheel i wouldn't be to concerned about a few dings as long as the mating surface is fine.

i would reuse this stuff

and while your at it install a LSD! its one thing i regret not doing while i had my trans opened up.

 

The OEM TO bearing is crap, mine disappeared , nothing like on the OP picture, nothing got damaged to that extend. Sadly I replaced it with OEM again and I have the the feeling that the new one won't last too long but let's see. I agree on reusing the tranny but I think that the OP already has a new one.

 

We had a club member who's stock TO bearing did this on his '06. He was able to weld the hole up and reuse the transmission.


I've installed a couple of Valeo clutch kits and I really like them, gets rid of both the dual mass flywheel chatter and the Chewbacca noise, and at the same time gives a clutch with good feel and response.


Oh, and about half the cost of new OEM stuff.

 

Yeah, we've got a guy willing to weld it back up already. We still need to open the trans and see what's going on inside still.

Looking for some input here:
Any thoughts on a new flywheel?

I've been calling around to the local auto parts stores and can't find a Luk or Valeo. It's all Duralast, powertorque and United brand. I really wanted to get this fixed before Thanksgiving, but it's looking more and more like I'm going to have to wait for shipping on the right parts.

I'm also looking at single mass flywheels and clutches. I keep reading that they're actually louder than the stock dual mass and have chatter. I like the idea of it being harder to kill than the dual mass and that it's a bit cheaper, but am so hesitant at the idea that it'll have noise.

 

Last I saw I think that parts geek had the flywheel for about 350 or so, but if I had to do it again I would go to the Valeo kit

 

i did not replace the flywheel on my car it was in great condition at 130K miles it was making noise at the time when i was cold but i dont have that noise anymore. new clutch pressure plate and TO bearing.

to be honest you probably dont need to change the flywheel. its just a few dings on the outside. bring it to a machine shop to have them make sure its balanced to make you feel better and or resurface it but i would reuse it.

i got my kit from germanautoparts.com you can also try minicarparts.net i use them both regular and are great. good prices and are great to work with, and sense both places are in NY and im in CT i literally get next day to 2 day shipping for the regular 7 day shipping cost.

 

I would go ahead and replace the flywheel also. You don't want to do this job again. I've actually seen the pressure plate alignment pins come out of the flywheel after something like this, and it will cause the same kind of damage. Going with the Valeo kit with the solid flywheel so you don't have to worry about it, or the dual mass part of the flywheel failing.

We can ship it in the morning so you get it this week if need.

 

Thanks GreekDrifter. Love your Build thread btw.

I do want to change it, Waymotors. The decision was made for me at the moment as I'm loosing my second set of hands after Thanksgiving and really want to get this done before then. I am also driving down to St. Louis (from Chicago) Thanksgiving day and would really like to drive the mini. Plan is to get a cheap clutch kit from Autozone tomorrow and possibly some additional fasteners from the dealer.

When it's warm again and hopefully a bit more time to work on it, I'll tear back into it and do the clutch/flywheel right. Until then, here is the hole from the inside of the trans. I'm handing it off to a good friend of mine to weld for me. Inside of the trans looks great from what we could tell! No chipped teeth.



Light through



Internal magnet

 

Actually, how would you recommend cleaning it out? I'm told that pouring kerosene in it would be okay, but getting a second opinion before I breaking something.

I was actually watching a youtube video on installing an LSD!

Seriously, I'm starting a master's degree program and can't get too caught up in in money and time with this mini right now!

 

well yes kerosene does work but sense you are presses for time, do nothing. also the kerosene will eat any seals so those will need to be replaced last time i cleaned a tranny it was an 020 from a vw. i took everything apart and made it squeaky clean. i also used wd40 too works nice hahaha.

and thanks i do it so people have an idea on how to do things or just like looking at progress.

save the lsd and flywheel for next time then.

 

894 miles later and running great! Well, minus the check engine light Got it scanned at an Advance Auto and it's related to the O2 sensor. I assume it's from us reusing the header gasket, instead of getting a new one.

@GreekDrifter91 - So much to do so little time and money! I'm actually pretty happy with the duralast clutch kit. Friction point is like a cm off the floor, else it's been working very well, so I might not end up changing it after all.

WD-40 seems like a good option. I would like to clean up the old trans still so, I'll post back if I ever get around to it