Welcome to NAM! You posted your issues and without knowing you or your driving habits, your driving habits are already being dissected.

The fact is that Mini has a self-acknowledged TOB issue and has covered this in an official TSB.

In other words, you didn't kill the TOB, it's a known problem.

Additionally, in the three years I owned my MCS, the dealer could not keep the AC running for longer than 8 months at a time.

 

This is clearly a sign that our car is infact a low end british car.

 

Having driven stick shift cars from a Pinto to a Buick Opel to a Renault 18i to a Grand Am and an Integra GSR, I'm really amazed at the statements about leaving the stick in neutral and staying off from the clutch at lights. I have always left the stick in first with the clutch FULLY depressed at a light and had 90K+ on the last three mentioned cars when I traded them - none of them were showing any signs of clutch wear. The clutch and transmission were one of the few things that didn't go on the Renault. Are the clutches in the MINI this pathetic or are a number of novice stick drivers the issue? I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything, I'm just trying to get the straight poop. Thanks.

 

I drove a 78 VW Scirocco with about 150hp and the stock clutch lasted for over 150,000 miles and I left the car in gear at stop lights. Guess I was wrong for doing that.

 

Keeping the clutch in, affects the throw out bearing and the pressure plate. Not the disc. When the t.o.b. and p.p. go, they give no warning or show wear. The break or seize immediately.

 

If you had left the clutch out and put the car in neutral you could have squeezed at least 95K miles off of them......

 

I'm from the "do not depress the clutch while in first at a stop but leave it in neutral" club.

Current car, 1990 Integra, original owner, 260K+ miles, original clutch.

That is how I will drive my MINI.

 

I never knew any of that. Its not like its really bothersome at all either. So even if it has the possibillity of helping I will certainly start keeping it in neutral. Thanks!

 

The way I look at it, my knee doesn't like maintaining the pressure, why would the car?

 

Sorry to hear about your fustration with the car.
Hope that you can get it reasolved either by selling of it being properly fixed.
Nobody should be this unhappy with any car.
Good luck and Cheers
Shawn

 

You can keep your clutch depressed all day long and as long as it's fully depressed it won't hurt a thing. It's when you have it partially depressed (as in partially engaged) that you'll cause undue wear.

Where'd you ever get the idea that fully depressing the clutch would cause any wear? That's just not true.:impatient

 

You are really trying to tell me that keeping my clutch in at red lights or while stopped in traffic is going to cause my clutch to go out???
Call me unconvinced because between myself, my mother, my father, my sister (who were all taught to drive manuals by my father and keep the clutch in) we have NEVER had a clutch failure in any of our cars, including a 67 MGB.
I'm more likely to believe that the MINI has an engineering/manufacturing defect in some of the parts in the manual transmission rather than a driving style issue.

 

New windshield this morning, PPG glass, looks wonderful. MINI tech tells me the clutch problem is a throw out bearing sleeve that gets "hung up" when cold. The problem does go away quickly when warm. The seat heater replaced under warranty....now the air. It is back on today and seems real happy.

Maybe I can live with it for awhile longer.....

 

Great to hear that things are getting takin care of
Cheers

 

Keeping the clutch depressed partially, fully, it makes no difference. You are placing pressure and stress on the components that you don't need to, and it will wear out the cluth assembly sooner. That's a physical fact. Partially depressing, or feathering the clutch too much will wear out the disc faster. Anytime you push the clutch pedal, your placing stress on the hydraulics, the fingers on the pressure plate, and the throw out bearing. Concerning the latter two, ever heard of metal fatigue?

Makes no difference what you drive, and by the way, I'm very familiar with MGB's, I've owned one since it was new in 1975, and have also had a 1968 MGC-GT and a 1969 MGC Roadster.

You just go on doing what you do, it's your vehicle. Break it however you wish.

 

You don't seem to know what a clutch assembly actually is and how it works. The clutch is more than the disc, which in fact will take no wear while it is fully depressed or disengaged, but the disc is only one third of the assembly. The pressure plate and throw out bearing take destructive stress when engaged in a prolonged period.

 

Glad you're getting fixed up rrudorf.

Have you checked out michiganmini.org? You need to hang out with us!

 

Throw out bearings & pressure plates will take the most abuse everyday except if you ride the clutch. The friction composite that makes up the surface of the clutch & the flywheel are the only friction part of the system and when engaged or disengaged there is lil to no wear (unless you are pushing more HP than the friction material or pressure plate is cable of holding).

All of that said, I destroyed the stock flywheel and clutch on my at the time stock mini playing in a snow covered parking lot. Yes you could say that is hard on the driveline, but it should of never destroyed the flywheel, only perhaps caused a lil friction material to come off the clutch. In my personal opinion, the stock clutch is unreliable at best. It just seems the tolerances of the manufacturing process are very broad.

 

Join the Mini good service club!
Here's what we are getting, click on link! Watch the end to see something NEW!

http://www.mazdamovies.com/communit...r-promo-vid.wmv

 

:impatient :impatient :impatient

 

Jeez Gromit...Now you're scaring me!! But thanks for the tip.

 

Whether I release the clutch at a stop light and sit there in neutral depends on the light at which I'm sitting...