Well, I just received my new MCS and I am hearing a noise from the clutch assembly. When I press the clutch down the noise is gone as soon as I let out the clutch the noise returns. I have read another very informative thread that states that it is the flywheel where the dual mass flywheel is using rubber tensioners instead of springs and therefore not giving enough tension. I hope I am understanding this correctly! I know there are those of us with new MCS that are experiencing no problems at the moment, but how far off can it be before we all experience the same problem? We all have the same transmissions and so we all could experience the problem down the road. BTY I love my Mini despite the problem and hope BMW will get this solved sooner than later.

 

but I'm not sure....

Matt

 

nope not a throw out bearing.

I had the flywheel, clutch/ throw-out bearing, and finally the whole tranny replaced before the sound went away.
my 07' MCS was three weeks old when they had to replace the rear main seal due to an oil leak. To replace the seal they had to remove the tranny, and it was after they reinstalled the tranny the sound emerged.

 

With my clutch out in neutral, I also hear a noise that goes away when the clutch is pushed in. However, I'm not worrying about it. From what I've read here on NAM, the tranny has a few quirks, one of them being noisy. The 6 speed manual shifts so smoothly, I'm happy with it...noisy or not!

 

Do you also hear the noise with your foot off the clutch when it's in neutral. If so, it's probably a bad bearing on the tranny input shaft.

 

make sure that it gets into the records at your dealer in case it's worse than what you think.

Matt

 

A throw-out bearing is under load when the clutch pedal is depressed so it should be louder when the pedal is depressed if it's bad.

When the tranny is in neutral and the clutch pedal is released, the input shaft is being driven by the engine. Since no gear is selected, the input shaft spins freely and the countershaft transfers no power to the output shaft. When you press the clutch pedal, the input shaft is no longer driven by the engine so it slows. When you move the gear selector to first (for instance) the synchro ring will slow the idling gear to match the speed of the couter shaft and allow engagement of the synchro hub to the gear, thus locking the gear to the input shaft and transfering the power to the countershaft and output shaft.

This would mean that when the tranny is in neutral and the clutch pedal is not engaged, the input shaft (and associated bearings) and being driven. When the clutch pedal is depressed, the input shaft (and assoicated bearings) are unloaded.

When the clutch pedal is released, the pressure plate clamps the clutch disk to the flywheen so the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel are locked together by the friction surface of the clutch disk. When the clutch pedal is depressed, the clutch is idle and the pressure plate is loaded by the throw-out bearing pressing on the pressure plate springs.

It's really hard to tell where the offending part is located. If you put the car on a lift (or lift the front wheels), start it, put it in first gear and let out the clutch pedal and you hear the noise then you can try putting the tranny into fourth gear and see if the noise goes away. If the noise goes away in fourth gear then you can be pretty sure the problem is the input bearing or the nose bearing in the flywheel. This is because fourth gear is a 1:1 ratio which means the input shaft is effectively locked to the output shaft and engine. For every 1 rotation of the engine, the output shaft turns once. This reduces the load on the input bearing and nose bearing. NOTE: don't try this method unless you're familiar with how to safely lift the car and support it with jackstands. You could be seriously hurt or killed if you don't know what you're doing. I assume no responsibility for actions taken by anyone.

I hope this made some sense.

 

but I dont' think any gear on the Mini is 1:1. I know all about how these things work, just not all the detials on combos of symptoms that have shown up on the Mini trannies....

Matt

 

If the 2nd gen tranny is anything like the 1st, Dr.O is right. There is no single through shaft to offer a 1:1 ratio which would only exist if the gears were set up for that ratio. No need to do that.

 

Apparently I've achieved dinosaur status . I quit turning wrenches about 15 years ago when I got my engineering degree . But back in my day we had 1:1.

I did some quick research and see what you guys are talking about regarding the 6 speed. Perhaps my old method of unloading the input shaft and pilot bearings won't work as expected on these new fangled contraptions . Seems I have to research before I speak-up .

Thanks for pointing out the ratio issue. This will make for some new learing for me.

 

so the drive path is somewhat folded together. You should see some of the threads that went on about "What is the final drive ratio for the Mini" as there are two because of the two half-shafts inside the tranny! That one went round and round for quite a while...... The reason I wasn't sure on the exact ratios is my table is total drive ratio, not just tranny with the two final drives.... Used them for the drag race simulator I did in Excel for the power and torque article in the latest MC Squared.

Matt