Ok so I just made the first payment on my used mini. Up until this point the car has been a ton of fun and i have been very happy with it. Right at the 30 day mark the clutch went basically instantly. I brought it right to the closest mini dealer in fear of being screwed by the small dealer i bought it from (as if i havent been already). And mini wants 2100 to replace the clutch?? I couldnt believe it. Is this normal?

 

That depends on whether you need a flywheel or not. We charge $1300 and change to do the job. That includes the clutch kit, trans oil, labor and tax. Flywheels are coming down in price, but the dealer gets big buxx for the flywheel. You won't know whether you need a flywheel until the trans is out and you can look at it, so I bet the price you were quoted was without a flywheel.

 

Oh i know its without the flywheel. The 2100 price they gave me was without the flywheel because he said the very same thing. He said we dont know until we look at it. So worse case scenario i am looking at 2100. if it "needs" a flyweel it obviously will be more. thats a ton of money already never mind if its needs a flywheel. not sure what to do. car i just bought is down and with a big price tag. and I didnt abuse it in the least bit

 

1300 is a lot better lol where are you?

 

for a dealer...yes....the free loaners, free coffee, leather couches, shiny floor, shiny building means higher prices...
and for 50% of folks, they never see the bill...it is sent to the warranty company (oem or 3rd party)..so folks often don't care....
The job is 50% labor...and dealers charge 2x the per hour rate in most cases as in independent shop...
the the independent shop will be closer to $1500-1600 with the same OEM parts maybe less using 3rd part parts...
and with a dealer, don't be surprised if they tell you you need $2000+ more work done ASAP...their goal is to keep a car in like new condition...not as a serviceable used car...

 

they are in Philly PA

 

tad bit of a tow lol.

So the moral of the story is i could save a bunch by going to a smaller shop. dont know any really. so i am not sure where to look.

 

Not sure what your mechanical know-how/motivation is, but I did mine by myself in the garage last week. It is no easy feat by any means, but it can be done, and saved me A LOT of money!

 

I am very inclined mechanically. the big issue for me right now is the space. my garage is smaller and i dont have the space for a clutch. Also it would take me days no doubt because i wouldnt be able to just work on it all day until done. So i was trying to just make it easier and have a shop do it. I have done them before but a fox body mustang is not a mini lol. How long did it take you?

 

I did it in half of my two car garage. It's a chore, there's no doubt. I actually took the day off of work, but had prepared myself by watching YouTube videos and reading literally dozens of threads on clutch replacement.

My total time was 13 hours. This includes a 2 hour round trip to the dealer to buy a clutch kit because the one I bought online was incorrect (just buy yours from the dealer for accuracy... It was about $350), 1 hour for fighting with the pinch bolt on the steering knuckle in the cabin and 1 hour fighting with one single 8mm bolt holding the aux water pump on. Without my wasted time, I would say about 9 hours. There was lots of cursing, haha, and I was sore for the next few days (I'm 39... The last clutch I did I was in my mid 20's).

I invested about $400 total in the job (clutch kit and tranny fluid being the only real expenses). I only used basic hand tools, some jack stands, one bottle jack and one floor jack.

To me, it was worth the cost savings. To you, it may not be.

BTW - I bought my Mini used and had the clutch shell out about 3 weeks after purchasing the car, so I feel your pain!

 

i miss the good old days where i could take my car to the hobby shop on base and had access to lifts etc. now I have a single garage chock full of crap i cant fit a car in.

 

save any of the guides you found when you did yours?

 

LOL... That's where I changed my last clutch! I miss those days greatly, as well! Access to a lift, air tools and transmission jack would have made the job infinitely easier! As was the guy who worked there and always had a pointer or two for you!

 

The link I mainly followed:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-flywheel.html

I did not remove my front bumper nor did I put the front end in 'service mode'. I paid dearly with the single 8mm bolt I referrenced above, but if I did another clutch in that car, I would do it the exact same way. I also removed both sides of the suspension in the front. There were literally 3 nuts holding the strut tower in, so for me it was a no-brainer. Removing the drivers side gave more access for the transmission and removing the passenger side gave me an easy out for the subframe.

There are several YouTube videos for the old Minis, but I found none for the R56. I will say that it is overall similar enough that it's worth watching.

I also have a Bently manual which helped.

 

If you post what city you are in, you might get some recommendations for a good mini independent..

 

Why did you remove the aux water pump? I'm pretty sure that's not necessary.

I've done a diff install in about 9 hours but that was with like 1.5 people. Splitting the trans case and installing the diff does take a while though.

I've made a few detailed posts on trans removal on the r56 so if you search around you should be able to dig them up. It's not particularly complicated but things can go wrong occasionally. The last mini trans I removed we had a very difficult time getting the shift cables off the transmission but it was super easy when I did mine. No reason to put the car in service mode which saves a bunch of time.

There aren't any special tools required. Be super careful putting the axles back in so you don't rip the axle seals because they're not easy to replace.

 

Well thanks everyone for the suggestions etc. If we weren't in the middle of winter faced with more snow I would be able to tackle it myself. No space to do it and down time are an issue for me. I am waiting on a call back from a few garages but i am open to referrals if ya have them. as far as the city goes I am in Rhode Island the city doesnt matter they are all 15 minutes away! lol

 

My aux water pump is bolted to the transmission... No choice unless I wanted to drain the coolant (which I did not since it is new).

Jimini,

I don't blame you for not wanting to do it in your garage this time of year! I had to wear long sleeves here in SC as it was only in the 50's when I did mine. Since you are in the center of the universe (New England - I'm from Boston ), I'm sure there are tons of people who can recommend a close by shop! Good luck with yours.

 

I hear that greaseys garage in Massachusetts is a good place to go for MINI work.

 

i will look them up thanks!