Got a 2011 Cooper (base) for my kid as his first car and stick shift out of principle ;-) 117K miles though - we did a lot of maintenance but I draw the line at clutch job on that car. No idea when the clutch was changed prior, if at all (but I imagine so)
Are there any indicator of wear anywhere? I suspect it's old going by the fact the clutch pedal is grabbing only at the *very top* of travel - like last 10% if that, it feels like it's on its last legs from a "it should grab lower and be less knigfe edge" standpoint. .. I can drive it no problem, but even I think that's really cruel to the kid learning ! No super obvious slipping yet though maybe one time or 2 I hit a hot spot in 2nd and it may have slipped a bit (revs shooting up slightly), hard to tell as it's not consistent.. I'm letting the kid learn on this for now, next week we do hill starts, so it's not gonna get better ;-)

The dealer quoted me $3700 for clutch + flywheel + tax, 60% of the price of the car.. I'm hoping independents can do better - was thinking $2000 or so?
Can you give me a normal price range (bone stock 2011 mini cooper - no mods) and confirm there is no way to tell exact wear ? I'll feel stupid if I pay that $ and the pedal is exactly the same afterwards and I'm told "Oh, they're all like that" - LOL ! thx !

 

The base cooper doesn't have a dual-mass flywheel, so it really doesn't need to be changed unless the contact surface is excessively worn or run out. Most indy shops are charging $3K to change a clutch.

With the car parked, you should be able to shift into all the gears with the clutch released. At idle, apply the parking brake and let the clutch out; the car should stall. Sorry, the car doesn't have a clutch wear indicator.

Your clutch uses a master/slave cylinders; it is possible one of them is leaking, or the line may have air in it; you could try bleeding the clutch hydraulic circuit. Fluid for the master and slave cylinders comes from the brake master cylinder reservoir.

The MINI throw-out bearing is very small; so make sure you teach your son to keep his foot off the clutch pedal when he's at a stop light ... only put your foot on that clutch pedal when you're shifting.

 

Just to clarify… The clutch disengages at the top, just as you start to press the pedal? Or at the bottom just before hitting the floor? The Mini clutch hydraulics system is “self adjusting”, so as the clutch wears, pedal travel and release point won’t change. The only way to really tell if the clutch is wearing out is to remove and inspect. However, at that point, it’s moot to just replace it.

 

Ok so it IS slipping now, occasionally but for sure... The pickup is at the every top of the pedal travel. I'm hoping when new there's more meat to the grab point, but at least the kid learned stick !
The painful part is quotes:
-Dealer $3700 +- + tax
- independant: 3900 + tax
- other indy: F no, too much labor, we no longer do these
- Last one: $6000

Are you serious ? My principles of teaching my kids to swim/ski/know how to drive a clutch - are starting to cost me !!

 

Sry, dont wanna Hijack your Post.

But is it normal on the Cooper S, that the Clutch is hard to Press? It really Hurts my Leg after 2 hours of City driving

 

Time to teach the kids how to swap a clutch? You could do the job at home for half those estimates.

 

2012 R56 with 73k has started making the telltale burned clutch smell. The clutch is still working fine, for what it's worth. Shop wants $3000 to replace. I'm reasonably mechanically inclined but don't have the right tools. I have a long weekend coming up. Am I crazy to consider doing it myself? I did just get the Bentley guide so I'm not flying completely blind. where do you recommend shopping for the special mini tools I'll need?

 

I don't think you're crazy, only because I tackled my own clutch replacement too. Got it all done in two days. Day 1 for disassembly, and day 2 to get everything back together. Plan on taking more off than you might think. There are some good tutorials on-line to review, but no one tutorial is all encompassing. If you are reasonably mechanically inclined, you'll be able to figure most of it out.

The only tool I think I purchased specifically for the clutch job was an engine cradle from Harbor Freight:
https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-l...bar-96524.html

 

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Ah does this mean that dropping the motor is required? Was hoping I could avoid that. Oof

 

The motor stays in the car. But you'll need to pull the subframe, which is why the support tool is needed.

 

I too am looking at a clutch replacement and am confident I can do it. But the thing I struggled with was getting the car high enough at home to remove the clutch from under the car. I'm retired military so I have access to DIY lifts for quite low cost, just struggling with timing the job at the moment.

Are the rest of you home mechanics doing it by pulling the clutch out the front of the car? Implying all the front end removal tasks that needs to be done?

Or is there some magic way to get the Mini higher at home with basic floor jacks and stands? It has to be nearly 3 feet off the ground to pull the clutch from underneath.

Mike

 

You don't need a lift. I replaced the clutch in our '07 Justa with no issues. As you can see from the pictures, you don't have to put the front end in the maintenance position, but you do have to drop the sub-frame. Word of caution, when you disconnect the pinch bolt on the steering linkage (inside the car) make sure you lock the steering wheel so it can't turn. If the steering wheel (SZL module) and the steering rack sensor don't agree as to where 0 degrees is, you'll have all sorts of problems when you power the car back up.

 

Dang it. I swear I have measured the clearances like 15 times and I just could not see how it would work. But I've got that exact same transmission jack and you clearly did it. Can I ask what the distance ground to frame rail was in that pic? If you can estimate?

This is the video I studied like 400 times as i prepared to do the work:

 

I'd say about 18" between the floor and the rail at the point where you see the front jack stand.

 

I did my clutch on jackstands as well by watching this video. And by following pelican parts guide. But 100% do NOT put it in service mode. I did that but it was a waste of time when I ended up dropping the whole subframe

 

Jack stands here, too. Also, can’t do “service position” because the front radiator carrier relies on the subframe for support in service position. Since you’re removing the subframe, there is nothing to support the radiator carrier.

 

Awesome. Thanks. I guess I will give it a shot in the future here.