This morning clutch pedal goes to floor. At first I thought the battery was dead since when it started it killed, but then I realized the clutch was still engaged despite it being pushed to the floor.

I had a low brake fluid light come on yesterday. Drove to autoparts store, added some fluid, drove home. No problems.

The clutch did something similar yesterday morning, but not as bad, and once I was out of the apartment complex it was like normal all day.

Possibly this is a clutch hydraulic problem? Got the Bently manual out right now....

 

The slave cylinder probably failed. If you can pump the clutch pedal and the clutch comes back (at least a little) then it's almost definitely a slave cylinder problem. It's a relatively cheap part (around $30 I believe) and a semi-complicated install. I say semi-complicated because when you install the new one you have to make sure you bleed it properly and remove the air.

 

I was just talking with Chad @ Detroit tuned about it. Sounds like the culprit.

Car was low on brake fluid yesterday.

Jacked up car and noticed small amount of brake fluid dripping from the left front, in front of the wheel. If it is leaking, there is definitely air in system, plus it has likely failed.

 

Or my problem. A leaking Clutch Slave Cylinder. $68 at Century MINI in Greenville SC. Next to get a power bleeder, luckily we have a Harbor Freight up the road for a power bleeder...pick up cylinder tomorrow with wifes car....then on with with amateur night of automechanics with Bently manual in tow.

 

look at this thread and see my post(2nd one). you will really need some type of tool like that to help you bleed the system. its a pita to do, even with the power bleeder(which i also have). good luck!
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=131915

 

I gave up trying to bleed that thing. I got close, but not good enough.

I got it to the point I can get it into gear with a little fuss. Good enough to get it to an import garage that I have seen some MINI's at I have an appointment with tomorrow.

At least I will not have to pay towing fees.

 

I gave up trying to bleed that thing. I got close, but not good enough.

I got it to the point I can get it into gear with a little fuss. Good enough to get it to an import garage that I have seen some MINI's at I have an appointment with tomorrow.

At least I will not have to pay towing fees.

I made a slave compressor, see attached.

 

I gave up trying to bleed that thing. I got close, but not good enough.

I got it to the point I can get it into gear with a little fuss. Good enough to get it to an import garage that I have seen some MINI's at I have an appointment with tomorrow.

At least I will not have to pay towing fees.

 

i had the same problem, but i took it to the dealer in LA and they had to replace the clutch. I'm no expert but id check to see if the clucth isnt ground down at all. I know when i race it does the same thing, but yea also check the slave cylinders and the bearings. hope things go well

 

I made a tool to do it with, see attached. My results...not so good. Good enough to get it in gear and take it to a import shop I have seen MINI's at.

 

haha we don't have the special tool at our shop(no idea why since we are a mini shop... ) so i made one myself and it ooks just like yours. it gets the job done thats for sure!

anyways, sorry to hear that it wasn't all you expected but at least it helped. it can be a shitty job to bleed te clutch on these cars...

 

The import shop I took it to says it is the clutch master cylinder? They quoted $270 P&L to fix, hopefully that is it.

It kinda makes sense, but I find it odd that they would go at the same time? Once I got it bled properly I had 1/2 clutch pressure.

I am certainly not an expert, but I actually did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

Play it smart and do both the master and slave. If the slave goes the master is usually right behind. The pressure created by the new, healthy slave cylinder just makes it happen faster.

 

What I learned is that if one failed, you should just replace both, or it will likely be a waste of your time.

I did the work right, but there was no way to tell the master had puked except that you get 1/2 clutch pedal.

Each cylinder is ~$70.

 

Wow, I wish the master did cost only $70... I called Century Mini this morning and was told the master cylinder was just sort of $170 and would have to be ordered with a 3 to 4 day delivery. I found the same item at Mini Mania for $59.65 and ordered it with a quicker delivery.

 

ok question is, is this all covered under warranty?!

i had the exact thing just happen, clutch went to floor, then pumped it back and would barely engage

 

I would like to think so as it would seem to be part of the drivetrain.

Although I have never lived close enough to a dealer to use any of the warranty stuff. Unless it was seriously expensive.

 

My clutch did the same thing last month, and they thought it was the slave cylinder and it was actually the master cylinder in the clutch. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

Yes, there is a special tool to bleed the clutch on a MINI or you can make one according to my repair place.

 

ok guys need some major advice!

dealership is saying that its the clutch, want to charge me 2500 for the install and parts! WOW

they say they have ruled out that it could be the slave or master cylinders because there is no leaking

i DONT trust this dealership and have had then try to screw me before
so we are going to get a second oppinion from another shop but right now i would like to hear some of your oppinions.

was driving, clutch went to the floor, was able to pump it back up and would engage a little, enough to drive about a block

got in today and there was no clutch pressure, pedal at the floor

what do you all think?

 

I just had my master and slave cylinders replaced and neither was leaking! The guys at Helix told me that the fluid was leaking between the seals inside the cylinder. The symptoms were that sometimes the car would shift and sometime you couldn't get it into any gear and you knew knew when it might happen; so I knew the mechanics of the clutch were sound. When the cylinders were replaced, the car worked perfectly. Don't let MINI rip you off! HTH

Joe



My advice is to take it to a place where they can do what you want.

 

I'm in the process of installing a new slave and master cylinder on my clutch. I was having problems getting into gears when the outside temperatures were getting above 90. I bleed the system several times with an improvement each time that lasted several days. On the forth of July I was bleeding the system again and I ended up with a blast of brake fluid coming out the rod end seal. When I replaced the slave cylinder the next day, I lost the master cylinder seal. The pedal went to the floor where it stayed. Tonight I plan on installing the new master cylinder.

It sounds like your dealer is trying to screw you big time. The only way the pedal would go down and stay down other than a hydraulic system failure would be if the release bearing came apart or the operating fork broke off. Either of these falures would have happened with a lot of noise and posssible mechanical lock up of the engine.

 

well they "say" that the pedal came all the way up and just wont engage anything now. However when i was sitting in the car yesterday morning there was little to no pressure behind the clutch. We are getting it trailered from the dealership to a guy we know, and at the least if it really is the clutch/ flywheel, it will cost half of what mini wants to charge

 

I'd have the master and slave cylinder replaced before I did anything. They are relatively inexpensive!

 

Yes, having the tool or making one makes the job easier, especially if you are working by yourself.

Although Onasled's extensive mechanical knowledge told how you can do it without it, just compress the slave and gravity bleed. Compressing the slave is the tricky part unless you have 5 arms/hands or a helper.

"No special tool needed to do the slave. Just blead it before you bolt it up to the trany using gravity. Dont use the pedal when doing it this way.

Do know that the resevoir feed to the clutch is higher up then the brakes, so you will loose clutch before you loose any brakes. So, do make sure that it is not below 3/4 full."

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=145730