Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I've hung around here at NAMotoring, but I'm back. It appears that my '03 MC is experiencing "paid off car syndrome" and is forcing me to dump as much money into it as possible now that I'm not making a car payment. Grrr... Anyway:

For a few days now, my clutch has had a gravel-y feeling to it. It's hard to explain, but it feels rougher than it used to. Starting today however, when the pedal is pushed in a loud squeal comes from what I imagine is the clutch area. As I let the pedal out, the sound progressively goes away. When the pedal is completely out, the sound is gone.

The clutch still seems to catch just fine, the noise and the pedal roughness are the only symptoms so far.

This happens whether the car is warmed up or cold. I have done a search, and have found some possibilities (TOB, friction plate, etc), but haven't found anyone reporting exactly what I'm experiencing.

Any ideas on this would be appreciated. I'm obviously out of warranty, so would like an idea of how much I'm going to drop, and what exactly (well, as exactly as possible anyway) needs to be replaced.

Thanks,
Liam

 

My 03 MCS does that also.
I noticed that it only does it in first gear, only in the morning, and only when I try to engage with low rpm. If I rev to a higher rpm it does not squeal.

 

From reading other auto-related forums last night, it sounds like my throwout bearing is bad. Can anyone confirm or deny my assumption? Also, can anyone give me an idea as to how long I have until this becomes a catastrophic failure? Should I stop driving it immediately, or do I have a few days/weeks/months?

Thanks.

 

my vote is throwout bearing. my mechanic seconds that opinion. I *think* they are made of some high-tech Teutonic plastic that's prone to breakage, so Id get it corrected asap (someone plz correct if that's wrong.)

to give you an idea of how much the dealer would charge, I had my (glazed) dual mass flywheel and clutch replaced on my 2005 S at 24,000 and the p/l warranty chargeback to BMW was $2,670. Of course yr MC has a regular flywheel so I think it can be turned, unlike dual-mass. good luck.

my car's getting close to paid off status (warranty expiration) and starting to throw some real hissy fits. Extended warranty is NOT a gamble with mine, if I keep it

 

They are definitely plastic...high-tech, I don't know..but they are definitely Sh*t. The problem is that you get similar noises from a TOB rubbing as you do from a slave cylinder rubbing. A slave cylinder is $25, and easy to change, so start there. That could very well be it. Since there is really no way of diagnosing whether it is hydrolic or internal (in the clutch housing) other than replacing parts, just start with the easy cheap part and hopefully that will solve it.

Do you know if your slave cylinder has ever been changed? If not, that is probably the culprit.

Another thing that I consider VERY important from past major problems...If your slave cylinder goes bad and is causing extra stiffness in the clutch, it can cause the master cylinder to go bad as well. I found out that my new master cylinder was screwed after 8k miles because the slave cylinder went. I only knew it was bad because while bleeding it, the master cylinder was sucking in air from it's seals. You may want to just be safe and change them both out. The 2 parts together would be about $100.

The hard part of changing out the slave cylinder is bleeding the clutch! I suggest getting a power bleeder, or going the really cheap easy route and getting a topside oil changer and adding to the tube about 1 inch of tubing that will fit snugly on the "nipple" of the slave cylinder. I F***ed with the old school bleeding for HOURS and remembered that my dumb **** already had one of these oil changers. With that, I completely bled the clutch in less than 1 minute! Don't forget to fully compress the slave cylinder while bleeding. Search and you will find plenty of ideas for easy tools. I used a thick home depot free wooden paint mixer with 2 holes in it, and some 4 inch bolts.

 

Thank for all your information, everyone, it is really appreciated.

And now the update: Today, while leaving work, my clutch started to grab with the pedal barely out. Upon backing out of my parking space, I had trouble getting the car out of reverse and into first, so pulled back into the parking spot and now it's sitting at work waiting for me and AAA to pick it up and bring it to the doc in the morning.

The sound has become increasingly loud, and this morning I started noticing it even with the pedal out completely. Either way, this sucks. I guess I'll have a verdict tomorrow.

But again, thanks to all of you for your help and information.

Liam

 

I have had intermittent clutch squall for 2+ years. As Zeus7525 mentions, it usually only happends in the morning (usually high humidity) and only the first two to three times I clutch out, while being in first or neutral.

I asked a Momentum Mini mech about it last time I was there (about 1 year ago) and he said he had never heard about it before, but confirmed he did hear it when starting the car cold the next morning. He said it was nothing to worry about..so let see..

I agree the clutch does feel harder and takes more 'muscle' to control fine adjustements, like starting uphill (not many hills in Houston), but I must have just gotten used to it because I have not given it any thought until Liam's post. Now I will be irritated the next couple of days, whenever I clutch out...tks Liam! .

 

The plot thickens. The shop says the pilot bearing shattered and ruined my transmission. Any ideas on this one? I get the feeling I'm not going to be a Cooper owner for much longer.

 

TAKE IT TO ANOTHER SHOP!!! get another opinion. Your symptoms still sound like a slave cylinder or master cylinder failure. Those are the exact symptoms I just had. From the sound to the engagement point of the clutch. It was the slave cylinder going bad and binding, which led to the master cylinder blowing a seal and slowly sucking air into the system causing less movement of the slave cylinder which equates to the engagement of the clutch happening at the floor.

A while back I had my TOB completely melt and bond itself to the sleeve. It bent the clutch fork as well. My POS midlands tranny is still working fine. Don't listen to them unless they have thoroughly tested and replaced the hydrolics!