this happens at random. happened alot today on the way back from work. i do notice it happen more when the car isnt warmed up, but i drove for about 50 minutes (left work at about 410 and stopped a few places after, got home about 5)

and it did it all the way home.

if im in any gear (seems like) except first, and im around 2k rpm or less...lets go with 2nd gear for the example.

im in 2nd and at 2k rpm. i floor it, it sorta hesitates for a second, then picks up RPM's and goes..

only happens at low rpm's though. if im stopped and i take off and shift into second at 5k, then floor it in 2nd gear from ~5k, itll pick up just fine then, and through out the rest of the gears, unless i let the rpm's drop and try to floor it again.

is this the tranny, supercharger???

 

how many miles do you have? When was your last fill up of gas? Last Tune Up?

 

its my clutch going bad.

guess its a good thing to ask my dad before i try to figure it out lol.

hes been driving stick shift since he was 16 lol

its not TOO bad yet, so ima just baby it for now. ill prally order a new clutch this week though.

how much are they?

only has 32,xxx miles, and ive never burned out or anything since ive had it, i guess its just wearing out?

 

Sounds normal to me. The MINI makes no power at 2k rpm, any higher gear isn't helping it either, try to keep it above 2500 rpm and it should be fine.

 

no its deffinently not normal. i didnt just change the way i drive these last couple of days. its defifinently something going out

 

is it best to buy a new clutch from the dealer, or should i go with an aftermarket one (if not much more money) or should i buy the factory one, but somewhere online?

 

If your clutch is failing by 32K you are probably doing something wrong. Better figure out what it is before you go spending money on new parts, OEM or otherwise, or you will have the same problem again.

 

im not doing anything wrong....i know how to drive a manual, and ive never once burned out or attempted to, nor has anyone. i never grind gears or anything. like i said its not bad, but its deffinently going out. shouldnt be at 32k but should my starter have went out at 31k? it "shouldnt" have, but it did, unfortunantely.

 

Sounds like driving style to me. All that extra weight you added to the rear isnt helping so I would advise you to rev a little higher then shift, beucase you say when you shift at 5k the car is fine. As J Marshall said the MINI's dont have that great of power at low RPM. Also my clutch whent at 30,000 did you hear any kind of noise coming from the clutch like a whistling or squeeling becuase thats the tell tale sign that its going. Otherwise change your acceleration styles.

 

that's weird i have about 75k miles on my 04 and haven't had any problems with the clutch at all...and that's after many burnouts, 1/4 mile runs and spraying nitrous

 

i barely have any extra weight in yet. all this time its just been the box. between the rear seats i took out and everything, its prally 130ish extra pounds total. thats like having a passenger riding with me everywhere i go........i dont have the subs batts amps or anything in yet...so i dont think thats the cause. i dont think its my driving style i drive the same as any other person i know that drives stick.....i know how to drive, i know for a fact its not my driving style....

 

are you noticing any smell? (roasted clutch)??

 

not at all. no leaks of any fluids, all fluids are full, etc.

 

I'm no mechanic, nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, but based on your initial statement:

"it sorta hesitates for a second, then picks up RPM's and goes.." makes me think it's not the clutch. When I've had the clutch go bad, the RPMs pick up, and the drivetrain hesitates.

My guess - gas (bad gas, fuel filter maybe) or software related. When did you last fill up? Wondering if they're changing any of the fuel mixtures for the winter again.

 

Hmmm...

Maybe a bad BPV. ???

I had a customer that wanted / thought he needed a clutch with the same complaint..
After a drive ... then diong the zip tie trick ... I was able to bring the car back to life.

Just a thought ... but I wouldn't jump right to the clutch.
Put your E brake on and try to let the clutch out...if you spin the tires or stall ...your clutch is probably OK

 

I had a clutch go out in my CRX and you could definatley tell. When you floored it the rpm's would rise up and the car wouldnt really be going any faster, then it would eventually catch up slowly accelerate.

I thinkCOR BLMY has a pretty good idea, if it doesnt stall or spin then your clutch it slipping.

 

thats more like what its doing. i didnt explain it very good. its hard to explain as im not a mechanic either, but i showed my dad and he knows what a bad/going bad clutch feels like, and he said its the clutch going out. its hard to explain without showing you, as ive never seen what a clutch going bad is like.

 

about the gas...maybe its the gas pricing going down so they gave me bad gas LOL.. jk

i only fill up at shell, BP, etc..

 

So, what is the zip tie trick?

 

Zip tie trick is zip-tying the BPV in the closed position I would imagine, thus you are bypassing the bypass valve, hahaha.

If what you are experiencing is in line with what Wookie said then it probably is the clutch. Generally clutches last a while, but there are exceptions, so you could just be unlucky.

When you start adding more weight to your MINI you will probably want to have the extra weight of the dual mass flywheel, would make starting a bit easier. Thats not to say you couldnt do the same with a light flywheel, it might just be easier with the heavy one.

 

Cor is right on. If the revs climb and then the car starts to go, it's the clutch. But with the torque curve of the engine, once it starts to spin it should just spin more till all you smell is clutch!

The Bypass valve isn't the most reliable part on the car. If it's sticking or slow to close, you get no power at all (a NA car with 8.something compression ratio) till the sucker closes and you can start making some boost.

Matt

 

allergic to Elmers?