i've searched around the Forum and can't seem to find any symptoms that match mine so i'm throwing this out there.

Last year i replaced the Clutch in my 03 MC after it went out at 55k miles. Everything was fine and dandy no problems till just a couple weeks ago i noticed i'm have a really [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']really REALLY [/FONT]hard time switching gears. At first it was just switching into 1st, and 2nd, now it's all gears. I have to almost Kick the shift for it to go into 1st at a dead stop and almost pull it out of place to get it into 2nd gear. This morning when i got to work, and parked while the car was running i noticed that i wasn't even able to get it back into 1st gear. Almost as though the synchros aren't lined up.

Another symptom i have is that when i do get it in gear and i'm stopped the engine starts to die down almost like i'm pulling up on the clutch a little. however i haven't moved the pedal.

Does this sound like the synchros or possible the slave cylinder? i'm going to change the Fluid tonight, and also try to do a bleed on the slave to make sure there is no air in the lines. But has anyone else had a problem like this?

 

Sounds like a problem with the clutch slave cylinder - most likely needs to be replaced. I'm having a similar problem with a new slave cylinder - acts like there is air in the hydraulics.

Kevin

 

It could also be the shift cables binding up or one snapped.

 

The earlier MINI's had issues with the shift cables getting water into them. If that water froze it could make it nearly impossible to shift.

 

Alright... The good the bad the Ugly update....

So i changed the Trani fluid today, while doing so i noticed the shift cables a little corroded because of the battery acid dripping on them... problem 1, second i noticed that the change in fluid didn't really help, so i started working on the slave.
I bled the slave cylinder and noticed the clutch arm on the top of them trani had some play in it.. Is that normal? it also moves up and down about 1/2 an inch or so. is that normal? Either way when working on bleeding the slave... it broke... So either way i have a new one coming in tomorrow about 1030, which is awesome except the fact this means i'm driving my beastly truck. Will update when more info is available.

 

ON a side note, i checked the cables after reading, and even though they are showing signs of wearing, i don't think it's them since when the car is not turned on i can glide through all the gears. I'm hoping that it's just the slave, or kind of hoping it's the clutch. That way i can take it back to the guy that did it and have him re-do it, since it's been less then a year. and half the year the car was driven, because he had it, and because i was unable to drive.

 

Ok i got the car put back together last night, i power bled it 4 times, and still no luck. I still can't get into gear when the car is on. I'm now leaning towards the Synchro rings. I'm gonna take it to my trani guy on monday and have him look at it. Since the clutch was just done a year ago, i still don't think thast it. Unless it's a faulty pressure plate.

 

i have a similar problem on my 03 mcs. recently it back close to impossible to shift into first or second. Even with the car off its not possible to shift into first and second. Ive figured out that if i roll the car just a bit im able to shift into first. This is a real pain though...let me know what your tranny guy tells you, seems like our problems are similar

 

This is sounding more like what happened when my clutch fused to my pressure plate. The car would not shift while turned on, but could be easily shifted when turned off. The clutch pedal felt normal. This was an aftermarket clutch that was not abused, it came out looking pristine. No one could explain why it melted to the plate.

 

It could also be a duff slave cylnder. Have someone depress the clutch pedal while you watch the travel. There should be at least an inch of "throw".

 

OK FINALLY AN UPDATE ON THIS....

So I had my car in the shop about January or so... Just got it back today... due to issues with the manufacture of the clutch and pressure plate, they tried to say that it was driver abuse, which isn't true, and they weren't going to warrant the pressure plate. There were about 3 teeth on the plate that were complete destroyed which was causing the problem. after countless calls, and complaints, and getting about 4 shippments of WRONG parts, they got it right. So round 2 of a new clutch. if this thing fails again i'm going to upgrade it again.

 

Since January... that is a long time without your MINI.

 

What brand of clutch was it?

 

Im having a similar problem. Car shifts smooth when the car is off but is getting harder to shift when driving particularly at low speeds. Much of the time 1st and 2nd are a real chore to get into and out of. Brake/clutch fluid level is fine. I am at 51k on the original and just assume its time for a clutch job.