R53 hard sometimes impossible to shift into all gears
 

Very strange issue on my mini recently. When i start the car in the morning, it shift fine, but as i go on shifting around in start stop traffic it gets harder and harder to shift into any gear, until a point when i have to push so hard, to put it in gear(arm breaking force) When I do force it in to gear, it does edging forward even when the clutch was compressed, and occasionally totally unable to get in any gear at all. The problem is getting worse, fast! Can anyone point me to what and where the problem could be?

I did visually inspected the slave cylinder under the car, as i found on the internet that they are a common item to leak inside the around the dust boot area. But when i look under the car it looks nice and dry. Clutch pedal does feels light and spongy, sometimes with no biting point at all:eek2::eek2:

However i did see quite abit of oil leaks near the oil pan area next to the slave cylinder. But i do notice its always been there and i dont see any drop in brake fluids, and suggestions? Thanks

Tell us what Year and Miles... Possible Clutch plate, throw out bearing... have you noticed any slipping? Like going uphill and you gas it and the engine revs up but you don't go any faster?

Does it have the Dual Mass Flywheel?

Possible leak in the line... (I mention this because I had an issue with a clutch line that rubbed trough and the leak didn't make it down the line to the slave cylinder) this would be noticeable by a lack of fluid in the reservoir.

And how about the shifter bushing? If you get to the point it won't shift, have you pulled over turned the motor off and tried shifting through the gears without the spinning flywheel? If it is still hard to shift with the engine off and the car stationary it could be your shifter linkage/bushing.

To test this with the engine running can you do "quick shift" no clutch just matching the RPMs and as you throttle off pull it out of gear then with just a little rev push it into gear (without the clutch pedal being used). if you can't budge the shifter... I would guess linkage and or bushings.

OK, there is also the age of your Fluid... when is the last time you had it changed? As it gets older it can become contaiminated (mostly water from condensation) and as you use the pedal the water will compress and not give you full throw.

However... My first thought is Clutch Plate, Pressure Plate and throw out bearing.

How often do they go out? I have a R53 with 242000+ miles and I just did the clutch.

Best of luck.

Motor on!

Take a long enough stick place it jammed between the front seat and the clutch pedal..make sure the clutch is fully pressed to the floor.

Leave it over night.

Drive it and let us know.

no slipping on the clutch at all, and i do able to get it into gear when the car is running, with a bit of effort.

The mileage is 124k miles. I did take the slave cylinder off last night and notice the shaft( dust boot section) on it, has lot of movement on them, dont know if thats how it supposed to be.:eek: It does goes in and out smoothly. As i was moving the shaft on the slave cylinder about, the oil was started leaking out, and again not sure if that how it supposed to be as well. The oil does look and feel very 'watery' and easily wash off.:no:

Leaks around the boot and there will be residue in the transmissions bell housing of the fluid. When they go, they leak out most of the time all the way and the clutch petal goes to the floor and does not come back. Also check the shiftier linkage that runs from the transmission to the shifter base. The linkage can be seen on the driver side right above the transmission.

Thanks

Well at this point you might as well drain the remaining fluid, get a slave cylinder rebuild kit or a new slave cylinder. Reassemble and Fill with fresh new fluid. (Don't forget to bleed the system). While you are under the car inspect your shifter linkage and bushings. Then once you have it back on the ground take it for a test drive.

Best of luck.

Motor on!

HELP! 06 Mini Cooper S having a hard time shifting
 

Hi,

I have an 06 Mini Cooper S Checkmate Hardtop with 108,000 miles and I have been having a hard time shifting. Replaced the slave cylinder and bled the heck out of it. Lubed the linkage with lithium grease. Still have to slam it into gear. Mostly first and second. Clutch was replaced 5 years ago. Any ideas what I need to do now? Thanks!!!

Did you try this ?

Take a long enough stick place it jammed between the front seat and the clutch pedal..make sure the clutch is fully pressed to the floor.

Leave it over night.

Thanks, I will give it a try tonight!!

Also check the shifter cable connections at the transmission see image (thank you Pelican Auto Parts) https://cdn4.pelicanparts.com/techar...mall/pic02.jpg

The bushing on the cable end can wear and mess up your ability to shift.

Motor On!

Slave Cylinder full of air
 

:eek:Turns out the new slave cylinder wasn't bled correctly!! :roll:

​​​​​​Thanks so much for everyone's help!!!

Bent fork?
 

Bled Master and Slave, still horrible shifting. We think it's a bent fork. Anyone have experience with this one?

any update to this? my car just started having this issue

Re-bled slave and master. Now the problem shifting is worse!!! My mechanic is pretty positive it's the shift fork. I will find out today and let everyone know.

thanks for the update. good luck!

SAD News on the Mini, "HE" is going to need the following:

Clutch Release Fork
Throw Out Bearing
Pressure Plate

I am purchasing a Clutch Kit but will need to buy the clutch release fork separately. I am hoping the fork can be found in town. The throw out bearing was broken and the I have some bent teeth on the the pressure plate. The clutch fork is worn.
Hope to have HIM up and running again this weekend!!!

Really appreciate y'alls help with everything.

Sarah in NM :thumbsup:

did your throw out bearing make any noise? it typically makes noise when its on its way out.

Crazy thing, it never made a sound at all! Just weird. :confused:

thought i would update this. turns out my master cylinder and slave cylinder failed. mechanic replaced both as well as the master cylinder line and changed the brake fluid. took a while to properly bleed the car but problem seems to be fixed

Update on my poor Mini. :mad:

Turns out it was my Clutch, clutch plate, flywheel, fork, fork arm, throttle bearing....etc.
Waiting for some parts to come and hopefully that will be all he needs!!! :thumbsup:

It really sounds like you should replace the whole hydraulic clutch system. Don't just fix one part of the system. Also make sure the brake resorvior is full, as the clutch only grabs fluid from the top section.

Thanks ItsmeWayne!!! Everything is being replaced! A couple of weeks before my clutch went bye-bye, I had snapped a serpentine belt and needed a new harmonic pulley! :no:
I just hope whomever has the Voodoo Doll of me in a Mini Cooper S, can please take me out!!!!! :razz:

does the sticky clutch pedal relate to this problem as well? I've replaced the valeo clutch kit and my clutch pedal feels sticky and makes squeeky noise. my mechanic replaced the clutch slave but i don't believe he bled it properly. i might bring my car in to different shop for bleeding and replacing clutch master slave as well.

Did you replace the throw out bearing and the sleeve? The sleeves wear out on these and cause a sticky ratchety feel on the pedal. Also it needs to be lubed. (when it was out)

Sometimes when it rains, it pours! That is how it works for me anyway! I hope you are finished, with the punishment and now you can enjoy your Mini, as it should be!