Hi all! I have a july build 2002 MCS(15%pulley,CAI,SS,rear sway bar) and I have lately had the impression that my clutch,with just over 42,000 miles is beginning to die.I am a spirited driver, but I have always been conscious of things like riding the clutch pedal (one of my honda civics,of 4, had 155,000 miles on the original clutch).At the same time, I have never had a car with this much power, either. What are people getting for mileage out of their clutches? The first clue was a low groan when pulling into traffic up an incline,coupled with a slight shudder.The clutch seems to engage a little lower, too.Also, I have heard mostly negative comments on heavy duty "racing" clutch replacements, mostly in the form of "God, I wish I hadn't put THAT in"; excessive pedal pressure, etc.Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.What's this going to cost if it's truely in need of replacement? Thanks, Jock

I posted this on the other forum. 24 people read it ,not one response,what's up with that?

 

Already? 15%+CAI isn't that much power. Did you try driving at 25mph
in 4th and stomp on the gas? If the motor bogs, your clutch has still
a lot of life left.

Your engagement should become farther and farther away from the
floor before it wears out...although i think the MINI's clutch is self
adjusting to a point.

 

Here you've got 80 views and here's the 2nd response.

I've got an '03 S with about 23K on it. I, too, drive spiritedly. Though the clutch is still operating fine, it has felt different recently. Nothing I can put my finger on, but it's got me worried none the less. I plan on test driving a new MINI next time I'm at the dealership to do a comparison to see if it's really changed or if it's just me.

After reading the forums for a year and a half, I've come to the conclusion that the clutch is the weak link in the drivetrain on the S's. I do wish MINI had put in something a bit heavier duty.

If you do find you have to replace it, I've read of at least one that's better than OEM, but doesn't go so far as being a full race type. Maybe someone else will know what I'm referring to.

 

ok dudes hers the tale !!!!! i am a very hard driver on cars and ive got a first jen 02 mini, now with over 80,000 miles and let me tell you the car has done many burn outs launches racing and autocrossing and just plain drivin hard and she still grabs!!!!!!

so its either just a bad part or something, a little bit of driver error could help in decreaseing the life span of a bad part, ive seen people drive sticks all their lives and when they get a new car the clutch is diffent and they end up tosting it beacause they et used to the way it was with their own car, balive me im not blaming you im just pointing out what ive seen others do, at the dealer, when the person brought theur car in for a bad clutch the teck woulf ride with them to watch how they drive and determain if they were leting it slip to much, kinda mean!!!

one thing however my clutch thou stock feels like a racing clutch its very heavy!!!! and it has gotten heavier as time goes by, well thats what the others tell me, i geuss im just used to it!! but also she grabs just offf the floor so i have no clutch travel, weird!!!

 

I have 17k miles. My clutch is starting to show wear....I cannot understand why.

 

There is no other part in a car that is subject to more abuse than the clutch. The difference between a "good" and "bad" stick shifter is enormous! My first new car, a 1967 Opel Kadette 1100 had a worn out clutch in about 39,000 miles. Chalk it up to the fact that the first time I ever drove a stick was on the way home from the dealer!

By comparison, my 73 VW Thing went 185,000 miles and I sold it with the original clutch. My 91 Mercury Capri turbo has the original clutch at 110,000. I once heard the Car Talk guys say that if you drove a stick as smooth as an automatic, you were ruining the clutch.

Throw-out bearings are notoriously cheap parts that seem to fail a lot, but a defective clutch disk is almost unheard of - its like a defective brake pad - pretty rare. Bad drivers are a dime a dozen, however.

 

Funny you should say that. I hit the gas going 30mph in 6th gear the other day and there was no bog. I was actually going 70 but traffic slowed and sped up before I decided to downshift. It was very impressed.

 

thanks for all the input people.I really don't think I'm a bad driver .I've owned close to 30 cars over my 40 some odd years behind the wheel of all standard transmission cars.The only car i ever put a clutch into was a 1958 Morris traveller,and that's because I had the tranny out to replace a chipped first/reverse gear.the guy who in post 3, 4gzm, stated that the throw on his clutch was working it's way down towards the floor,mine too.I tried the wot in 4th today on the way home and there was no slippage,so i guess I'm ok for the time being.Bisch, were you serious about yours going bad after only 17000 miles? so ,about the better quality replacement should it become necessary, can anyone shed any light on make /cost/etc.?

 

You can blame it on the drivers, yet I know of a lot of people here in Mexico that have problems with the clutch. I´ve been through 3 clutches, the last one works wonderfully.

BMW dealers admit that Mini clutches are not adapted for the driving conditions of Mexico (very high traffic stop and go conditions, ups and downhills, speedbumps, etc)

Before the Mini I owned other 5 stick shift cars. I never burned any of the other car´s clutches.

 

I just recently turned 37,000 mi on my original clutch, I have had my 15% pulley, intake, and skunk2 cat-back exhaust for about 15k of those miles, and the car has been through two hard winters and I when I put my toyo snow tires on I drive hard all winter long! My clutch "sings" a little on takeoff if I'm on a steep hill, but I have been told from a few dealers and tuners that this is perfectly normal. The clutch still grabs great, and I can still shift with spirit. Hey..if you take care of the clutch, it'll take care of you

 

Let me just add...the life of a clutch is only as good as the driver who breaks it in. If you drive like an animal for the first 500 miles, you will be lucky if your clutch lasts over 5k miles. If you drive like grandma for 500 miles to allow the clutch to properly bed itself by cycling heat through it, it will tighten up over time, and you will have a very long lasting clutch

 

I have an 03 with 50,000+ miles now. The dealer had the clutch out and I looked at it at about 42,000 miles and it looked very good so I told them to put it back in. Keep in mind at that point all I had to do was pay for a new disc and no labor but it was good enough, in my opinion, that it was put back in. I'm no clutch expert, however, I did work in auto parts stores for more years that I care to remember and I has seen new, used, and abused clutches and if I felt it needed new I would have bought the new one. One last thing, I drive it like I stole it.

Earl

 

I often drive my '02 MCS in a spirited manner and at 25,000 miles......still going!

 

Agreed, but the clutch is a wear item. I don't drive like you described either, but if you did, you'd be saving a lot of wear on things like hubs and axles by sacrificing the clutch.

 

When I had my Quaife put in at about 10,000 miles my clutch was checked and it was fine.

Now at 18,500 miles it's still fine and I've had no trouble.

I had an '82 Honda Civic sedan bought new that I sold with 82,000 miles on it and the original clutch and I had an 84" Nissan sentra wagon with only 20,000 I bought used that had a clutch wear out in just a few months. Could be wear associated both with design and poor clutch riding habits by the driver. I'm sure heavy urban traffic isn't good either.

 

I had a defective clutch fork or something that was noticed at 49k miles (thanks to Helix for noticing some extra resistence on the clutch pedal). Since I had 49k miles and have added power mods to my MINI, I took the opportunity to completely replace the clutch for the price of the parts. So a $900 job from the dealer only cost me $200-something. I mainly replaced it b/c the fork was defective from the day I bought it (I just always thought that MINI clutches had A LOT of resistence ) so I was afraid that other parts of the clutch could have worn prematurely due to a faulty fork or heat caused by it. So the new clutch gave me peice of mind. I'm pretty sure it'll last as long as I need it to now...at least another 60k miles for sure (I'm at 63k now). I have never worn out a clutch yet - my previous car is still on the road with almost 120k miles now.

 

i autox and race and just plain drive hard on my clutch and im closing 90,000 miles in my 02 and its still drum tight!!!!

so anybodies geuss

 

66,000 miles, early 2003 MCS, original owner, very spirited driving and 3 seasons of auto-x. I don't ride the clutch pedal. No slipping at all. Just the "hooting" on some starts. Some threads indicate something happening with the "dual-mass" flywheel?

 

1st build week 2003 MCS. 92K miles. Four years ago it was just arriving in America. 1st autocross in the MCS in mid-October 2002, and averaged close to 30 events a season since.

No slip, nor noises from the clutch.

Scott
90SM

 

I have a July build 02.....and the flywheel was the culprit in mine. There has been a few flywheel issues in the past. The only way to really tell is to rip it apart. If u decide to do a clutch, just stay stock as you dont really need anything stronger with your mods.

 

When I ride with a date, the clutches die fast. When I ride with my friends, their necks die fast. always the way with clutches for me. I burned my first one driving around a girl for 2 years with no car. My new girl has no car as well (city girl) so looks like its a 25k clutch job for me.