Good day NAM,

I have a 2011 MINI Cooper S the clutch stopped working in a week or so ago, I took it to a shop and they diagnosed it as the fork within record time, but I'm not positive that's correct after having it up on a lift at my buddy's shop and taking a look ourselves. There's no sign of leakage from the cylinders, the fork looks OK from what we can see via where the cylinder connects to the fork.

The clutch pedal will go to the floor, but meets some resistance at the bottom and won't go into gear unless the car is off. Then it can be put into gear. Once you start the car, it can be driven, but it's not particularly safe having to turn the car off and on at every stop.

Anyone have any experience with R56 clutches, or have had a similar issue have any pointers on where to look? I'd like to be positive that I'm targeting the right parts before we go and replace the whole clutch on my car.

 

These forks have a bad reputation --- bending, altho I'm not replacing mine "while I'm in there". Almost 105K miles on it but mostly hiway driving --- very little city use. As long as you're in there, consider changing all the components --- 4 seals, flywheel, clutch, T/O bearing, arm. If you upgrade the clutch / flywheel as posted elsewhere, there might be added pedal pressure which stresses the arm even more. Give it some serious thought.

 

Thank you for your reply. I'm definitely leaning towards replacing the whole system, as is why I posted over on the modifications forum as well. It's so much of PITA to tear down to begin with, it only makes sense to replace everything. If nothing else, just for insurance that I don't have to do it again any time soon. I should also mention that the car is at 143,xxx, and from what I've heard, that's at or nearing the lifespan of the clutch. Whether that's true in my case, I don't know for sure, and for that reason I ought to do it all while I'm in there.


Thanks for pointing this out; this isn't something that I'd considered. I'll definitely put some thought into, especially if I end up not replacing the whole system- which at this point, is pretty unlikely.

 

If the release lever bends, it could contact the pressure plate before releasing the clutch…

On my car, the release lever bent just enough to contact the pressure plate and make noises, but would still release. Interestingly, when removed and sitting on the bench next to a brand new lever, there was no visible difference between the two.

 

Ah, thank you njaremka. That is good information. I didn't know that these were known to have issues. I'll be sure to check when we have it torn apart. That is interesting that you couldn't tell a difference between the new part and old. That makes me want to replace it just for the peace of mind.