Posted on 07/24/2005 5:58:47 AM PDT by Lloyd227
Ok, so this isn't news and I hope the mods will tell me if this is a mis use of the service here.... but, Freepers are such a wide variety that I'm confident SOMEONE in here has likely performed their own mechanical work on a Mini Cooper and has knowledge stored in their brain that I could put to good use.
I have an 02 MC which I believe lost the pressure plate in the clutch last week. I'm just getting into the parts removal and haven't pulled the transmission yet, but the symptoms are like there is no connection between the motor and transmission.
Put the transmission in gear, release pedal (which feels 'odd') and nothing at all.... no matter what gear you put the trans in, no transfer of energy at all... motor just sits and idles as though it's in neutral, except you don't even hear any transmission noise.
So, I'm guessing that the pressure plate has collapsed and is making no attempt to engage the disk (or dare I say it, the transmission shaft has snapped or the differential has exploded). The pedal does feel a bit 'odd' (harder to push / more resistance) but it continues to travel up and down and has a bit of resistance in the feel. Not sure what a hydraulic clutch should feel like if the pressure plate is bad, but I sort of expected it to just stay down.
At any rate, the car has 55,000 miles so it's out of warranty and I guess I have to do this job myself since I can't afford the labor rates on a job this size.
My Bentley manual just arrived, and it appears there are two approaches to removing the transmission:
1: Drop the entire front sub-frame, including the entire steering/suspension or...
2: Pull the engine/tranaxle as a unit
.
Anyone have any advice before I get any deeper into the parts removal? Which approach would you / have you experience with? Are there any specific technical bulletins I should be aware, any cautions specific to the MINI, any chance I could get someone else to do this for if I buy the beer? :-)
Actually, they're far more German than anything else. American designer provided the styling, the company is historically British, but now owned by BMW, the engine is pure BMW and the component assembly is obvioiusly German when you start removing parts.
"Officially" it's got some British manufacturing involved, but I don't see it when I start pulling wrenches... distinctly German in every mechanical way that I can see.
Cheers,
Lloyd
I think BMW makes them in England.
>>I guess instead of browsing news, I should be down in the garage pulling wrenches huh? :-)
Heh!, yeah, that's probably about the size of it.
I need to start amassing parts to do a timing belt in the next few months. Fortunately, someone has done a really execellent job of breaking trail for me:
http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/enginemechanical/tbreplace0.html
Seems to me that unless you really abused it, a clutch wouldn't go at 55k.. Something had to break. Are you sure there's not a driveline warranty above and beyond the normal warranty?
Also, have you priced out what a clutch replacement would cost?
Also, I picked up the Bently book for my bimmer, it has been a godsend and saved me lots of money. Check out http://www.bentleypublishers.com/ I see they have one for the mini (old and new).. Not a cheap book.. but they save more than they ever cost.
Seriously, it looks good on that page, very detailed information.
Good luck.
I've done one on our A6, this is very similar. I know all the guys involved in doing and writing that one up, from forums, that's all good info.
He's got the Bentley.
Yow! that looks like a job... but it's great that someone posted that...
Agree... whatever broke, shouldn't have at 55k and yes that's the extent of the warranty. Bummer.
I've got the Bentley manual, just arrived yesterday..... Very good detail.
It appears there are two approaches to getting the transmission out:
- Remove the entire front sub-frame and all the related steering/suspension attached or...
- Pull the engine and transaxle as a unit and do my transmission work out in the open.
Had a few posters on other sites recommend the sub-frame removal but it looks rather extreme and I'm allergic to massive steering/suspension work :-). I'm still considering, but the engine removal actually looks pretty straightforward... Bentley manual offers both and states "Engine and Transmission can be removed as a unit with very little additional effort"
Front derailer or the rear one?
derailer? sorry, not familiar with the term. Is the derailer one of the pivot arms involved with moving the clutch? I can see the slave cylinder moving the arm which turns the shaft that goes through the top of the bell housing... can't see into the bell housing as there is no inspection plate and I haven't got down to the part of the removal yet.
Thanks,
Lloyd
Have you got enough room to reach the linkage between the cylinder and the arm to see if it's "loose" when the cluch is engaged?
Ahhhhh... I see your point.... don't know about space to check it, I'm in the living room posting on forums when I likely should be down in the garage :-)
Will check that before digging deeper... thanks.
Cheers,
Lloyd
I had a Mini back in 1960 , I loved the car, but couldnt keep it together. I saw a lot of them racing and had to have one, then wondered how the hell they could keep them going long enough to race. Maybe Americans are tougher on cars than Brits. It sure would kick hell out of small block Chevys of the time though.
Careful, I think Sparkyl 1776 may be , ahem, pulling your chain.
"So, I'm guessing that the pressure plate has collapsed and is making no attempt to engage the disk "
more likley at 55k the friction disk has worn out , yea they should last close to 100K .They tend not to especially on " fun to drive cars"
As a grown man I am capable of making one go away in only a few hundred miles :)
a derailer is that little thingy (obscure technical term warning) that moves a bicycle chain to the next sprocket.
But this thing went away all at once, when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. No slippage, no gradual burn down although there was a slight smell similar to a burned disk. Whatever is out, there is now no connection between the transmission and motor. We'll find out, hopefully later today if I get my butt off the couch and get going :-)
Here's an article on adjusting the derailer...
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html
Cheers,
Lloyd
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