Clutch Replacement

[minicoopers43]

I have a suspicion that my clutch doesn't have much life left.
Has anyone done their own clutch replacement?
KCAutosport wants $1100 Labor for the job Is there somewhere else cheaper but still a well known mini shop?

It seems that i bought my MINI right when it needed all the maintenance i can't afford

[Minidave]

It's a big job, IIRC it's 11 hours of labor.......

Why do you think you need to replace it, is it slipping?

Or is it just the fact that it has 135K on it?

[minicoopers43]

lately i have been having to ride the clutch a lot more than normal to get going into first gear, it is very unpredictable, sometimes it'll grab close to the bottom and sometimes its really close to the top and i also suspect chewbacca is in my transmission I hear him in there from time to time It certainly doesn't feel like it should in my opinion although i'm no expert. Maybe if someone is willing we can compare clutch feel at the next gathering.

[79cutlas]

Well from what I've gathered the Mini clutch can be a odd little monster.

Mine started making a slight squeak when coming off a stop. With only 33K miles I wouldnt suspect the clutch would be worn yet. (I hope not!) but I was reading that the noice could be coming from a glazed clutch disc. Then again, I wouldnt know how it got glazed, or how to unglaze it. .

I wish a good answer on this, cause replaceing the clutch scares me to death. I can do the job no problem, I just dont wanna! $1100 seems insane for labor only.

[LiLReD1]

Here's an easy way to see if yer clutch is slipping...

In second or third gear at a relatively high rpm (say 4,000ish), roll into the gas pedal, but counter act with the brake so you do not accelerate. If the RPM's rise, yet you shouldn't be accelerating from being on the brake, yer clutch is slipping.

[Minidave]

The Chewbaca noise is not the clutch per se, it's coming from the dual mass flywheel. Those flywheels are just what they say, two masses with springs between them to absorb the secondary vibrations 4 cyl engines make. However, other than being an annoyance, I don't think it hurts anything. The one in my '03 has done it for years, and that clutch seems fine.....



I wonder if minicoopers43 might have a slave cylinder going bad rather than the whole clutch.

Or, it could also be the release bearing, I hear those are a little bit on the plasticky side and do break - if it's the release bearing you're talking a complete clutch, as to get to the bearing you do the same amount of work as replacing the clutch, and with 135K you'd be nut's not to replace everything whille you had it apart.

This is the plastic part of the release bearing assy, and as you can see in this pic, the one on the right is cracked, allowing it to move - the bearing itself slides on this sleeve, so if it's cracked or broken you'll get uneven disengagement.

[monza]

It sounds like more of a hydraulic issue, or more specifically the throwout bearing as Dave mentioned. These do go bad, and usually at about the same time as the clutch wears out. The labor to change the bearing is the same as the clutch, so do both at the same time. And having done a clutch in a modern FWD car, I think $1100 is about right. Its a super big pain to do the job. Personally, I would save my weekend and knuckle injuries (and the ears of small children in my neighborhood) and pay to get it done... not that I particularly like parting with $1100, but I know it would be ugly.

BTW, I would call Hafkemeyer for a second quote. Uli and his guys work on MINI all the time. I have been happy with their work. It also wouldnt hurt to call Baron, sometimes you can be surprised.

Oh, and mine has a nice dialect of Wookie too. I dont worry about it.

[Punk_Mini]

From personal experience if you have 2 people you should be able to do it over a weekend. I wouldn't go cheap on anything when it comes to clutch, or any internal parts for that matter because you will just end up paying twice for it.