So (as you probably know by my multitude of posts) I picked up a 2003 cooper S this saturday and absolutely love it. Everything is in GREAT shape, but my clutch is 'farting'. In other words, I get a squeeky, almost binding feel in my pedal travel. The clutch, however, holds flawlessly.

Do you think this is a sign that its about to go? I also get an occasional chirp when starting out, and I got one tonight shifting into 2nd.

I have a 2 month warranty on the car (bought it in CT, state law). Do you think I can get a clutch/flywheel out of the dealership for this? Girard BMW -- big dealership. Thanks!!!

 

Chances are the dual-mass flywheel is trashed. The rubber ring connecting the two masses disintegrates over time and will result in a "honking" sound when you engage the clutch. It's not a safety issue, and the clutch will still hold fine. If you have a stiff or sticky clutch pedal however, the shift fork bushings are probably worn out too. Both are common problems with aging R53's.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Sooo the question is:

What do I need to replace, and how do I get the dealership to do it? Chances are they will be reluctant, given that I bought the car for less than they owned it for ($11k).

 

To know for sure, you would need to pull the transmission out to validate, but Ryan is spot on with the dualmass flywheel issues. They would need to replace the FW/clutch disk/pressureplate as well as the throwout bearing and all will be back to new. This isnt cheap and they will fight you to the end on a wear item. Used car dealers suck when it comes to this....I had an o4 in my shop last year that had the exact same issues and the dealer didnt want it replaced due to cost and would just pass it on to the customer.

 

I think the explanation for the squeaky, binding feel to your pedal travel is the throw-out bearing and guide sleeve. A well-known problem, cheap materials, poor design. Probably does not signal imminent failure, but as in my case it will get progressively more 'mechanically unpleasant' to operate, particularly in stop and go traffic.

 

It really makes it hard to take off smoothly. I find it difficult to release the clutch smoothly in first gear.