None of this makes sense to me so I thought I'd see if the experts in the forum can figure it out.

I swapped the clutch, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, and the slave cylinder in my 2005 Mini S with a 6 speed.

Except for a worn clutch everything worked perfectly on the car before I replaced the parts.

With everything back together I started the car while it was still up on jack stands. The transmission is now making a whining noise with the clutch in. When I let the clutch out it kills the engine even though I'm in neutral.

The gears move fine with the engine running and when it is off. The front wheels turn freely in neutral, too.

I tried a few things to pinpoint the problem. I removed the slave cylinder and put a pair of vice grips on the outer clutch arm. If I push the rod arm in far enough the whining goes away. Everything sounds normal. But when I back off on the clutch arm and allow the clutch to engage it stalls the engine (the same as it would if the car was in gear with the brake applied).

The clutch plate was put in correctly (not backwards) and everything lined up well during installation.

So why is my transmission whining and why is it acting as though it is in gear when the shift lever is in neutral?

 

It sounds like there are a couple different things going on.

Since you put a new slave in are you positive you bled all the air out? Since you can move it with the pliers, there's nothing wrong with the shift fork so it has to be something with slave. I would bleed it again, they are a pain to do, maybe watch mod minis video on how to do it.

Also sounds like you have an issue with the shift cables. Have someone move the shifter while you look at the top of the tranny to see if it is actually shifting. It sounds like it isnt and is maybe in a high gear stalling the engine. It's possible you just didn't get one of the cables all the way on, or one of the clips broke and you didn't notice.

Hopefully that's all it is and you don't have pull it again. You cant really put that stuff on the wrong way, can over tighten or not tighten enough, but the parts dont go on backwards. I didn't try, but I dont think the pressure plate even fits with the clutch flipped the wrong way.

 

That is quite a conundrum. Hmmm... Could the splines of the clutch plate not have been lined up properly? Did you use an alignment tool? Perhaps if the input shaft is binding on the clutch plate splines, could this cause the problem? But would it kill the engine right away, or simply make the wheels turn as soon as the engine is started, like it's stuck in gear? That's all I've got for now. Maybe pull lit all apart and re-trace your steps to see if anything is amiss? I know, PITA, but I can't think of anything else...

 

What clutch did you use?

As asked above; is the slave properly bled? There is a specialty tool required to do it correctly, or you have to have a steady and strong hand that can compress the slave completely without cocking the arm and tearing the diaphragm.

It would be hard to do, but did you get the shift cables backwards? The ***** are different sizes, but anything is possible. You may think the car is in neutral but really it's in 4th gear.

 

UPDATE:

I found the problem.

First off, while taking everything apart to find the source of the issue the transmission would not separate from the engine. I tried everything I could to get them apart, but no luck. I finally had to wedge in a pair of crowbars and work the trannie back and forth until it finally gave way.

When it did come apart the issue was obvious. The female part of the clutch disk was stuck fast on the input shaft. In fact, it was/is stuck on the shaft so tightly that it broke free from the clutch disk!! I am taking a much needed break now, but will try a gear puller to remove the remaining part of the clutch disk.

I have no idea why this might have happened. The car never left the garage and was never lowered from the jack stands. The clutch disk was installed properly with the gearbox side pointing away from the engine. I used just a small dab of grease on the splines and the clutch disk slid on and off the shaft freely prior to installing the transmission. The flywheel is true and isn't off kilter. The throw-out bearing was still attached to the fork and looks to be fine. The slave cylinder was bled well. I left it to sit overnight with the pedal down. It works beautifully. My only guess is that I must have received a faulty clutch disk. Either that or the company that makes the parts accidentally inserted the wrong disk into the kit.

I'm going to call the online auto parts company that sold me the parts. They've always been terrific, so I'm hoping they'll step up and make this right. One more thing... when the female part of the clutch disk came apart it (as I was prying the transmission) a finger on the pressure plate snapped off, so I actually need more than just a new disk. I need the entire kit.

Replacing clutches on Minis isn't a fun job to start off with, but the bad disk has made it a complete nightmare !!!! At least, I found the problem and it's fixable. Hopefully, my tale of woe will help others who are unfortunate enough to encounter the same issue in the future.

I'll add another update as soon as I receive and install the (second set of) new parts.

Thanks for all of your help !!!

 

You go with the valeo kit or something different?

 

Except for an ATI Super Dampner, my Mini is stock so I went with a stock clutch kit.