^yes. It's brand new and moves very smoothly.

Side note: Luk tech mentioned throw for the bearing to the plate is supposed to be 315 thousandths (about 8mm). My previous measurement for the slave cylinder pushing the shaft is about 10mm. Not sure if 2mm are going to derail a clutch and there's probably 2mm of play when it's all moving (though I have no idea). Wondering if the pressure plate was simply faulty (even though physically it looks and feels perfect (and looks like new).

Still stumped so if anyone else has ideas or thoughts please chime in.

 

New info:

Pics of the Luk Clutch and pics of the new Valeo Clutch and their respective throw out bearings. The Luk is the first pic and it's bearing is the thicker one with the silver top. The other bearing has the black top and the second pic is the Valeo.

 

Whats the part numbers on that Luk part itself and the kit?

 

Looking at the photos, it does appear that the overall pressure plate height is different. The LUK looks shorter, although that may be normal if you are going the solid flywheel route. If the flywheel is not changing, my guess is that the issue will be gone with the Valeo's increased height.

 

LUK Repset 03-050; Pressure Plate# 122027710; TB# 500 0352 10
Used with the stock DM flywheel. LUK tech confirmed this is the correct kit. Bear in mind that this set up worked great for a few months with no issues...

The Valeo kit includes the slightly lighter steel single flywheel.

 

Is it possible something in the flywheel has gone zonkey? Something has changed and made the clutch not want to disengage... I may be grasping at straws here, but maybe? The clutch looks mechanically fine, nothing else looks out of whack, if you are 100% sure there is no air in the hydraulics, and the gearbox internals sound OK?

 

^^ Stock flywheel looks fine. Everything was torqued to spec.

I replaced the slave cylinder and had a much harder pedal and thought for sure I had solved the issue but alas, it did not.

Again, if the car is off the gears are smooth as butter to engage with no issue. As soon as the car is on and the clutch is depressed, the clutch fork arm moves but does not disengage. I did manage to get it to work a few times but it was a battle.

So now with all of this dismantled again, I want to beat every option to death before I re-install as it's getting old to have to keep pulling the engine...

So I am open to pretty much any idea no matter how crazy. Just want this to work so I can get to other projects.

 

Ok, check our pics. We shoot most of our pics in house and actual. Based on the data it looks correct to our part numbers R53

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/6223112000/

 

Hard to tell with the angle of the pics...

 

I sure hope you have 100% certainty to the cause AND solution before you reassemble! Keep up with this thread for my own build - getting into the transmission soon and had second thoughts on a single mass flywheel so returned it. Best of luck getting back on the road in short order!!

 

The stock dual mass worked fine. And the LUK kit is a stock replacement for something that worked trouble free for over 100k miles... We have the same deal on red thunder save for the extra hp. (at least for now).

With this new Valeo kit I think we will be ok. I may still crack the case again just to double check and then we will see. Never run into an issue like this. While it's a royal PITA, it's a learning experience and sharing this info may help others with their projects so it's all good.

 

Took a really long time to respond...

There are two cables that run along the length of the underside that go to the transmission. IIRC, there are bushings around the ***** where the cables connect to the transmission, (and on the other side) to the shifter. The part numbers again, differ between the 02-03 / 03-03 part confusion / 03-04 / and maybe the 05-07 stuff. Check realoem with the correct manufacturing date to find the part number, maybe even double-check with a VIN decoder to make sure that you know the manufacturing information relevant to your car. Then check junkyards for a good cable. It is possible to tell the difference in a still-functioning cable in the donor car. Then, it's just a horrible pain to remove the cable and reinstall

 

...you can also save yourself some headache by removing one cable from your car and seeing which shift operation direction it affects. Be very careful with prying it loose, the bushings get old and they need to be removed by even prying force. I once used a small pickle fork/pry bar and was not successful in preventing damage. Not sure what the optimal way to do it is, but I'm sure BMW or MINI made some special tool that was a bazillion dollars that can be reproduced. Again, a mechanic that works on these may have a tool you can look at to somehow reproduce.

 

Thanks for the feedback. It's not the cables. There was an issue with the clutch assembly. As it turns out I may have some time tomorrow to finalize this. The engine and trans have been installed for a while. We've just not wrapped everything up as there have been other projects in the way, Hope to have a resolution shortly!!

 

So, it turns out that the LUK clutch kit I purchased was somehow defective. It also might have been a worn or wearing slave cylinder. Either way, we swapped in new slave and a new clutch kit (Valeo Service 52151203 Solid Flywheel Conversion Kit Compatible with Select Mini Cooper Models, 2002-2008 - from Amazon)

After complaining about the LUK kit I was able to return it for a refund (it still looked brand new). As for the Valeo, I ordered a NIB and a warehouse (open box unit). They were both terribly packaged. Both had some damage to the surfaces due to the **** poor packaging. (The LUK unit was WAY better packaged) The open box was missing parts. (This isn't the first time there was an issue with an open box from Amazon, but the prices are usually significantly good enough to offset the hassle). Anyway, I took a ton of pictures called Amazon and worked out a resolution where they let me keep the new kit at the warehouse price and return the other one (I also marked the box to delineate that parts were missing). So that was super cool!!

Anyway, we checked everything over and over an installed everything probably a month or so ago but never got around to wrapping it up. Today we had some time and decent weather and it all went back together and worked perfectly! Feels like a stock clutch. Like butter. And the car still starts and drives perfectly.

So, for now, this is the fix. If something changes I'll be back to let you all know. In the mean time if anyone has questions or comments please let me know. I am happy to help any way I can.

 

Wow, what a hassle!

Glad you didn’t give up on it and got it going.

 

That’s a common complaint with the valeo kit. From anyone, not jsut Amazon.

 

Isn't the Valeo flywheel delicious? So light and revvy

 

I haven't driven the car very far since putting it back in the rotation. When I did drive it, it felt light and similar to stock. Maybe after more driving I will have a better impression of the feel.

 

Been driving the car a little more. Goodness, she is a little beast. A little noisy (ricey sounding) when I go all in, but gentle modulation of the throttle and she's relatively quiet. VERY peppy. As for the clutch, it's smooth and light. I'm pretty gentle on clutches when I drive so it works great for me. Engages with a very light touch.

Only issue now is some coolant loss. Not overheating but when I check the reservoir it's down a few inches after driving around for a few hours. I think it is the thicker silicone hose I used on the lower rad. It was dribbly before and I put two clamps on it and it had seemed to hold but I think this is no longer the case so I've purchased some of the thicker/stronger t-clamps and that should do the trick.

Now, I need to figure out a few little things..

1. the CEL is on. As the header is catless, I've tried a few o2 sensor extenders, even one with a tiny cat built in. Neither work. I wonder if there is a work-around like Subaru has where a little resistor can be jumped in the sensor plug to keep the light off. Need to do more research. If anyone has ideas, I'm all ears.

2. the Traction Control light comes on randomly. Sometimes just sitting at a stoplight. It will go away on it's own.

Neither affect the driveability or function of the car so they are not pressing issues. More of an annoyance to have a stupid light on in the dash....

I guess next steps are a good cleaning and maybe some touch up work here and there. Next mini project is Red Thunder II, going to try some paint work this summer.

 

I've spent time chasing O2 sensor problems in the past (not on the Mini), including with mini-cats. Never got anything to work except putting OEM headers back on to pass inspection. Do you have state inspection/emissions you need to pass or is the CEL light just annoying?

Traction control might be your wheel speed sensors. I think I saw you cleaned/replaced all those, but nevertheless might be a place to look.I had a bad/dirty one and the issue was intermittent.

ps. would love to see a video of your mini running - is there one out there?

 

We don't have testing here and I have all the stock bits saved for all of the cars so it's not an issue to go back to stock if necessary. The light is just an annoyance.

As for the TC, all of the VSS mounts were cleaned and all of them are new as well. Not a major concern. Just annoying lights.

 

A guess about the traction control - an ABS sensor or other sensor is intermittent and needs to be replaced. Not sure what it would take to figure that out, though.

I have read here on NAM that silicone hose are not good in a water environment as they tend to absorb water. Not sure how true that is, but it maybe worth considering going back to a stock tube.

 

awesome you have your car back on the road - what a PIA. just hoping my own terribly packaged luk clutch serves me better - I should know soon enough! Best of luck with the hopefully much smaller headaches that remain

I also appreciate the feedback on that miltek sounding a bit ricey. I saw a couple YouTube videos of the unresonated versions and felt the same. My Invidia exhaust is loud but I love the deep and growly tone - hopefully once I deaden the sound a bit from the inside it will be perfect

 

- coolant loss (check cap, reservoir): The cap rubber can get old and lose some pressure. Look on the top of the reservoir for any white coolant crust.. Sprays down from the cap could be a bad cap. Crust around the perimeter of the tank could be a bad tank. Otherwise look immediately for drips on the driveway from back where the header is (above the header in the engine bay), these are REALLY annoying 3 and 4 way t's that route to the heater core. Cheap parts but man it's like front end service mode, remove exhaust/header/ lose all your coolant, etc. Big WORST CASE, it's a failing heat exchanger. Look for any signs of oil in the coolant, probably not this. Also could be water pump seal under the supercharger but again this would leave crust and visible leaks...

- O2 sensors: what header are you running? Where are you located? I know this answer pops up a lot(), but the OEM header is really the best for everything other than big turbo builds. They're made really consistently, really flexy, big cat, all the right flow characteristics etc. Just not BVOOOOOOO

- @Eddie07S just clean the wheel speed sensors! Some alcohol-based or gentle cleaning spray will do. Nothing oily, gummy, or abrasive.

-@OutlandishnessDue remove battery, seats, back seats, seat belts (giant torx), ABC pillars (very carefully, small torx bolts then gentle prying), carpet, door panels. "Peel-n-seal" at Lowe's, you maybe need 4 rolls. Work linearly starting in one place, going around the car. Survey the panel you want to deaden, look for vibration areas where either two pieces of metal are one-above-another and could buzz, or where two materials tough. You will want to slide the deadening into the crevice as much as you can, you REALLY want these areas not to contact or reverberate. Cut a piece roughly to fit, lay it in, roll it flat like a screen protector, cut ONLY through the aluminum layer (NOT THE RUBBER GUNK, take care not to scratch your paint!!!)to fit the shape of the surroundings, pull and tear the leftovers away. Lay piece against piece adjacent, taking care not to overlap at all. Rinse and repeat until the entire panel is covered. You will have some really small areas where you will have to be creative with the scrap, and some areas you will not be able to physically reach..do your best...you don't want to pull the interior apart a bazillion times.

The dash is different. They also changed this part over the years and it is either a 3-piece or a 5-piece dash with cheap aesthetic plastics over cheaper lightweight hard-but-brittle "baseboard". Any place where the faces of these plastics meet (including the top of the dash and the windshield) vibrate and buzz really loud, especially as these cars age and modifications are done to the car. They sell cheap adhesive foam tape which you can smash between the interfaces and be done with the buzz forever.

You can also open the hatch, pull the headliner, buy expensive headliner fabric from your favorite local Amish textile producer, and spray/paint headliner adhesive onto the old headliner foam after removing the repulsive grey bandaging. The car will seem twenty years newer and when the material is right, is just right for you to touch and fall asleep while driving. The hatch has some places you can deaden as well, but there really isn't much. You can do under the little piece of plastic on the inside of the trunk under the hatch, or under the plastic covering of the hatch itself (although I did not do this and it never buzzed once.)