FML!!!


So I was going to eat dinner with some MINI friends this evening. Well when I was around the corner from the restaurant the clutch pedal got super heavy(like 40lbs clutch heavy). It was still engaging fine. Well when I was getting ready to leave I had a friend jump in the drivers seat to make sure that I was night high as a kite and that it was heavy which he confirmed. Well I have an OS giken clutch and I fired it up the throw out bearing was not being loud like it normally was so I pushed the pedal in a couple of times to listen to what it sounded like. Well after doing that I went to put it into gear and a nice loud bang and pop happen an a couple of plastic fell to the floor. The car won't start back up and the clutch pedal stays on the floor and I have to bring it back up. Both of which it does easily but not like it is suppose to. I had it towed to the dealership and hopefully they will be able to fix it tomorrow because if not I am ****ed. Because I really can't afford to rent a car at the moment.


Any ideas or comments?

 

well i'm guessing the not starting is due to you breaking the sensor in this ordeal so i wouldn't worry about that. That can probably just be fixed easily. Had your clutch been 'clicking' on the master clinder?

 

What do you mean clicking? Also I forgot to mentioned that the whole assembly was replaced under warranty about 2 years ago.

 

like the clutch has play left and right and causes you to feel it hitting the master cylinder at times

 

No it is either down or up. There is nothing in between. Since I can't start it I don't knwo if I can engage it into gear.

 

Hi Porthos,

It may be that the link between the pedal and the master cylinder is broken/separated - I had that with my Integra once.

The pin between the pedal linkage and the master cylinder rod hadn't been safetied (or secured in place at all), when they replaced the engine and clutch. It took a week or 2 for the pin to migrate out, but when it did, the clutch became hard at times, and didn't return to the top when released. This happened after a night shift, as I turned out of the parking lot onto Airport Road - 3 lanes each way of mayhem at 7AM!!
I was able to nurse the car into a gas station with a garage attached. The tech there had a big box of assorted bolts he let me rummage through - I found one that fit and got the car home... I eventually found the pin behind some trim in the foot well and properly secured it with a cotter pin...

As I said, I had a heavy pedal as you describe, and the pedal wouldn't return when released. The heavy pedal was because the linkage was partially hung up and not centered on the master cylinder rod, meaning when I pushed on the pedal, the master cylinder rod was being driven in at an angle - a very slight angle that is, but enough to make it hard to push in... It wouldn't return because the spring to return the pedal was on the other half of the linkage attached to the master cylinder rod - not the bit attached to the pedal.

The broken plastic you describe may be a problem - it might be cosmetic plastic, or the housing/bracket for the clutch switch. Since you say the engine won't start, I would suspect the clutch switch has been damaged. Did you try to start the engine with the stick in Neutral and the clutch pushed in?
If the switch was undamaged, with the transmission in Neutral, and the clutch switch depressed, the engine should start without problem. (Unless BMW put a secondary switch in the system to confirm the clurtch is disengaged...)
If the switch is undamaged, and the car is in gear, but the clutch isn't disengaged (due to a failure), the starter will try, but won't be able to crank the engine...

Good luck!
E

 

Car was in neutral and clutch pedal depressed and it would not start. I just got off the phone and they are say that the clutch is blown out. But it was engaging fine before the pedal broke.

 

Well according to the tech at Tom Bush MINI here in Jacksonville, Fl it mostly likely is the pressure plate. He said he got it started and heard this loud clunk and a rattling. I have an OS Giken STR clutch with about 10k miles on it and a year on the car. I am hoping for some help from WMW because that is where I bought it from and had it installed at. I will find out hopefully this weekend but, most likely Monday. I pretty bummed out because this should not have happened.

 

Sorry to hear the bad news. I'm thinking about getting a Giken clutch but I keep reading bad things about them, like that they slip and the flywheel bolts are too long and now this too.

I hope it was a fluke and not another Giken issue.

 

They slip because they are not meant for launching so you get a little slip going into 1st. Yes the flywheel bolts are 3mm to long so you have to trim them down. I am waiting on Way to hope this can get taken care of. This is why it sucks when **** breaks on the weekend.