Hey guys,

So I'm not particularly mechanically savvy so I need your guys' help in trying to figure out approximately what's going on with the car. It's an 04 R53 with 114756 Km on the clock.

Recently I've noticed that on the highway, when I floor the gas pedal when the engine's spinning below 3K in either 3,4,5 and 6, the tachometer/engine behaves funny. I've seen the tachometer quickly spike up a little bit then drop down and hover around 3k, and just tonight while in 6th I noticed an instance where the tach was just hovering at ~3k.

My first thought was I needed a clutch job. However I wasn't too sure since I saw that this wasn't happening consistently and I never see it in 1st and 2nd. I also assumed that if the clutch was slipping then the engine speeds would continue to increase without an increase in speed, and not the hovering behaviour that I was seeing.

I've also just recently noticed that my engine mount was blown, I wasn't aware that there was an issue with that part until I was changing the oil and I saw there were fluid marks coming out of the canister. I wonder if my issues could be caused by that.

Anyway, thanks in advance guys, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Jason.

 

The engine mount is a well known MINI issue. You can either replace it with an OEM one or change it with an aftermarket one that will never leak since it's all made of rubber.

 

Often you will not see/feel slipping in lower gears because of the low gear does not cause enough force on the clutch to make it slip. The higher gear ratios put more force on the clutch.
Without seeing or driving the car it sounds like a slipping clutch to me.

 

Nah, you just need a new one of these, you can get it here for like $20...



Heavy Duty Clutch Belt

A long time ago when the transmission began to slip, you'd know it was time for a rebuild. But! Rebuilds are costly, and half the time, not neccesary. What you may be experiencing is clutch-belt failure! KaleCoAuto heavy duty kevlar belts are made with the quality you can expect from KaleCoAuto. Please specify diameter and width of belt when ordering.

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main...products_id=13

You can also get Blinker fluid and seasonal air there too....along with muffler bearings, knutsen valves and Johnson rods. Good source of stuff....

 

thanks for the input, ya i only wish the issue was a bit more reproducable. the fact that it only seems to happen every so often just makes it that much more annoying to get a tech to help debug.

ya i've been looking at the poly-urethane mounts from WMW, 199 dollars compared to the oem 98 dollar unit kinda took me off guard lol.

 

Hey guys, so I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the clutch/flywheel replaced. I'll probably be opting for the Valeo kit. I'll also be getting the front engine mount replaced with the Urethane unit.

I was wondering what else should I get replaced? I understand I should probably get the other engine mounts replaced too but which ones should I use? I've only seen the OEM units and some urethane bushings. Suggestions/links would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

jason