Another inexpensive option is the Excedy single mass conversion setup. I used it in my conversion due to the flywheel being significantly lighter than the Valeo. It's 19.5lbs as weighed on my shipping scale, which isn't much more than the stock R50 unit. I'd have preferred to go with Valeo, but I think they are 25lbs, which is an improvement over the stock dual mass in the R53, but a lot heavier than the stock R50. I've got over 10,000 miles on mine with no issues. I can always put in a Valeo 3pc kit next time on that flywheel, if I keep the car that long.

If you have a good Midlands, you can probably sell that for the price you will pay for the Getrag - that was the case when I did mine. Of course all the other pieces wound up costing more combined than the transmission. I lost track, but I think I have $2,700 total in my conversion, which includes $1,200ish delivered for the '05 LSD 6 speed. In my case I did it, because I bought the car "pre-blown" for $1,500.

 

I have never owned an Exedy clutch but have heard mixed comments about them. My MINI tech is also a seasoned Autocrosser and open track racer and he is not too happy with his Exedy performance clutch in his highly modified track R53 S. he is looking to switch eventually to a OS Giken setup.In terms of flyhweel weight, yes you are correct. The Valeo is only a couple of pounds less than the stock LuK dual mass flywheel.

 

Any opinions on SACHS clutch set? about 30 min ago my clutch gave way on me, and my car is stranded in a parking lot...

 

ok so this weekend i decided to take the dive and start working on my clutch. Sure enough it took about 5 hours to get the transmission out, without a bentley manual. i thought i could go about and drop the subframe without dismantling the front of the car, but that was not happening. so just removed the front bumper and the aluminum support and then it came out with out a problem. While tearing into the car, i did notice one thing that really got me boiling.... the previous person that did the clutch, which he did wrong, totally F'd up my shift cables , and actually siliconed them back together so they would work on the transmission... needles to say, i'm buying new ones now at about 300 bucks from the dealership. i did take some pictures so for educational purposes, since this thread helped me a ton i'll start posting them.

 

a few more... i have some on my cell phone that i need to pull off and will be posting them as well.

 

and finally.... the failure. It actually looks like the bearing's got destroyed by the fly wheel.

 

I hope your loving the experience Blckmorning. How in the heck did silicone keep the cables together? Good call in replacing them now although expensive. Imagine if you would of took it into the shop...$$$$$$.
Now its time to order all the new parts and get the flywheel machined in the meantime. Your clutch fork and bushing look good but its hard to tell if the plastic bushing need replacing. If you do decide to replace, its not that expensive.

 

And thus my saga continues today... Got my new shift cables installed. That is a job i wish upon no one. The biggest pain the A$$ EVER. thinking that today was going to be a good day, i should have just stayed in bed. Busted off some exhaust bolts (since you need to disconnect from the cat), and i stripped two screws on the exhaust support plate... Oh and i already messed up my release bearing. Two little plastic clips broke when installing on the fork. I spent a good few hours working on it, till i decided to clean up and tackle more tomorrow. unfortunately dealership is closed, can't get a new bearing till monday, and none of the parts store even have one. Well none of them that i have found. I'll make some more phone calls tomorrow and we'll see where we go from there. In the end i keep telling myself that it's cheaper then if i would have taken it to someone...

 

how in the heck did you break the release bearing? it just snaps in gently without much force. don't rush it or you will break more things. Keep in mind when u r shopping for a new release bearing that it mates to the pressure plate so I don't think it is safe to mix up manuafacturers if you run into that scenerio. keep on plugging away. you will get there and you are definitely saving money.

 

Lucky for me it's an OEM Clutch/pressure plate, and i just had to go to the dealership to get a new one. Took about a week to get the new one, just got it today. I actually broke the little tabs that hook onto the fork, didn't see them when i was sliding it on the spindle.

IF all goes well, i'm hoping it will be all put back together tomorrow. Got all my bolts and nuts, just gotta air hammer out the old exhaust bolts so maybe another 4 hours-ish.

 

I am undertaking this same job tomorrow morning. I just have a couple questions hopefully you guys may be able to answer. 1) What is the size of the hub nut? 2) Are there any "special" tools required/recommended?

 

1.) Big... I don't know the exact dimension, but i want to say it's about inch and a half -ish.... I can tell you tomorrow when i get to my garage specifically though.
2.) I haven't come upon any super special tools that i have needed, I actually made my own Clutch alignment tool with some sockets and extensions. The kit i had didn't have one, and dealership wants about 80 bucks for a simple tool that doesn't do much more than what i made.

tberardi did make mention about the external torex sockets, which i think is about the only special tool i've had to buy so far.

 

A really good site that i've been using to verify parts and part numbers: http://parts.miniofsouthatlanta.com/
Don't try to convince your local dealership to match these prices because they probably won't. But This will give you an idea of parts diagrams, and approximation of prices. Not sure what year you have, but if it's an between 03-04 you may want to know that in 07/04 they changed the transmission in the R50, so the bearing is different.

 

Thanks BM yes i do have an 03/03 justa i found one site that said the nut was 1.5"ish (38mm) and another that said it was 45mm which is more around 1.75" which is huge !! I would love to see what you came up with for a clutch alignment tool as my kit also didn't come with one (frustrating) Thanks for the link you send... very informative

 

I used a 1-1/4" socket to RR my hub nuts. Once removed your supposed to replace them with new. They only cost a few dollars. However, I reused mine this time around because the portion that you knock in was still good. Plus I have a few in storage in case I need for later repairs.
Note that having a Bentley service manual is invaluable when undertaking such major repairs.
My valeo clutch kit came with a plastic clutch alignment tool that worked ok. I'm surprised your kit did not come with one. Without one, it will be tough to align the spline hole so that when you insert the transmission back in, it will slip in easily. Because if it is misaligned, you will spend hours trying to force the transmission back in or you will have to pull it off and relaign and repeat. It will be by trial and error and you will curse forever. Plus you will ruin your etorx bolts from lossening and tigntening the clutch plate not to mention you have to break the blue threadlocker compound you put on the etorx threads.
Suggest you use a clutch alignment tool, do not eyeball it. Only the guys who do this for a living can probably eyball it successfully.

 

ANNNNNNNND... I broke another release bearing. The stupid plastic clip snapped again. I'm starting to wonder if it's my fork now.

 

what the heck. what could you be doing to break it? you have to be doing something fundamently incorrect. i will hunt for a photo so you can see it up close.
Take some pictures of what your doing and post it so we all can see.

 

Attached is a photo of the back of the release bearing and the new clutch bearing installed on the fork up close on my car. Note the forks arms fit between the 2 plastic tabs.
Note there is a little return on both tabs that prevent the bearing from coming off but it is only there to hold it in place while you put the transmission back into the shaft spline. The bearing will pop off if you move the fork lever. You will need to manuver the transmission gently when you push it back in or the bearing will fall off.
BMW could of done a better job here of securing the bearing to the fork.

when you install the fork arms into the bearing, try to lift move the bearing up on the guide so that the points of the fork arms enter the slot below the return tabs instead of pushing the bearing thru the return tabs onto the fork arms. Uneven pressure or misalignment when you push it on may be causing the tab to break. I am only guessing here tho.
And lastly, your fork arms may be bent. If so, you will need a new fork.

 

i'm going to re-examine my arms today, and check to see what could possibly be going wrong. I figured that it would just snap on like you said, however it doesn't seem to be doing that. Looking at your 3rd picture when the fork is in a rest position your bearing seems to be flush, where i couldn't get my fork to go into a rest position without it popping off. when i was looking at it yesterday the forks seem to be ok, but that was just eye balling it, and never really thinking taht they were a problem.

 

tber... not sure why your throw out bearing housing keeps breaking... the fork may be bent.... i was able to angle the fork up slightly and just wiggle slightly and it went on with very little effort.

New HUGE issue.... got the new clutch in and everything back together but the bastard wont start!! Electrically she is golden but seems to be getting no power to the starter. now the question that makes me feel real "special"

with the starter mounted and the heat shield off you have the positive cable to atach to the starter hanging down from the tranny side of the engine... from the other side of the engine there is a similar "power" cable (+or- not sure) hanging down mounted right under the oil filter...... does anyone remember where the end of this damn cable gets bolted to???? for the life of me i cant remember !! sorry for the stupid question but hopefully someone can help

 

Italian spider, its blckmorning's brg that is accidentally breaking for some unknown reason, not mine. We are trying to help him solve this problem.
With respect to your issue, I suggest you look at the bentley manual page 230-14 and 230-15 where it shows a couple pictures of the wiring connections in that area that may help you. Possibly you can post some photos of your delimma for everyone to see and consider. Its hard to visulize without having the area in front of you.

 

unfortunately no manual .... also an unfortunate statement is that i cant take a picture of the area because the subframe and all attached garbage is back on the car.... (good and bad i guess)

 

Well i can tell you guys why my Bearing keeps breaking. I re-examined everything, and it dawned on me that i mentioned before about your bearing laying flush when in the rest position and mine won't. I put the fork in the rest position, the upper leg touched the bell housing, the lower fork stuck out about a 1/4 of an inch. in the back of my mind i'm hearing... "We'll there's your problem".
Got the fork removed, and i was examining it to find that the actual weld has a hair line crack also.

 

Damn...that sucks Blckmorning. Look at the bright side, after everything is said and done, you'll be a pro at removing and installing the MINI transmission.

 

You're right... after everything is said and done i will be a pro. Just picked up my new Fork, Push leaver, Bushings, and guide tube. Waiting on the bearing now. HUGE difference in the new fork.

The dealership was joking with me today saying they hadn't seen me in a while and thought they pissed me off. I told them no, everything has been working fine and haven't had the need to visit them, until now. In the past 3 weeks i've been to the dealership more than i have in the past 2 years. And spent more money there then i have since i bought my car.