NEED HELP!!!!!
Turbo Mini Forums

Ok the clutch was slipping a bit so i thought i would change it. finished last night and it dont work.

basically i took it all out and found the inside of the casing to be a bit damp. i changed the oil seal, clutch plate and diaphram. put it all together and had to pump the pedal like mad till it worked. drove around the block (ok ish) the left it a minute and tried again. still had to pump like mad first. tried again this morning and still the same.

i did take the slave cylinder off the engine but didnt disconnect it. the slave is new (6 months old) and so is the braided hose. the master cylinder is the plastic bowl type so quite new ish (could be 4 or 5 years old i cant remember) same flywheel and backplate and i did line up the marks and "A" on the diaphram. its a replacement bonded rally plate and the diaphram is now a double grey as opposed to single grey. i did also remember to adjust the arm to minimal clearance.

my thoughts.
1. could be the clutch plate. the old one was worn on the outer part on both sides and not on the inside. that was strange to see. but it was working fine other than a bit of slip at 15psi in 3rd and 4th.

2. master cylinder. it was working fine, didnt break into the hydrolic circuit and it didnt work on the first pump so not the double grey overloading it, so should be fine. being as the slave is sprung loaded it should almost self adjust.

3. slave cylinder. didnt spot a leak and its new ish

4. diaphram. its a double grey! its new but could be overloading everything.

5. air. pumped the pedal and chocked with a lump of wood and then opened and shut the blead nipple, couldnt see anything due to lack of space but it sounded like no air and fluid came out. checked after this and still the same.

ANY GOOD IDEAS? NEED TO FIX TODAY FOR AVON TOMORROW!!!

maybe the master or slave was on its way out, the extra of the double grey sent it over the edge.

i know a lot of people have had issues with no standard slaves giving up regularly due to the heat.

the first time i put the pedal down after doing the clutch it was very spongy. or should i say nothing there. pumped it 10 times and felt some spongy then another 20 pumps and could get a gear!

i did push the piston into the slave when putting together, could the fluid going into the master cyl damage the master cyl?

if it was the slave then several sessions of pumping like mad would have created a puddle of fluid on the garage floor? i didnt see anything on the floor.

are you sure its correctly adjusted on that little nut that presses agains the arm?

pulled the arm fully out by hand and adjusted the bolt out till it touched. turned it back about 3 flats, so slight play.

Have you bled the system?

Its obviously a hydraulic problem if you are having to pump the pedal to get any action.

should i need to bleed the system? i didnt do anything to the hydraulics. plus i did give it one bleed after finding this problem and made no difference.

I'd also say bleed it, they can be funny buggers, the way I do it is a long length of clear pipe (washer tube ideal) from the slave bleed nipple back into the top of the master cyl, that way you can just keep pumping it round and the bubbles will float out in the master (hopefully!)

but it was working and i didt touch the hydraulic bits.

the mini may not make it to Avon. you'll spot me. i'll be the one in clean clothes and with clean hands, looking pissed off!

i'm trying to bet a master cyl today and will bleed the old one tonight and if that fails i'll change it tonight.

i could drive it to Avon, but it will be a bitch with the double grey and having to pump it.

you know all the best cars come on trailers

Trailer? what. its in road legal class so it goes on the road. also i dont have a trailer.

couple of weeks back i drove to Le Mans to watch the 24hr race. 1000 mile round trip in the mini.

i aint a trailer queen

any other ideas? even totally random ones.

especially ones that dont involve taking the clutch out again!

Edited by Turbo Shed on 12th Jul, 2007.

Have you bled it? Any better?

come on im at work. will try bleeding and then changing master cyl tonight. if that fails, some other ideas would be nice.

Work? HA! No such grind for me until Monday!

Ha, i have this friday off and monday!!