2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Clutch wear and driving habits

110,600 or so miles on my 03 Justa, clutch feels like new. 40 some years driving many manuals.

Mark

 

Old farts Know how to drive manuals, because that is all there was, back in the day.

Jim

 

Wait, it's not just old farts!!! I learned to drive on a scooby-doo stick shift and the first car I was allowed to drive was a '77 Toyota Land Cruiser - double clutching and no power steering. And 33 does not make me old!!!!!! rrr:

 

Well, I just had to replace the clutch & flywheel.

I've been driving manual transmission for MANY years and I have NEVER done the following:

Kept the car "in gear" at a stop light.
Rested my foot on the pedal.
I occasionally downshift to slow down.

I had taken Schultze into the stealership many times with complaints about the clutch. I bought him NEW with only 16 miles on the clock back on 01/13/07.

The stealership actually had various techs take them on a spin so they could see how I drive and I passed each time WITH COMPLIMENTS on my manual driving.

The clutch went south last Tuesday with only 71385 miles on the clock.

One side was PRISTINE while the other side was crispy, flakey and missing bits around the perimeter. :eek6:

I drive the car 99% of the time; my husband will drive it VERY rarely and he has a great deal of experience driving manual transmissions, too.

I contacted the stealership and they want $2600+ to do the work. "If it's covered under warranty, you'll receive a refund."

There have been TOO MANY stories about this stealership denying warranty coverage and then you're out the $$$ when it could've been repaired less expensively ELSEWHERE. So yes, I declined.

So...I picked up Schultze after the repair. OMG, I had a heck of a time in the parking lot. Schultze's original clutch was NEVER so responsive, even from the get-go, which is why I brought him in several times to get it checked.

The stealership loaners are Justas and the one time they put me into a JCW S, I thought "man, I just LOVE that clutch!" Drove an S loaner and the clutch felt that same way, so I chalked up the difference in clutch feel to the difference between Justas & S.

I was a happy camper the day I drove Schultze home back in 2007. That being said, I had a HUGE grin on my face and was having a BLAST driving him home when I picked him up from the shop on Friday.

My clutch should've felt like that ALL ALONG!

I plan on taking pics of the parts later this week...things have been hectic at work and my free-time, fun-time has become very limited.

BIG THANKS to Way for shipping all the PF bushings to the shop...if only I could've towed Schultze to you, I could've gotten a LOT of stuff done to Schultze that simply cannot be done at MOTD.

HUGE THANKS to Auto Haus in Yorktown for the great job and frequent communications. Just as the thought would enter my head to give them a call, my phone would ring with a status update.

I don't think that my clutch should've died with less than 72000 mostly-highway miles. I'm going to contact the stealership tomorrow to request reprints of the service tickets and go from there, but I'm certainly NOT holding my breath!

 

My wife and I have been married now for 30 years. When I first met her, one of the things that impressed me about her was the fact that she knew how to shift a manual transmission. Turns out her dad was heavy into drag racing from the 60's here in Columbus. He was one of the "Flying Fatboys" with Jeg Coughlin of Jeg's racing fame. She had seat time in some of her dad's race cars with Powder-Puff racing for the girls at National Trails Drag Strip just east of Columbus. Weren't too many girls on my short list that knew how to handle a powerful vehicle that had manual transmissions. She kinda liked me as well, so i guess the rest is history.

 

Did you replace it with OEM or an aftermarket kit?

 

You really lucked out MM. I'm talking about the part where "she kinda liked you". :cornut:

Jimn

 

Since Schultze is a Justacooper, I was advised by all the shops I contacted to stay OEM.

If Schultze was an "S", I would've gone aftermarket.

 

I'd buy the R56 and keep it on the shelf. If you ever decide to go OS Giken, you could always sell the R56 "spare clutch".

I actually bought an extra front Aero bumper when I received notice that the prices were increasing substantially because the part was no longer in production.

With the "avoiding dumptruck incident" I had in late December, I came out ahead with the insurance. Insurance included the CURRENT pricing and since I already had the part, I got to "reimburse" myself and use the extra $ for other upgrades. :cornut:

The driver-side front bushing had some damage, so there's also a chance I'll get "OEM price credit" since I replaced the bushing while the clutch work was being done.

Still waiting on a callback from the stealership regarding reprints of the previous service tickets regarding the clutch. tappity-tappity-tap

 

If your clutch isn't slipping (rise in rpm under acceleration without a corresponding increase is vehicle speed), pulsing feel through the pedal, or making metal noises; I suggest no action until it's needed.

The caution I would give is to avoid purchasing used without hands-on inspecting the flywheel. Look for uneven friction spots on the flywheel heat ring, grasp the dowel pins, and wiggle, if the face rocks more than couple millimeters, reject the part. Another off-the-vehicle test for dual mass flywheel health, place the flywheel on piece of plywood, screw in screws in-between teeth on the starter ring gear to keep it from turning, screw in a pressure plate bolt, and with the socket and ratchet attached, leverage right or left, if the outer mass moves more than 15 degrees relative to the inner mass, reject the part from consideration.

The OS Giken race ready STR1 CD kit is proven to be long lived, regardless of what it's subjected to, the more easily launched from a stop GT kit (I think is what you are referring to as "stage 1") has limited feedback to date. Be aware both kits produce noise at idle while in neutral. Werkin Mini is an OS Giken dealer if you decide to go aftermarket.

 

Yes, I have an idea - quit worrying about things that "might" happen, and drive and enjoy your car!

 

I would not worry about it if I were you. I have 38K+ after a little over two years, so your car will out live you. :lol:

Jim

 

Drive it, it may break, then you fix it.

Mark

 

Yeah, who knows.....
Maybe when it needs to be repaired, more options will be on the market. After all, your clutch could / should be considered a "consumable item", much like your brakes. Brakes make you stop, clutch makes you go. It's all dealing with friction wear.

 

You would have to tear it all the way down to the same level of replacing the clutch to measure the wear. The labor would be insane just to check the wear.

Relax, dive the car and when the clutch goes then replace it.

 

Stop obsessing and enjoy the car, for Pete's sake. :cornut:

Jim