As far as the linkage being loud, that's the nature of an R53. They are clunky and loud and personally I love it. The clutch pedal on the other hand I'm not sure about. Try throwing some grease on the linkages and see if that helps.
If you are stopped and the clutch is out, is there is a noise almost like a noisy rotation? And if so, does the noise go away when the clutch is depressed? If so, could be the throwout bearing.
Also with the throwout bearing. If your pedal is relatively quiet when the car is still warming up. But then gets the rubber on rubber kind of grind/groan when warm. That is also a sign of a bad throwout bearing.
Some linkage noise, esp on the 1-2 shift you'll hear a clack, that's normal.
The good news: Feeling like you're pushing a screwdriver through a bucket of rocks when you depress the clutch is not the clutch (phew for that!). The bad news is it's highly likely the throwout bushing or sleeve (not bearing) going away. It's something like a $10 part but you've got to "break the seal" between the engine and trans to get at it, which means the front of the car comes off, so may's well do the clutch while you're in there. Good news is it'll run like that for a long time (mine went 10,000+ miles with a slight gruntch on clutch depression before I decided to replace it). How many miles on the car? Gotta say the new clutch is a JOY. Mine went South about 65k (the bushing, not the clutch), and I've had Mini friends who've experienced the same thing about the same mileage. Sorry...
Thanks for the info folks. I got the same feedback on another sight as well. I dont think its too bad yet so I may let it ride for a while. It seems to me that buying an R53 in the 70 to 80K milage range is the wrong time to buy (as I did) I should have looked for one with 120K on it. Then all the design flaw maintenance items would have already been taken care of.
Nyaah, 70k is fine. All cars have their issues around 70k, and likely again around 130k, parts simply have a finite lifespan. Good news is parts aren't hard to find, and despite the tight confines of the engine compartment, it's not all that hard to work on it once you've got the hang of Service Level 1. OK, ok, it's difficult, but not impossible.
i have a 03 and went 137k miles on the original clutch setup...
the cables will make a clunk or another random noise...remember these are cables that are inside plastic guide tubes...also if the rubber inside the linkage ends wears down the more the clunk will appear...to replace them is not a difficult task...just alot of parts to move out of the way
now as for the clutch pedal...it sounds like the throwout arm bushings are going bad or have gone...they are while nylon end caps on the throwout arm...and there is no way to fix them from the outside so the trans will have to be opened to replace...and while your in there to make it worth your while...replace the clutch too
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