Rally Mini Cooper

Just a refresh of the clutch issue:

In july I found it really difficult to engage the gears. 1st required the engine off, put in 1st and start, the rest of the gears were crunching with the clutch pedal all the way down. So I dropped the box and sent the worn out clutch to be rebuilt. When the new clutch came back I installed it but I noticed the cover forks were flat and not domed out like before.

Anyway I fitted the box and could not get any gears. I dropped the box again and measured the thickness of the plate. It is 8.5mm , then I used the weight of a car to slowly compress the cover plate. At maximum force the clearance is 6.2mm . therefore the plate is too thick. So I made some 2mm spacers for the cover plate, 2mm is the maximum I can go due to the location pins. So on went the box. I bleed the system but the throw out bearing arm did not push out the arm enough to disengage the clutch. I had suggestions that there was air in the system or the slave or master cylinder were bad. Seeing as I'm in Costa Rica I had to wait until I returned to the US to buy the parts.

The next visit I came back with a new SC/MC I fitted booth and bled the system but nothing improve. Chris Sneed suggested the flexi pipe was expanding, it was so I fitted a braided line and bought a power bleed system. I bled the system again. Actually I flushed the whole system out with Motul 600. Unfortunately the problem still existed. The arm does not go out enough to disengage the clutch. If I jam the clutch pedal down, and use a bar to lever the arm out about 1/4" the slave cylinder holds it there, all night too. The slave cylinder is almost at maximum travel to disengage the clutch. So I thought to add a spacer between the arm and the SC rod but still the distance is the same. Also the clutch pedal is at the bottom of full travel and extremely hard to push down. I think in the end I have to send the clutch back. Does anyone know the thickness of a R50 Midlands clutch plate? Thanks

Now I'm way behind to get the Mini finished for January, there's going to be many a late night!

 

Thanks Crashton, yeah what with the misfire last year and now this issue I want to go back to Subaru! LOL On the bright side at least I'm fixing things that could break. With the clutch plate it's just bad luck the plate is wrong. The Mini will not beat me! hahaha

 

I know with the misfire I might have lost some time due to my lack of electrical knowledge but with the clutch, this is stuff I can see. I have totally replaced the hydraulic system and bleed it to death, The pedal is rock solid so I'm done with it. After some checking on Saturday I concluded the clutch, even with the 2mm spacers needs too much travel and pressure to make it disengage. The hydraulic system lacks the travel and strength to disengage the clutch. To push the pedal down requires some serious leg muscles! Even if I could get the clutch to work in this state I doubt the system would be reliable.

Therefore the box is coming off and the clutch and this time the flywheel will go back to the builder to make sure when I get it back all will be well. I've used these guys since 2004 with the Subaru,Suzuki and Mini with no issues. I'll just chalk it up as one of those things.

That was Saturday morning. Then I moved on to remove the S oil heat exchanger and fit a real oil cooler. This took quite some time because I want to make the installation rally proof, while I was at it I swapped the oil filter. Now the front end(apart from the clutch is done, I'm now going to replace the fuel tank and for the Onasled racing pick ups. I hope to catch back lost time in the evenings.

 

The clutch/flywheel are off and packed. The fuel tank is off and I hope to fit the new(used) one tomorrow morning. Then I'm back to MA for 2 weeks, post the clutch back to the supplier and hopefully return with a better clutch and the other seat.

I hope December is the final month of preparation work.

 

The problem with buy used stuff is the condition of it. I went to fit the used good fuel tank, changed the filter to find the part that the fuel level sender connects to broken. So I have to make a mix of parts to fix it, Fuel tank is now fitted. I have the original clutch plate in the US so as I expected the plate is around 2mm less in width that the new one. The whole clutch assembly goes back today. I just hope TG does not slow the rebuild turn around.

 

wooooooo hooooooooooo I got a bit of a bonus this year, so am I going to pay off some bills? nope, going to buy stuff to make the Mini FIA compliant. Actually the bonus was a much needed because I was thinking how was I going to pay for the roll cage certificate and FIA hand held fire extinguisher? never give up!

 

The bonus is spent! gone in a flash! I think I must be a fairly patient chap due to all the issues the Mini attracts! Take the clutch, I assume it was correct because I trust that a new clutch should be correct. You know the story so I won't bore you with a recap. Anyway I called the clutch company owner to see how the clutch was. He said he had never seen an issue like mine! LOL He had to take care of the rebuild to ensure the clutch will work correctly. I just said "thanks , oh well these things happen and pulling the gearbox off about 6 times was good exercise....." British black humour at its best.

 

Well today is not a good day! the clutch guy now tells me the cover plate is not repairable. game over! I need another cover plate...aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I told the clutch didn't work correctly from day one so I figured he just resurfaced it and sent it bad without checking. Yesterday he rebuilt the cover 3 times with the same result, the cover did not release the plate. DUH! So now what? he has another cover that is similar, same bolt holes etc but 1/8" taller. He's going to send that overnight at my cost! well what can I do? nada. He has my flywheel, so no choice. bummer x 100000000000000

 

words fail me for the dumb donkey at the clutch shop. not only did he not check the clutch correctly the first time around, now he left my clutch until the last minute and missed the shipping deadline, meaning I go down to CR without the clutch! what a twat! I told him like 10 times to have it ready for Saturday. I should have bought the SPEC clutch off Ebay . Well that's the last time I use this twat! on the bright side I have more bag space to bring beers!

 

The CR co-workers came through and I have the clutch! I hope to fit before I leave on Saturday to find out if it works this time. I got the roll cage padding in, new seats and belts and gave the inside a good painting.

 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah a sign of relief! I fitted the clutch, hung the gearbox on by 2 bolts and tried the clutch.............................................it's alive! I turned the engine by hand, nothing was catching, in gear I can turn the hub so maybe, just maybe the clutch nightmare is over?

 

My luck changed a bit. The snow in Boston delayed my flight by one day so I was able to run the engine and check the clutch. The pedal now disengages the clutch about 1" before hitting the floor which is way better than before. The pedal seems lighter so that will help my leg muscles!

 

Right Mini Cooper it's 2017 and this year you're going to rally! I see a trend@ I 2015 I got the fuel/misfire issue that was sorted in January, for 2016 I got the clutch issue in July and now it's January! Mmmmmm I have to break this jinx. LOL

 

Today the Mini is back on the streets of Costa Rica! I went to have the wheels aligned this morning because I fitted the Onasled Racing extended pick ups on the rear. The suspension feels really nice now. The Mini is rally ready apart from the Lifeline fire extinguisher pull cable rusted away ($24 for a new one so no big deal) and I'm waiting for the roll cage certificate. The FIA hand held extinguisher is fitted plus a bunch of other upgrades so I'm 99% there. The frustration of the past 5 months are a distant memory! LOL