Clutch Works

If I were keeping score, I would have to say that the most common questions on our tech line involve clutch problems. Many of these are from reputable repair shops! The Usual complaint is that the clutch pedal is right on the floor, and the common belief is that the problem can be remedied by replacing the clutch disc; this is not the case! The problem is more often one (or both) of two things: improper adjustment or mechanical wear of the linkage. The clutch disengages as the top of the arm (#38) pivots away from the cover (#30). The object of adjustment is to eliminate any free play so that the hydraulic motion moves the arm instead of just taking up the slop. Adjust the clutch free play as follows: A) remove the return spring 1G5999 (#41); B) pull the top of the arm away from the engine until it stops; C) loosen the locknut and unscrew the stop bolt (#34) until it contacts the arm, then screw it back to .020" clearance, still pulling the arm back; D) tighten the jam nut on the stop bolt, replace the return spring and you're done. If the pedal is still low, it is likely there is wear in the linkage components. Check for worn clevis pins CLZ512 (#16), CLZ628 (#36) or CLZ518 (#39) and replace if necessary. Check that the eyelet of the pushrod 13H396 (#4) is not elongated. The clutch arm (#38) is very prone to wear at the lower ball which should be round, not worn flat on one side. Lastly, the master cylinder pushrod may wear where the clevis pin rides; this pushrod is not available separately, only with a new master cylinder.

Article Date: Jan 30, 2000
Car Accociations: MINI
Hits: 8624

6 Comments

11/03/2010 @ 12:34 PM
kat	lve just replaced the clutch master, and blead the line( pedal is hard to push now). also lve done the check list, up above. my problem now is it doesnt want to disingage,(l have to turn car off to shift when comming to a stop..and its slipping when taking off.
11/08/2010 @ 8:35 AM
Cheleker	Kat, I have to assume you have a pre-Verto clutch set up; i.e., with the long clutch arm and a clutch slave cylinder that sits horizontally on and attached to the flywheel housing. The information you followed was specific to the pre-Verto. If I understand your question, the two symptoms are counter indicative. Normally, when you can not get a car into or out of a gear, the clutch system is not moving far enough to release the clutch disk from its clamped position between the flywheel and the pressure plate. This can be because: the two, big locking nuts (throw out nuts -- see your workshop manual) are set incorrectly; the clutch adjustment bolt (discussed above) is set incorrectly; there are worn parts, as discussed above; the system is not bled correctly and still contains air; the slave and or master are not functioning correctly; or the slave hose has deteriorated internally and should be replaced. Or any combination of the former! On the other hand, a slipping clutch usually indicates that the clutch is adjusted so that the setting won't allow the clamping to take place fully. I suggest you start over with the basics to make sure everything is operating as it should; including, resetting the clutch adjustments. One last possibility for the slipping clutch is that the flywheel/primary gear seal is leaking badly. On most Minis, you can find a symptom of this by looking at the bottom of the round section of the flywheel housing. There is a small hole there (usually with a cotter pin rattling around in it to keep the hole open). If you are seeing a lot of oil coming out of the hole, the flywheel/primary gear seal has gone bad and will need to be replaced.
03/20/2011 @ 3:01 AM
Zell	I recently just bought a mini, and suddenly the clutch pedal will not depress at all, there are no leaks around the master or slave and i have removed the slave to check if it is moving free which it is, i also tried to push the clutch arm to the left after i took off the slave but it didnt move at all which i guess means he clutch is engaged however if i force the car into gear nothing happenings. Any help would be great. Thanks
03/20/2011 @ 9:23 PM
Cheleker	Zell, there are a couple of clutch types, pre-verto and verto. The verto is the later type and the clutch slave mounts at a downward pointing angle and operates a short, stubby clutch arm. The earlier, pre-verto slave is mounted horizontally and operates a longer arm. A few possiiblities. 1. If pre-verto, make sure the two, big stop nuts are not loose on the end of the throw out bearing carrier. If the lock nut is loose, the adjusting nut could work forward towards the clutch cover and would stop the arm from moving. 2. You may need to remove the clutch arm. It could be stuck, or the t/o bearing carrier (into which the bottom ball of the arm fits) may be locking into place. Usually this is a rust issue, though, and is unlikely to happen "suddenly." 3. It is possible that the flex hose to the slave has broken down internally enough so that fluid can't get to the slave.
03/20/2011 @ 11:32 PM
Zell	Its a pre-verto with the long clutch arm, is it normally easy to pull that arm away from the slave cause i cant get it to move left however i did screw in that little stopped on the bell housing which made the arm move towards the slave a little. Does the arm require alot of hydralic pressure, if so im tempted to put a new slave and flex house on. Thanks
03/21/2011 @ 8:31 PM
Cheleker	Zell, Sorry. I'm not sure I understand what you have written and I can't figure out how it applies to your original problem of not being able to press the clutch pedal down. Regarding moving the clutch arm by hand, once the spring from the arm to the slave is removed, the arm can be moved, but only a very small amount...only as much as there is clearance between the arm and the adjusting bolt. (Make sure it is set correctly based on instructions in your workshop manual.)