Annoying clutch pedal friction noise/feel

[CooperS4us]

Greetings everyone.... I am having a seemingly annoying problem with the clutch pedal of my '05 R53 with 23K miles.....

When the car is cold (Has seated overnight) and I press and release the clutch pedal with the engine still turned off, the pedal feels perfectly fine.

After I start the engine and drive the car for 5-10 minutes, I begin to feel what could better be describe as "Friction" when pressing and releasing the clutch pedal. There is a faint squeak noise, like "Rubber against rubber" type of noise/feel. It also feels as it some moving part in the pedal assembly had no lubrication.

The pedal rubber friction comes and goes, but this week its been specially annoying. Other than the friction noise, the clutch seems to be working fine. I have not noticed any differences in pedal travel, Press/release action or engagement point. I am able to shift up and down perfectly fine.

This problem is completely different from the "squeal" noise reported in other threads when coming out of first gear. This is not that problem. I don't have any transmission noises, other than, the pedal "dried rubber" feel.

Any ideas?

Yesterday I grabbed a can of WD-40 lubrication oil and attempted to spray the clutch pedal release spring, which is located high up behind the dashboard (It helped some). However, I suspect that the problem could be coming from the clutch pedal bushings in the pivot connection point where the pedal connects to the pedal holding assembly, again behind the dashboard.

I know that this problem was very common in 1990's E36 BMW 3 series and the factory clutch pedal bushings were commonly at fault.


I don't think the problem has anything to do with the slave cylinder (My clutch is not getting stuck) or the throw out bearing. If it is not the clutch pedal holding bushings, could it be a sign that the clutch assembly itself is/has worn out?

I am trying to avoid a trip to the dealer just for this, but if the noise continues I have no much of a choice.

I am open to ideas/suggestions/comments
Has anyone had this problem?

[CooperS4us]

Anyone??

[CooperS4us]

Wow! No one seems to ever have this issue??? I find this pretty unbelievable!

[PmP]

I had this problem on my 01 cooper and 04 cooper S. Both occassions dealer tried greasing up the bushings on the clutch pedal linkage and replacing them, but, it inevitably came back, and resorted to changing the clutch which cured it over last summer and the winter.

But this last few weeks with the dry spell weve had it seems to be coming back, but not to the extend of before. Its especially bad in slow traffic where you are constantly adjusting the clutch.

Ideally if I was engineering the car, I would have used some ball bearings instead of bushes on the clutch linkage.

[Dave Elliott]

Hi there,

I have a 02 MCS (I bought it December 2006).

I wouldn't say my clutch has a problem, but reading this thread maybe it has.

I always considered it to be quite heavy, especially driving the MCS after driving my wife's Subaru Outback.

I would describe it as heavier than most modern cars and sometimes it's not as smooth as it should be.

It's a bit like a seized clutch cable, but of course this couldn't be the case because it is a hydraulic system.

As mentioned by CooperS4us, I would suspect it to be dry or un-lubricated bushings on the clutch pedal mechanism.

I've been meaning to check it out someday...maybe this weekend.

Can I ask PmP whether the lubrication of the pedal assembly helped by the dealer solved the problem initially (but got bad after some time), or was it the change of clutch that made the big difference?

Cheers,

Dave

[Journeyman]

I guess it is something like this:

MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - Question about clutch

[Dave Elliott]

Thanks Journeyman.

It's strange that those that have sprayed WD40 or similar on the clutch pedal mechanism (under the dash) say that the clutch feel improves for a little while. To me this implies that the pedal mechanism is at fault (dry bushes or lack of lubrication).

My clutch is heavy (a bit like using a race clutch). I doubt a flywheel change would help.

[CooperS4us]

Thanks everyone. This confirms my suspicions about dried up bushings in the clutch pedal assembly. Seems like the same problem that plagued the E36 BMW 3 series and some M coupes and roadsters. I have been driving the car for the last couple of days and the clutch feels a little better in terns of the friction feel, so I have decided to cancel Monday's dealer service appointment.

The car otherwise drives great and the shifting action is good as ever. I don't really want my dealer to mess around with my factory installed clutch unless they absolutely have to (They have very good techs, but still).

I am going to play it by ear and see if it gets worse over the next 3 months (When my second scheduled dealer maintenance will take place) or if it stays the same.

My first '04 MCS did the same thing and never bother to get it looked at and the car drove fine until I sold it.

The R53 clutch is indeed heavy, even more so when compared to the R50 clutch (In both Midlands and Getrag versions).

It is a known fact that the E36 3 series and M Coupe/Roadster stock clutch pedal bushings are pure rubbish and most of these owners have purchased much better quality aftermarket bushings.

I will take a peek underneath the dashboard this weekend and see if I can grease/oil the moving parts and pivot point of the clutch pedal. That will save me an unecessary trip to the dealer and downtime for my MINI.

If anyone has encountered this annoyance and has been able to do a DIY repair, please post it here. We will love to hear from you.

[CooperS4us]

Quote: Originally Posted by PmP (original)

I had this problem on my 01 cooper and 04 cooper S. Both occassions dealer tried greasing up the bushings on the clutch pedal linkage and replacing them, but, it inevitably came back, and resorted to changing the clutch which cured it over last summer and the winter.

But this last few weeks with the dry spell weve had it seems to be coming back, but not to the extend of before. Its especially bad in slow traffic where you are constantly adjusting the clutch.

Ideally if I was engineering the car, I would have used some ball bearings instead of bushes on the clutch linkage.

Thanks PmP. have you notice the same thing in your GP's clutch pedal?

[CooperS4us]

Does anyone know how to remove the driver's side bolster plastic panel (US) or the parcel tray? Since the pivot connecting point for the clutch pedal is high up behind the dashboard I am trying to get to it without having to peek and reach from way under the dash.

[PmP]

Quote: Originally Posted by CooperS4us (original)

Thanks PmP. have you notice the same thing in your GP's clutch pedal?

GP only has 1100 miles on it so not likely .

[CooperS4us]

Quote: Originally Posted by PmP (original)

GP only has 1100 miles on it so not likely .

Then you need to get out and drive it some more!

[Journeyman]

Well my (new) clutch is doing almost the same again... Does someone have any updates?

[Dave Elliott]

I was driving my MINI quite a bit over the weekend and I was able to pay more attention to the way the clutch feels.

As i said before, my R53 MCS clutch seems heavier than a modern car should be (likened it to a classic Mini race clutch).

Pressing the clutch pedal slowly I can feel a jerkiness. It feels a bit like a clutch cable that needs lubrication, but of course the MCS uses a hydraulic clutch.

I don't think the resistance is in the slave cylinder because I don't think the jerkiness would be transmitted so well through the hydraulic system.

This leaves the actual pedal mechanism. My guess is that there are nylon bushes on the clutch pedal pivot and these bushes need some grease. It wouldn't be the first time a MINI was lacking grease (seat tilt mechanism comes to mind).

Spraying WD-40 in the general area of the pivot seems to have helped some people, for a little while.

I'm moving house (to house with no garage) so I'll have to live with the clutch the way it is for a while (until replacement garage is built !!). However, if I had time I would be trying to get the clutch pedal out of the car and having a good look at the pivot.


Cheers,

Dave

[tenderidol]

I have had this exact problem in the "first" clutch of my 03 MCS. At around 26K miles, I started to feel that famous "friction". It only displayed itself after 15-30 mins of driving in heavy traffic. Otherwise, it was just fine (e.g., no problems changing gears, etc). I took it to the dealer at several occasions and got the "cannot reproduce the problem" answer.

I took a day off from work and drove the car around for an hour in city traffic, went to the dealer straight, and asked the service adviser to drive it... She felt the same friction and booked the car for a clutch service. After contacting MINI, they replaced the slave cylinder first, master cylinder second, and the whole clutch assembly at the end. It was probably just the bushings...

The car has 65K right now. Around 52K, another clutch was put in (with different and more obvious symptoms than the friction).

Good luck with your repairs. It may take some "effort" to document it to the dealer, but I would take the time to do it... Clutch problems are messy, since it is a wear-tear item. I know few people that were denied of service by other dealers with the "exact" symptoms that I experienced (and you describe here)... At least, you may want to document your problem in their database in case it fails in the future and you need to make a case. That's what happened for me for when the second clutch failed... The field engineer visited the dealer and diagnosed the car when it was out of warranty, and decided to put in a new clutch since I have been trying to get them acknowledge the problem while the car was still under warranty.

Again, good luck!