10 replies to this topic

[MiniCarJack]

Hi, hopefully someone can help point me in the right direction so I can troubleshoot and sort out a problematic clutch operation on my 1991 Mini Neon. Basically up until today, the clutch was working really nicely with no crunching or issues whatsoever, with a pretty nice pedal feel, felt like there was plenty of life left in the clutch itself. However this morning, I noticed it was suddenly a lot harder to get it into any gears, especially reverse (no doubt because it has no synchro and ends up crunching more), but it was still operational to a point and I could drive it on the road - once I was at speed it was okay-ish to use.

 

Along with this the clutch bite point now seems to be extremely low, to the point where it's almost barely engaging at all by the time the pedal reaches the floor. I checked the fluid level in the master cylinder and it looked okay, not quite at the max level so I did top it up slightly but that was no help. I can't see any leaking around the slave cylinder either, and after a reasonably long drive today the level remained perfect in the master cylinder so I can't see that it's leaking anywhere. But now it seems to have gotten so bad that I am barely able to get the car into 1st gear while the engine is running but the car is stationary.

 

What could the likely culprit(s) be for this fairly sudden failure of my clutch system, given there doesn't seem to be any obvious hydraulic leak anywhere? Advice and help is much appreciated!

[pusb]

Does pumping the clutch help?

[blacktulip]

Get someone to press the clutch whilst you look at the arm moving then come back with a measurement. I would first suspect the slave not working properly.

[nicklouse]

Sounds like hydraulics rather than wear.

[Cooperman]

I have put a 'Clutch Drag Fault Finder' on here a long while ago.

If you can find that and work through it systematically, you should be able to identify the problem. There are many possible causes.

[Twincam]

I have put a 'Clutch Drag Fault Finder' on here a long while ago.
If you can find that and work through it systematically, you should be able to identify the problem. There are many possible causes.

http://www.theminifo...em-s/?p=2649225

Post #9 :)

[MiniCarJack]

Thanks for all the advice everyone - I've printed off that fault-finder checklist and will try to work through it today, hopefully the problem becomes clear!

 

Does pumping the clutch help?

 

Re some of the earlier comments, pumping the clutch seemed to help once or twice but not all the time. I'll see if I can get some assistance to measure the movement of the clutch arm when they depress the clutch pedal

Edited by W1NG3D, 31 May 2020 - 09:36 AM.

[MiniCarJack]

So I think I've found at least one problem - this rather worn clutch pedal clevis pin, which was really fun to remove!

 

 

The amount of slop this was allowing at the pedal end meant that the pedal was able to travel a fair way before even engaging the master cylinder, which I captured on video:

 

 

I also managed to call on the help of my girlfriend to record the amount of movement of the clutch arm when she pushed the pedal all the way to the floor:

 

 

I'm sourcing a new clevis pin to eliminate that issue, but I do still wonder if the slave cylinder might also be a culprit here, since the failure seems fairly sudden and the clevis pin would've worn over time rather than suddenly failed?

Edited by W1NG3D, 31 May 2020 - 12:16 PM.

[MatthewsDad]

If the pin is very worn then it's likely the ball on the clutch arm will be similarly worn.

[MiniCarJack]

Just thought I'd update this thread as I managed to fix the issue - the slave cylinder was indeed the main culprit. Replacing the worn clevis pin also helped massively with the pedal feel, it's now so much better than it's ever been during my ownership!

[nicklouse]

I would have pulled the MC and checked the holes in the yoke as they do wear as well. The pedal less so.