8 replies to this topic

[Knuckles]

Hello all ,
I've been doing a head gasket on my 1994 Mini Cooper spi and now i can't push the clutch pedal down. It's rock hard and has no give.
I have left the car in gear for a few weeks as the handbrake doesn't hold too well (needs adjusting)
I've removed the head then went to put it back in gear to move Pistons up to clean them to find the pedal rock hard.
Clutch master cylinder or clutch slave issue ? Any advise will be greatly apreciated
Thank you :)

[spiguy]

If the car has been sitting for a while, then it could well be just that the pin between the clutch slave cylinder and the clutch arm has tightened up. This happened to my car a couple of times when it sat. In my case, I had pushed the pedal, and the clutch stayed disengaged, so that when I pushed it again, the pedal was hard, but the clutch was still disengaged. I thought my clutch had gone, but it was just the arm was sticky. I used a bit of wood against the clutch housing next to the arm, and struck it with a hammer a few times and the shock made the arm return. Then freed off the pin with WD40, greased it up and all was well.

 

I'm sure you know what I mean, but this links to a picture of the area :

 

http://s1275.photobu...lbcalr.jpg.html

[Knuckles]

I can't thank you enough :)
Did exactly what you said - few Taps later and now the pedal has returned to normal. Selects gears fine again.
Very squeaky though so will grease it up
Thank you again :)

[spiguy]

yay! good result. Glad to have helped. It's a horrible feeling, I remember it well. You may find that it's worth replacing the clevis pin if it plays up in future, when they get very worn it can cause the pedal to feel notchy and rough. Easy and cheap enough to do if needed.

[Ethel]

This is usually down to moisture  getting at the slave cylinder bore. Having a dance on the pedals every once in a while is a good idea if your Min is laid up.

[spiguy]

This is usually down to moisture  getting at the slave cylinder bore. Having a dance on the pedals every once in a while is a good idea if your Min is laid up.

 

Conjurs up an amusing image. Like riverdance would you suggest ?

[leefleming]

Hi guys I have the same problem right now. However, my mini is an Xreg and there are lots of wires etc in the way, and access is VERY limited.
No chance of getting a hammer etc down there.
Do you reckon lots of lube and some gentle tapping from above could work?

[leefleming]

Did all the above and managed to wiggle it from underneath and it's back to normal.

[spiguy]

great stuff. I sympathise with you, mine is an SPi and is a pain to get access to , yours will be even worse! Can't beat a little wiggle to get things moving again