51 replies to this topic

[Crawfish]

Hi,

My mini (Mini Cooper SPI 1993) hasn’t been used since mid December last year and has been sat in the garage the last three months.

 

I needed to get some work done on it and in the process the mechanic who was working on it said that the clutch pedal was stuck. I got in the car and even managed to bend the pedal trying to move it.

 

The mechanic said it was very unusual for it to seize over such a short length of time. then started speaking about taking the ECU and other parts out of the car to access the clutch.

I don’t want to open another can of worms (yet) ,without consulting you guys first as I’ve found a cautious approach is generally wise with Minis.

 

I’ve now straightened the bent pedal then warmed the car up today ,the clutch pedal is still stuck and the gears aren’t working either.it seems to be stuck in neutral no matter where I move them too.

 

Ay ideas what would be the next best course of action to take? Please note I'm not very technical 

 

 

 

Cheers

Crawfish

Edited by Crawfish, 15 February 2021 - 03:22 PM.

[Norris73]

Try the easy things first, spray some proper penetrating oil down at the clutch arm were it meets the wok. The two dissimilar metals react and corrode together, causing the stuck clutch pedal. Keep spraying the penetrating oil at the base of the clutch arm every day, and gently try the clutch pedal. You may find after a few days the pedal frees off. You can also disconnect the slave cylinder clevis pin and gently rock the clutch arm with your hand to free it off. I had success with this technique with a Mini City that had been sitting for over 10 years!, it freed off with a bit of a bang!

 

Good luck!

 

 

[Crawfish]

Try the easy things first, spray some proper penetrating oil down at the clutch arm were it meets the wok. The two dissimilar metals react and corrode together, causing the stuck clutch pedal. Keep spraying the penetrating oil at the base of the clutch arm every day, and gently try the clutch pedal. You may find after a few days the pedal frees off. You can also disconnect the slave cylinder clevis pin and gently rock the clutch arm with your hand to free it off. I had success with this technique with a Mini City that had been sitting for over 10 years!, it freed off with a bit of a bang!

 

Good luck!

Thanks for taking the time to reply ,

I'm guessing you mean WD40 (or similar ) as the penetrating oil?  I  have plenty of that if so

 

I now need to find where these parts you mention are and how to access them ,-Google will hopefully help there.

I very much like the sound of this approach though

many thanks 

[Norris73]

WD40 is not great, Plusgas would be much better. As the car has not been sitting for long it won't harm to try the WD40, it may do the trick. You should get yourself some Plusgas though.

 

I have attached a couple of images below which show the location of the slave cylinder and the clutch arm, this is a 1990 engine, so is an A+ engine just like yours. Your car being an SPI will have some additional components in this area (ECU and a brake servo). With the straw attachment on your tin of WD40 reach in and spray the base of the clutch arm where it attaches to the clutch housing cover/wok, try and aim for where the clutch arm disappears into the clutch housing/wok, this will be where it has seized.

 

 IMG20210215160539.jpg   71.67K   2 downloads

 IMG20210215160512.jpg   40.5K   0 downloads

Edited by Norris73, 15 February 2021 - 06:48 PM.

[sonscar]

Look at the nuts on the bell housing,they are probably tight against the housing.The first push of the pedal disengaged the clutch and the system is unable to move it now so is hard.Penetrating spray and maybe some gentle tapping,open the bleed nipple.This is relatively common.Good fettling,Steve.

[Crawfish]

 Clutch Cropped.jpg   65.17K   1 downloads

WD40 is not great, Plusgas would be much better. As the car has not been sitting for long it won't harm to try the WD40, it may do the trick. You should get yourself some Plusgas though.

 

I have attached a couple of images below which show the location of the slave cylinder and the clutch arm, this is a 1990 engine, so is an A+ engine just like yours. Your car being an SPI will have some additional components in this area (ECU and a brake servo). With the straw attachment on your tin of WD40 reach in and spray the base of the clutch arm where it attaches to the clutch housing cover/wok, try and aim for where the clutch arm disappears into the clutch housing/wok, this will be where it has seized.

 

IMG20210215160539.jpg

IMG20210215160512.jpg

Point taken about the WD40 I'll try that first ,as I've got plenty and if that doesn't work I'll get some of the Plusgas.

 

The problem I've got ,(as my car engine has the extra SPI bits) is accessing it ,even with the straw on the WD40 I'm not sure I can get in there.

 

I've found a picture of an engine out of the car (thanks to another contributor to this site) and have drawn an arrow to the part that I think you mean needs lubricating as it's super clear to see it on there

My next mission will be how to access it with WD40 without removing the ECU

I'll let you know how it goes

 

[Crawfish]

Look at the nuts on the bell housing,they are probably tight against the housing.The first push of the pedal disengaged the clutch and the system is unable to move it now so is hard.Penetrating spray and maybe some gentle tapping,open the bleed nipple.This is relatively common.Good fettling,Steve.

Thanks Steve ,I'll have to find out what a bell housing is :) I guess it might be the part people are calling the Wok? I'll check it out mate, thanks

[sonscar]

Wok indeed,Steve.. Not there but lower down where the plunger should slide freely in the wok where the two big nuts are.Been there myself.Steve..

[northernboy]

The photo of the engine in your car shows a gap between the flange nut and the WOK - this is OK but the gap must be correct - Check the manual but believe it is 6.5 mm

 

The photo of the engine out of the car shows the big flange nut up hard against the WOK - this is either set wrong or has seized on.

 

The big flange nut and the thinner lock nut are there to provide a 'throw out stop' s to prevent the clutch being depressed too far. But if there is no gap, the clutch can't be depressed at all and may give impression it is seized. 

 

 

If there is an an ECU, then almost impossible to access and the ECU will have to be removed.

 

There are not many moving parts so is a matter of elimination - starting with the easy ones and hope you find it before having to delve deep into the clutch itself :)

 

• Clutch plate on splined shaft  
• Clutch cover
• Release bearing
• Plunger ( the round bar that goes into the WOK)
• Clutch slave cylinder to Plunger link
• Clutch slave cylinder

[Crawfish]

 

The photo of the engine in your car shows a gap between the flange nut and the WOK - this is OK but the gap must be correct - Check the manual but believe it is 6.5 mm

 

The photo of the engine out of the car shows the big flange nut up hard against the WOK - this is either set wrong or has seized on.

 

The big flange nut and the thinner lock nut are there to provide a 'throw out stop' s to prevent the clutch being depressed too far. But if there is no gap, the clutch can't be depressed at all and may give impression it is seized. 

 

 

If there is an an ECU, then almost impossible to access and the ECU will have to be removed.

 

There are not many moving parts so is a matter of elimination - starting with the easy ones and hope you find it before having to delve deep into the clutch itself :)

 

• Clutch plate on splined shaft  
• Clutch cover
• Release bearing
• Plunger ( the round bar that goes into the WOK)
• Clutch slave cylinder to Plunger link
• Clutch slave cylinder

 

Hi ,

Many thanks for the input, (I'm sure you are aware but just to confirm, that none of the supplied photos are from my car)

 

Today I've managed to spray WD40 on the parts that were mentioned by Norris73 and so far unfortunately there seems to be no dIfference,it's still stuck

I'll put some more on and leave overnight ,see what happens.

 

The ECU is ,as you mentioned really in the way and as things are still siezed I'm into the territory of "out of my depth" and will no doubt need some professional help.

From what I can work out so far ,it sounds like it will probably need a slave cylinder replacement, but I do appreciate the potential list of causes you've supplied.

 

Cheers

[sonscar]

Undo the bleed screw on the slave,you will not be able to release anything with the pressure in the system,Steve..

[Crawfish]

Undo the bleed screw on the slave,you will not be able to release anything with the pressure in the system,Steve..

Thanks, I didn't realise that .....

The ECU has to come out to do that

Cheers

[Norris73]

 

Hi ,

Many thanks for the input, (I'm sure you are aware but just to confirm, that none of the supplied photos are from my car)

 

Today I've managed to spray WD40 on the parts that were mentioned by Norris73 and so far unfortunately there seems to be no dIfference,it's still stuck

I'll put some more on and leave overnight ,see what happens.

 

Patience will be key, its not going to free off straight away. When I freed off the clutch plunger/arm on my Mini City that had sat for over 10 years, it must have been 3 - 4 weeks before it freed off. Keep spraying the WD40/penetrating oil. In my case I managed to free things off without needing to loosen the bleed screw on the slave cylinder. Once you loosen the bleed screw on the slave cylinder you should be able to press the clutch pedal down and it will sink to the floor, brake fluid will drip from the slave cylinder bleed screw so have a rag around the area to catch the brake fluid. This will then prove that the issue is beyond the slave cylinder (as we suspect), and must be mechanical (hopefully just the clutch plunger/arm seized.

Run the engine up to temperature every couple of days or so, the combination of heat from the engine and the WD40 may make the difference.

 

I have annotated the picture of the engine (used earlier in the thread), and arrowed the areas you need to concentrate on lubricating.

Attached Files

•  clutch plunger.jpg   12.87K   2 downloads

Edited by Norris73, 16 February 2021 - 04:08 PM.

[Crawfish]

 

 

Hi ,

Many thanks for the input, (I'm sure you are aware but just to confirm, that none of the supplied photos are from my car)

 

Today I've managed to spray WD40 on the parts that were mentioned by Norris73 and so far unfortunately there seems to be no dIfference,it's still stuck

I'll put some more on and leave overnight ,see what happens.

 

Patience will be key, its not going to free off straight away. When I freed off the clutch plunger/arm on my Mini City that had sat for over 10 years, it must have been 3 - 4 weeks before it freed off. Keep spraying the WD40/penetrating oil. In my case I managed to free things off without needing to loosen the bleed screw on the slave cylinder. Once you loosen the bleed screw on the slave cylinder you should be able to press the clutch pedal down and it will sink to the floor, brake fluid will drip from the slave cylinder bleed screw so have a rag around the area to catch the brake fluid. This will then prove that the issue is beyond the slave cylinder (as we suspect), and must be mechanical (hopefully just the clutch plunger/arm seized.

Run the engine up to temperature every couple of days or so, the combination of heat from the engine and the WD40 may make the difference.

 

I have annotated the picture of the engine (used earlier in the thread), and arrowed the areas you need to concentrate on lubricating.

 

Hey Norris thanks for the picture, thats where I've been spraying the WD40.

 

I decided to take a bit more control and remove the ECU (I had to buy a socket set first) it was actually extremely easy ,even for a total novice like me and now I can see what I am doing properly.The bleed screw is now accessible too

 

The question is now ,should I take the slow approach over a few weeks, without adjusting the bleed screw ,or do I go ahead and loosen the bleed screw straight away?

 

For starters I'll let it sit overnight without adjusting anything 

 

Cheers all

[Norris73]

Opening the bleed screw and trying the pedal will get you to an answer sooner, and will rule out the clutch hydraulics as the potential issue. In my case I was in no hurry with my car as it had been off the road so long the clutch wasn’t high on my to do list, so could afford to wait on the hunch the clutch plunger/arm was seized (often is the case).

 

The clutch pedal is mechanically connected to the clutch master cylinder which in turn is connected to the slave cylinder (the bit the clutch arm is connected to), these are connected via a metal pipe and a rubber hose. Normally as you push the clutch pedal pressure is built up in the system (via the clutch master cylinder - think of this as a pump) which forces brake fluid down the pipe and hose into the clutch slave cylinder, the slave cylinder then pushes the rod outwards which operates the clutch arm. If you have a blockage in the clutch hydraulics (eg collapsed hose etc), then the pedal could go rock hard (think of putting your thumb over a hose pipe - the pressure builds up and it has nowhere to go).

 

I myself in 12 years of being around/working on Minis have never come across an issue with clutch hydraulics causing a rock hard pedal (usually pedal goes soft - clutch drag), but I’m not saying it can’t happen, so would be well worth ruling this out.

 

There is a potential of introducing air into the clutch hydraulics, so some precautions to avoid this can be taken. This is not the end of the world however as the clutch hydraulics are easy to bleed if needed.

 

Either have a helper press the pedal for you, or as I do find a piece of 4x2 or similar cut to size and wedge the pedal down wedging the wooden block between the pedal and seat (or cross member)

 

• First open the bleed screw on the clutch slave cylinder, you only need to open this like 1/2 a turn.
• Ask you assistant (or using the piece of wood) press the clutch pedal down
• Wait a second or so while some fluid is expelled.
• Tighten the bleed screw while the pedal is still pressed down.
• Once bleed screw has been tightened release the clutch pedal

 

If you find after trying the above the pedal goes down, but after tighten the bleed screw on the clutch slave the pedal goes hard again and can’t be pressed you know the issue is mechanical (likely seized clutch plunger/arm). If however the clutch pedal remained hard with the bleed screw open (in this case you may not see brake fluid expelled from the bleed screw when the pedal is pressed) then you know the issue is with the hydraulics.

Edited by Norris73, 16 February 2021 - 07:16 PM.