05 Mini Cooper S main seal leak/clutch now spongy

[skijunki55]

Hi, the main seal of my 2005 Mini Cooper S -16,00 miles on it - was just replaced by the local Mini dealer. Initially, they diagnosed the oil leak as coming from the oil pan and the oil pan gasket was replaced twice. Before they replaced gasket for the second time, I did a little research and urged the dealer to inspect the main seal, but they promised me that it was not the ms and finally after the second oil pan gasket replacement didn't fix the problem, they identified it as the ms leak. Needless to say that I have lost confidence in this dealer, but since it was a Mini dealer, I figured they were the experts.

After a week at the shop (which seems unreasonable), I went to pick up the car and the clutch had little resistance when pressed, very spongy. I've owned six cars with manual transmission over the years, so I noticed the difference since the clutch pedal was firm and responsive when I dropped it off. I insisted that they fix it before I would come back to pick it up. They said it might have air in the hydraulic lines and they would look into it.

After having the car for another day, they said that the hydraulic lines have no air in them and that it is normal for the pedal to be spongy and that it will gain pressure over time. I think it's a bunch of b.s. and I have not picked up the car. I am not a mechanic, but I would think that the clutch should perform as it did prior to the main seal replacement - or that a Mini dealer would know how to fix it. Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks - Mike

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

That's not normal. I'm with you--make them fix the thing. Drive another one of their cars, and show them that the pedal isn't spongy. They probably got air in the lines and need to bleed it. Or bleed it again.

--DD

[skijunki55]

Thanks for your confirmation! Do you know of any other resources that might list the common complications when replacing the main seal? I found some info on your site regarding the spongy clutch Pelican Technical Article:
Clutch Master and Slave Cylinder Replacement, but not as it directly relates to the replacement of MS.
Thanks - Mike

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Sorry, I don't know of any. But I haven't really researched it.

--DD

[skijunki55]

I talked to an independent Mini shop in my area. After a long conversation, the owner told me that there's still a chance that the clutch needs to be fixed, but that there is a possibility that it could tighten up - he actually encountered this once. So, after a few calls with the service manager at the dealership, I reluctantly decided to pick up my car and will drive it for a few days. We'll see how it goes.