These tie rod ends are a JOKE (so is the clutch) 

Nino, Clutch cyl... Top up the master cyl. Make sure there is plenty of fluid in the power bleeder. Do not depressurise the power bleeder when bleeding, it should keep the master cyl full during bleeding. When no air comes out of the slave cylinder close bleed valve (make sure the slave cylinder is as vertical as possible with bleed valve above the pipe connection when bleeding & tapping) Then refit slave cylinder. Depress clutch pedal & lock in down position. Then depressurise the bleeder, you must leave the bleeder pressurised throughout the whole bleed routine. Leave clutch depressed overnight & check. If you still have no pedal then the slave cylinder has to be at fault because the master cylinder was OK when you drove it home. Good luck...

Your humility and humbleness is what makes this channel relatable to most of us at home repair DIYers.. thanks from across the pond. 🍻

I’ve been going through some personal stuff the last few weeks. Your channel has kept me going and I admire how you take on a challenge despite it looking so stressful. Keep it up and thank you.

Note : that tool would have slid over both the outer track rod end , down onto inner tie rod end and undone both as one unit.... done loads in my time, would have saved sooooo much time - also a big set of pipe stillson's on the inner tie rod to rack join and use your foot / leg to push and crack off the inner tie rod... been there, done it.!! If on axel stands, chock rear wheels and put a wheel under sill at front doors either side in line with A pillar (double safety here)

I've watched your videos in reverse, and, a few things, heat works when you have two opposing metals, bleeding components, if you can't blee something on your own, even with a pressure bleeder, back bleeding is your friend, a relief cut in a stuck component, of similar metal will pay dividends, and stillsons (aka a pipe wrench) when used correctly will as map gas, be worth their weight in gold. More will come to me to suggest to you, as I watch more of your struggles.

Thanks for the video - replaced tie rod ends - didn’t even attempt to try and undo them, just hacksawed them off - also used the same tool to removed the tie rod ends - excellent - I so know how you feel!

I like your persistence, your face at approx 8.15 when the pedal stayed down, i like loads of amateurs have been there with you. Keep going, we're all rooting for you. Wish you'd wear gloves (knuckle savers) though with the stubborn bolts. Buy a grinder, they're only £30. you'll use it loads in future. Chin up, Keep going

Great job! For future work on tie rod ends, do not disconnect the tie rod from the knuckle. First, loosen up the locking nut, then disconnect the tie rob from the knuckle. Great channel content!

Hi Mate, just watching the whole mini series, one tip, you should counter the right side inner rod while unscrewing the left one, otherwise you can damage the "power steering rack"- i think thats what its called in the UK. Greetings from Poland, keep it up!

Fantastic work mate.. glad the tool worked.. can be fiddly, but definitely does the job..

The spies at RU-vid recommended your channel to me and I must say that I'm loving your content of Driveway maintenance. Your Gazebo 'Workshop' seems to do the job and will help it feel a bit less miserable when working outside in the rain. I'm now a Subscriber so keep the vids coming 👍

I had a stubborn tie rod end..some guy on a forum suggested jacking up under the spanner using trolley jack to free it. Worked a treat

Pull it, push it, pull it, no push it back in !!!!! 👍🤣🤣🤣

Back in 2019 I had an Astra H on which I had to replace the elbow that connected to the clutch slave cylinder after it disintegrated. When I put the power bleeder on nothing came out of the bleed nipple. The clutch pedal was just like yours. I eventually got pressure back by just continually pumping the clutch pedal for absolutely ages and it eventually firmed up. I can only assume the air “burped” it’s way out at the master cylinder end. I subsequently found out that Vauxhall use a machine to reverse bleed them which is probably why the conventional bleeding method didn’t work.

Great work and perseverance - sometimes you just get the front seat on the struggle bus - keep calm and carry on.

Luv it ! Luv it ! Got R53. So frustrating to work on but good learning curve. In a bit out a bit.....put kettle on. Luv it.

The clutch is a nightmare to bleed on these! I took hours messing around the first time but now have a self made tool in a bag with instructions written on so I don’t forget. Must have spent more time bleeding the clutch than fitting it. Basically you compress the slave cylinder fully as you were doing with an appropriate tool as it’s unbolted from the gearbox. Attach the pressure bleeder to the brake fluid reservoir and apply approx 2.0bar of pressure with plenty of fluid in the bleeder (you seemed to be attaching it empty!) Hold the slave cylinder whilst it’s compressed at a 45 degree angle and open the bleed screw several turns until air bubbles stop which should only take a few seconds. Seems to work every time. Don’t pump the clutch pedal whilst doing it, make sure the pedal is pulled up to start with.

I know your using this as a learning curve, but future advice for tie rods. Once ive tried tie rods with the spanner if they don't separate it is frivolous to use heat to separate them and keep swinging on them contrary to what many will say. It just passes too much stress onto the steering rack and components. Plus the heat risks damaging seals/ internals. Plus by the time you have added up your costs of reasorces from time invested, gas, penetrant, damaged tools and raised blood pressure your best off just buying the full tie rod assembly. And I know many an angry mechanic will call this bollocks but I have one thing to offer those who do... finding a good mechanic is hard. Hence good advice is also in this ratio. Hell 9 out of 10 mechanics dont even stock bolts to replace rust damaged ones and they never replace nylon lock nuts. These are a one use item. I have restored and resto modded cars all my life though ime an engineer by trade so I have a little more sympathy for the componentry at hand.

I've had similar problems bleeding brakes/clutches over the years. Look on the positive side, the system will be well flushed and full of nice clean, fresh fluid. 😀

I really do feel your pain. I put a very small amount of air the the auto bleeder then make sure there is some fluid in your pot under the car so it can't suck up air, crack the bleed screw so it just let's fluid through and then pump the peddel a good few times, checking the fluid in the top all the time. You will hear the air in the car. You will eventually get a small peddle. Once you get that peddle, lock everything back up and pump the peddle again with the slave fitted and you will find that the peddle will pump up but go once you stop. Leave it over night and you will find that the peddle will get better. It took me a few days but my peddle came good after a couple of days pumping it to change gear. Works like a treat now.

Oh Nino - so frustrating. I am glad you had an assistant to help (BTW - you were holding out on us on your lovely assistant). I was hoping you would find a second person to work the pedal as you managed the bleeder valve and that would be the key to your issue. Maybe short term skip this step and work on a few other things and come back to it after checking some other boxes and having success on your side. You seem to be a bit like me, you keep trying and trying. I found if I walk away, work on something simple and approach the troubling job “fresh” I often find success. “Fresh eyes / clear head” if you will. On the tie rod ends - put some anti seize grease on the part that threads together. You may thank yourself later. For others - that heat torch is what will help break free the pinch bolt on the hub. I know this as a fact as I snapped then incorrectly drilled out my hub on a previous R53 and needed to buy another hub assembly from a breaker I didn’t use heat no an impact wrench. Lesson learned. Also put a bit of anti seize grease on that pinch bolt as well to keep it free or give you a fighting chance at removal again while also applying heat.

Great video mate, perfectly edited and great personality to boot keep it up pal 👍🏻 Subbed

Please can you link the tool on amazon or some shop? to get a description of it at least, thanks!

When you want to undo seized bolts or nuts heat it up to red hot then pour ice cold water on it its called quenching method

Have you back bled it? Use the pressure bleeder on the slave side and fill it from there backwards till the reservoir fills.

The pedal wont get firm while you have the bleed valve open, you're just pushing fluid out

"Pressure bleeder instrutions" . . Fill with at least 2ltr fluid (5ltr bottle dot 4 about £17 ) and keep pressure a little higher than manafacturers (Not get lawsuit rather than job success) recomondation and do not depressure or remove until you have operational pedal . . Get rid of recepticle bottle it's not big enough for this job catch fluid in clean bowl and use to refill bleeder afterwards and store under pressure . . I've not used a jig thing before but the few extra bubbles I saw come out won't prevent you from getting some sort of operational pedal so just install the slave cylinder . . Then start the bleeding process during which operate the clutch pedal 3 to 5 times applying upward pressure with toe or hand at the top of each stroke . . Perform this step quickly because of fluid loss but maintain normal speed of pedal operation before rushing back to close the bleed nipple . . Then check to see if you have any improvement in pedal operation . . If so repeat no more than twice until you have an operational pedal before giving up and looking for componant failure. (Bare in mind clutch springing pushes arm that pushes slave cylinder hydraulic piston and fluid back up the pipe to aid pedal returning to the top of it's stroke.) Then and only then depressure and remove the pressure bleeder . . During my career I have used a pressure bleeder with this method scince 1993 to great success so this may be the best instructional advise you will get for yours and something to carry forward for future projects . . I work alone and I'm getting old therefore greatfull to pass on my knowlage to someone starting out in such a similar way as I did . . Plus I think you have what it takes with a personality to match . . Stay focused on the Aston . .

Pushing air down never seems right to me. I'd try filling the power bleeder and try reverse bleeding it by forcing the fluid into the clutch actuator so you are pushing the air up-hill.

mini: you solve 1 issue and discover 2 new 😮😮

I appreciate that you keep the difficult parts- the flubs- because I had the exact same experience with the master cylinder reservoir running too low and having to start over etc...When I see someone using their editing skills to make everything look effortless I admit there is a part of me sometimes that wants to see the car drop on them. Haha. Kidding. Sort of....heh heh.

Hey probs a bit late but for future reference keep the track rod end connected crack the nut heat the tie rod end up and use your pipe grips on the inner tie rod hope this helps and awesome watching your videos

I'm on the 3rd mechanic replacing my inner track rods they either have a go can't do it or never show up. Challenge you to have a go on mine lol

Track rod ends are a pain. I changed the hole lot as even tire centre couldn't adjust them. Any bushes that need changing in the future I would recommend dropping the subframe and changing the lot.

Not sure how I ended up on your channel but your doing awesome! Makes me want to do this with my grandmothers Ford!

You need some mates to come over and help you with this. That is how I learnt in the 70's and 80's. Bleeding a clutch can be a real pain. In the states you can buy a complete ready to fit master, slave and pipe combination already bled and ready to fit for some cars because it can be such a pain. I just did my 1975 MG clutch after fitting a new everything including the steel pipe and luckily it went fairly easily using a vacuum pump at the slave cylinder end. The MG is supposed to be a bear to do as well but I was lucky...very lucky. I couldn't get fluid to come out of the new master cylinder so I left the bleed nipple open and pumped the pedal until I could feel that fluid was moving in the system and the level started to drop in the reservoir. The slave cylinder bleed nipple should be higher than the hose input so that bubbles collect at the bleed nipple. Since you have an indoor helper why don't you get someone to pump the pedal while you open and close the bleed nipple. The old fashioned way of bleeding brakes. Sometimes letting it all settle down over night can help as well. For safe heat take a look at these.... www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=mini+ductor&_sacat=0. Get yourself a second axle stand or another support or even put the wheels that you have removed under the car...don't just rely on one stand when you are lying under a car. I had a mechanical scissor jack fail on me and the car came crashing down onto the second backup axle stand.....which is why I am still here to tell the story.! Get yourself a big lump hammer...you can often jar things off by hitting the spanner with an lump hammer when sustained force won't do it. Also get yourself a breaker bar or a piece of tubing to put over your socket t bar to get extra leverage. Don't put it over your ratchet drive. I recently took the front drive nut off my blazer and I was hanging on a 4 1/2 foot long pipe putting over 400 ft pounds of torque before the nut came loose. My impact driver wouldn't do it. You can get the tracking fairly close by running string around the wheels at the centre height...good enough to go to the tracking place. Use some anti seize grease on the threads to help the next person get the track rods off easily next time. Keep at it...the more you do , the easier it becomes. I hope my comments have been useful

Lmao I just went through this on my mini. Bought the bleeder, tried using it and suddenly the master cylinder is dry!!! That was after I ripped off my brake caliper boot by accident. My blood was boiling.

And if you have an assistant to bleed, close of when they are down, then get them to pump 5-10 times then hold down, before you open the blokes nipple, then close it again, before the return to normal position. This is my point of back bleeding, you fill up through the bleed nipple, forcing all the air to the reservoir, then close off the bleed nipple, when you don't have an assistant, and a pressure bleeder doesn't work on your own

Great video recently subscribed and loving the happy attitude you have towards that track rod end 👍👍👍👍👍

I feel like it's the same telenovela between you and your Mini as it is between me and mine. 😢😮😂😡🧐😞😃

Just like a brake job Try this: push the peddle all the way lock it all the way down with the stick , fill up(i mean add liquid in it)your bleeding pressure tank and build pressure up to 30 psi like for brakes (helps to open the valves inside) than bleed it . Keep the pressure up at 30 psi ( use your helper to keep an eye on pressure or check the liquid level). While you bleed it pressure decrease. I don't know what will be a good pressure number for clutch so 🤷 do some research. Good luck , I will be back for your next attempt.

LMAO... You must be my brother.... I swear just as much when doing jobs like this also

Great channel 👌👍

I really feel for you mate with your ongoing battle with this mini. The thing is with this type of work trying to free off seized nuts bots etc you need need a lot of leverage & because your car is on axle stands this is a real problem,,, trust me ive been there! But your doing the right thing lots of penetrating fluid & heat is the only option really ,, unless you get the car up higher. Anyway keep soldiering on 👍

Don’t worry mate all part of learning is making mistakes. I am yet to tackle this job soon

"Hey mate, I'm here for an aligment. The tie rods? What about them?"

get yourself an induction heater, best money you'll ever spend! is that a new slave cylinder? the seals might be faulty and sucking in air. also pretty sure there's a different method for bleeding systems with abs, you have to put the pump in a mode to bleed it.

Great work Great content im sure you'll get there you seem to know what your doing👍best of luck fa Glasgow

Take a good look at that master cylinder. Make sure you truly understand how high the level needs to stay while bleeding, that odd looking hose coming off near the top is the feed for your clutch system. I let it go below that and ended up where you are now. The pedal/stick trick does work but seems only after the pedal returns on its own. Mine got to the point where the clutch felt ok but the car wouldn't go into gear without grinding, the stick trick fixed that overnight. If it makes you feel better I broke a bolt that holds the pressure plate to the flywheel on Saturday and spent the last 2 days trying to locate a M7-1.0x26 flange head bolt. here I bought this car as a way to occupy my brain and deal with stress..ha

Don’t think you’ve tried it on video but have you tried pressure bleeding with the slave & clutch pedal fully depressed? Should fill any pockets of air and give you a good chance at a clean bleed. Good work by the way fella, recently started watching as I’ve recently started on my R53 project. Keep it coming with the good content and don’t get too disheartened by stuff like this!

It's a good thing to make mistakes. You are learning new skills all the time.

That but with your wife had me laughing your funny man

if you were to actually check the assembly of the tie rods, outer rod ,collet,nut inner rod , so you need to lossen the not tap collet to release it's grip then undo outer rod

Hey mate, usually the dual reservoir has a bulkhead that stops the brakes losing fluid if the clutch slave cylinder goes, like a safety precaution, u might be alright in that respect.

bmw and mini trackrods r a nightmare they always seize even on the newer ones nightmare lol

Have a look back at your centralising the clutch plate on the cover video, the clutch friction plate has a hub on it, this should face towards the clutch cover (away from the DMF), the flat side of the friction plate should be facing the flywheel (DMF). Bit unclear which way around you positioned the friction plate on the cover?

Watching you use the pressure bleeder is quite difficult, from what I can see it seems your using it purely to pump air to pressurise your reservoir, it's not how you use it. The Sealey VS820 which is what your using holds 2.5 litres of fluid, that blue bottle you have I would imagine is a litre or 500ml, poor fluid into the pressure bleeder bottle, then tighten up the plastic nut using the tool you found, top up the reservoir on the car to the max line, connect the bleeder to the reservoir and pump it up to around 20psi. When you pump it up it'll fill the pipe and the reservoir up, this is what you want, carry out your bleeding keeping an eye on the pressure gauge, keep it around 20psi, if it drops just give it a few pumps. Bleed as usual, only turn the nipple enough to get fluid moving, don't open it too much. When you finish bleeding depressurize the bleeder, the fluid will draw back into the bottle out of the pipe and reservoir adapter cap as the pressure equalizes. Usually the reservoir will be back on the max mark.

with your clutch why not try with a 3 rd person one in the car pressing clutch you bleeding it and the 3 rd keep the master cyl full by keeping it topped up till the air is gone .

I didn't see you put brake fluid in the power bleeder! You top up the reservoir and the rest of the brake fluid in container goes into power bleeder!

Don't give up!

I know you had slave cylinder problems making bleeding hard but you should try back feeding clutch systems from the slave cylinder to save you pulling your hair out ..

MAP Gas burns hotter than normal Butane and always comes in a Yellow bottle

Do not clamp it just fit it and do it with your helper pressing the pedal and it will work

Open and close the bleed valves instead of keeping them open for so long

Why don’t you try clamping of the house to the cylinder, lightly with mole grips and see if peddle improves.

are you sure the master cylinder is ok, why did you think the slave needed replacing?. even with air in it the pedal should come back to the top if master is ok. if reservoir level drops you wont get air in the brakes if you don't push brake pedal.

Nino, have you filled the Sealey pressure bleed container with at least 1 litre of brake fluid before attaching to the master cylinder, looks like it may be empty?

you forgot the thread lock on your inner tie rod

Try bleeding the clutch in reverse, i.e use your power bleeder on the clutch slave cylinder (put pipe from bleeder on the bleed nipple). Air wants to rise rather than fall.

Put break fluid in the pressure bleeder and read user instructions

you are skipping on the fluid in the pressure vessel ,put at least 1 ltr in it. i put 2 ltrs

come on lego man you can fix it :D

Could the new slave cylinder be duff ,

Cars are a lot like children, at about 13 years old they go through puberty and everything changes, following that it's like trying to mend a teenager.

I got a MINI from a Friend , and after this deal I consider him to be an enemy, worst car I ever owned, BMW should be ashamed of the poor quality and poor engineering on those cars . They are simply poo 💩

Put the brake fluid in the pump

You know brake fluid goes in the pressure bleeder don’t you?

Why didn't you just slip over the tool to the inner tie rod , you just wasted alot of energy and time , also you should of turned your wheel out to the right youd have more room to get to the tie rod

Put the wheels under the car, don't trust your life to axel stands