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  #1  
Old 03-08-2010, 02:47 PM
kenatminimania kenatminimania is offline
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02-04 5-spd w/no problems - poll

We've heard a lot about problems with the Midlands 5-speed (02-04 Cooper). What about people that haven't had problems?

If you haven't had problems with your 02-04 Cooper 5-speed, reply with one of the following based on your current mileage:

A. 50K - 74K miles with no problems
B. 75K - 99K with no problems
C. 100K-149K with no problems
D. 150K+ with no problems

Ken

edit:

Running total thru post #23:

A - 4
B - 5
C - 3
D - 2

Last edited by kenatminimania; 05-20-2010 at 03:18 PM.
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  #2  
Old 03-08-2010, 07:40 PM
Horsepower67 Horsepower67 is offline
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C. 100K-149K with no known problems.
137,450 and counting- but of course that's just considering myself and the previous owner, not sure if the original purchaser was unlucky or not...
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  #3  
Old 03-09-2010, 08:14 AM
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cristo cristo is online now
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A. Just had the fluid electively replaced with Redline MTL at my 50K service II.
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  #4  
Old 03-09-2010, 08:36 AM
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B. 75K - 99K with no problems

Sold my MC for a MCS at 90k miles. No issues w/ the car at all.
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  #5  
Old 03-09-2010, 09:40 AM
Philip Rushing Philip Rushing is offline
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B.
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  #6  
Old 03-09-2010, 10:46 AM
xxTHIR13ENxx xxTHIR13ENxx is online now
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D. 167K miles. Clutch replaced at 80K...
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  #7  
Old 03-10-2010, 12:55 AM
jc8899311 jc8899311 is offline
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49000km,replaced 3 clutch,now i believe the transmission fluid is leaking :(
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  #8  
Old 03-10-2010, 11:21 PM
lizandrooo lizandrooo is offline
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i bought my mini with 25k and i now have 35k. ive only replaced the clutch once and everything else seems fine. anyone heard of a 15$ sock like part for the mini thats not included in the clutch kit ? i heard DB talking about it in the whiteroof radio podcast. could also explain why my minis clutch died not long after i got it.
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  #9  
Old 03-12-2010, 11:08 PM
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jamesday24 jamesday24 is offline
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B.

My 2004 JCW MINI Cooper has had no issues with the 5-speed Midlands transmission.
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  #10  
Old 03-19-2010, 12:04 PM
lizandrooo lizandrooo is offline
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Originally Posted by xxTHIR13ENxx View Post
D. 167K miles. Clutch replaced at 80K...
WOW! on the midlands ? what kind of things did you do for maintenance ? right now im on a plan on changing the oil every 10k miles and changing the gear box fluid once a year (thinking about doing it every 6 months).

whats the frequency on all your maintenances ?
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  #11  
Old 03-19-2010, 07:13 PM
ernesto ernesto is offline
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A. 62K on a 2002 Cooper no problems, no transmission/clutch maintenance.
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  #12  
Old 03-19-2010, 07:31 PM
xxTHIR13ENxx xxTHIR13ENxx is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lizandrooo View Post
WOW! on the midlands ? what kind of things did you do for maintenance ? right now im on a plan on changing the oil every 10k miles and changing the gear box fluid once a year (thinking about doing it every 6 months).

whats the frequency on all your maintenances ?
Hi... yes, on the Midlands... Delivery on July 13th, 2002.
Maintenance wise I've been always taking it to the dealer.

Oil changes have also always been done at the dealer, and only when prompted (when the mileage count-down goes below 1000). Because of pricing, I'm now thinking about doing oil changes myself, but the guys at the dealer always take a close look-see when doing the oil, and sometimes (though not often) they warn me of possible future break-downs.

Transmission fluid has been changed once per my request, when I was close to hitting 100K. And I'm sure it has been done once again, but I'm not sure when... From my understanding, to do the transmission fluid, you would also have to bleed your brakes.

I think that more importantly than the maintenance schedule is your driving style. As soon as I noticed the other R50's breaking down transmission-wise, I started to get worried, and since I've modded the hell out of the engine, I had to decide to either take it easy or use the mods and (possibly) break the car... I choose to drive carefully/slowly and possibly have the R50 with most "Midland-miles".

Take care,
Leo.
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Last edited by xxTHIR13ENxx; 03-19-2010 at 07:52 PM.
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  #13  
Old 03-20-2010, 03:56 PM
friday9x friday9x is offline
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34.5k Clutch replaced Major transmission repair all covered by dealer. No problems senice! 86k now and im looking good! (knock on wood)

Perhaps A or B?
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  #14  
Old 03-21-2010, 10:14 PM
xnotfunkylex xnotfunkylex is offline
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A.- If not sooner than that. All fixed by the dealer.
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  #15  
Old 03-22-2010, 12:19 PM
JohnnyVillan JohnnyVillan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xxTHIR13ENxx View Post
I choose to drive carefully/slowly and possibly have the R50 with most "Midland-miles".
I'm pretty sure you already got that taken care of lol
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  #16  
Old 03-22-2010, 02:19 PM
xxTHIR13ENxx xxTHIR13ENxx is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyVillan View Post
I'm pretty sure you already got that taken care of lol
lol. Yeah, quite possibly... On another thread I saw an '03 with 137K miles, so not alone and pretty close year-to-mile ratio, too.
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  #17  
Old 04-06-2010, 05:08 PM
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Debugged Debugged is offline
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Im on 64k miles and with a 6 speed swap now on hand. 2nd gear went out at 64, and I still drove the car without it until 94k mile when the shift fork went out. I found a good site that sells the whole swap out. everypart needed. yes all parts are used from wrecked cars.

Answer A
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  #18  
Old 04-06-2010, 09:06 PM
lizandrooo lizandrooo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xxTHIR13ENxx View Post
Hi... yes, on the Midlands... Delivery on July 13th, 2002.
Maintenance wise I've been always taking it to the dealer.

Oil changes have also always been done at the dealer, and only when prompted (when the mileage count-down goes below 1000). Because of pricing, I'm now thinking about doing oil changes myself, but the guys at the dealer always take a close look-see when doing the oil, and sometimes (though not often) they warn me of possible future break-downs.

Transmission fluid has been changed once per my request, when I was close to hitting 100K. And I'm sure it has been done once again, but I'm not sure when... From my understanding, to do the transmission fluid, you would also have to bleed your brakes.

I think that more importantly than the maintenance schedule is your driving style. As soon as I noticed the other R50's breaking down transmission-wise, I started to get worried, and since I've modded the hell out of the engine, I had to decide to either take it easy or use the mods and (possibly) break the car... I choose to drive carefully/slowly and possibly have the R50 with most "Midland-miles".

Take care,
Leo.
that sounds like excellent news! im very happy to hear about the longevity of your midlands. ive been overly paranoid and grandma driving my mini. i havent added mods but i think the first thing ill do is replace the parts that the are notorious for breaking. good luck with your midlands miles. does anyone know if DB from the white roof radio podcast has an original midlands ?
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  #19  
Old 04-06-2010, 10:30 PM
rjtrout2000 rjtrout2000 is offline
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Im at 76K and no problems yet...
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  #20  
Old 05-08-2010, 10:57 PM
vizcarmb vizcarmb is offline
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C.
2003 model with 108k. Runs fine. Only issue is I hear a crackling sound in 2nd and 3rd.
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  #21  
Old 05-09-2010, 12:23 AM
Horsepower67 Horsepower67 is offline
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Originally Posted by vizcarmb View Post
C.
2003 model with 108k. Runs fine. Only issue is I hear a crackling sound in 2nd and 3rd.
A crackling sound can't be good . A healthy trans should be silent- I'd defintely have it checked out soon.
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  #22  
Old 05-09-2010, 12:25 AM
Horsepower67 Horsepower67 is offline
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Originally Posted by xxTHIR13ENxx View Post
lol. Yeah, quite possibly... On another thread I saw an '03 with 137K miles, so not alone and pretty close year-to-mile ratio, too.
141k on an '03 here.
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  #23  
Old 05-20-2010, 03:09 PM
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41 h stock 41 h stock is offline
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B: 84,000 miles on 2003 Cooper that sees autocross and a couple of track days a year. I changed to Redline MTL at 73,000. The MTL really made it shift much more nicely when compared to the factory fluid. I make a point to make clean upshifts and to do double de-clutch/heel-and-toe downshifts to match the engine revs and save the syncros. I would expect more clutch wear by doing this, but the clutch is yet to show signs of wear.
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Last edited by 41 h stock; 05-20-2010 at 03:15 PM.
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Old 05-20-2010, 03:09 PM
 
 
 
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