And, now for an update on the MINI Mania UK uprated gearbox...

The tranny started making some odd noises the last few days - some kind of odd popping noise from time to time. This morning, while pulling out of our housing development in 1st gear, there was a big *BAAAANG* followed by subsequent smaller *bangs!*. The car bucked like a mf'er in 1st gear, so I shifted to 2nd.


"Hmmm, I thought to myself, this doesn't sound good."

The pitch of the tranny changed, too. I'm used to the old sound. The new sound is, well, different. It sounds like someone mixed in some aggregate of some kind, maybe a touch of sand, and a couple of BB's. Reminds me a bit of a concrete mixer, 'cept a bit more metallic.

At the next stop sign, letting out the clutch in 1st and *WHAM*, *WHAM*, *WHAM* in repetition. I shifted into 2nd, which was more tolerable thanks to smaller *whams*. From this point on, I started off in 2nd gear, which at least didn't cause the car to buck like a mule.

Oh, the other thing? I slipped the clutch out a bit (1st gear) to ease forward and *KABLAM*, so I pushed the clutch in and when I had almost rolled to a stop *KAAAAABOOM!* and it freakin' STOPPED. Engine was still running, I mean, but it tossed by head forward like I'd locked them up.

The sound is definitely cyclical - it's completely undriveable in 1st gear, but the other gears at least 'work' (so to speak). Car is now parked... The tranny is not leaking a drop.
Later today, I'll pull the drain plug - but it's obviously freakin' done. The search begins for a permanent solution today.

 

Wow sorry to hear that! That make two MM UK boxes that failed....Ranzo was the other.....I hope you find a permanent solution!!! Keep us updated!!

 

Dang, that's a real bummer. Good luck with the repair.

How many miles did you have on the new tranny? Is the uprated box not really an improvement? Since there are no more new Midlands transmissions and all available gearboxes are rebuilds, is it just a crap shoot?

 

We had a little over 12k miles on the new Midlands...

Anyway, just found and requisitioned a '06 Getrag 6-speed, which is on its way to us now. From talking with a UK tuner that's done quite a few Getrag-6 swaps, the required parts aren't that bad. Glad I got the '05+ Getrag with the slightly more Cooper friendly gear ratios, too!

Parts required are:

1. A Getrag tranny (duh!)
2. L and R output shafts for the year model tranny you got
3. Starter motor for the Cooper S
4. Cooper S flywheel, clutch and pressure plate
5. Shifter assembly and cables from the year model tranny you got - it changed in 2004.

You have to lengthen the reverse light switch wires a bit... And, tweak the slave cylinder's piping a bit. But, the battery stays in the front, the airbox stays, etc. The wheel bearings are the same across cars, as are the hub carrier/upright,etc.

Doesn't sound too bad - I mean, we've had the front end of the car off twice now, so it should be fairly straightforward. Of course, we'll need all new fluids, too - coolant, tranny fluid, etc.

Anyway, we'll DEFINITELY write up a how-to and take lots of pics once the surgery commences! With any luck it'll be within the next 2-3 weeks. I'm looking forward to a permanent solution to this problem, I know.

 

This is gonna be great!!!! I can't wait for the write-up.!!!

 

If you could shorten 1-5 (fun) and then lengthen 6 (economy), that would be awesome...

(my 2nd midlands is becoming suspicious)

 

For some people a DIY Midlands to Getrag conversion isn't feasible. I'm almost afraid to ask, but could you give a ballpark estimate as to what this would actually cost for someone to do this for you?

 

To be honest, I don't know yet... I do know that I picked up an '06 Getrag with 4k miles on it for $1250. Shipping was $80. This was a tranny pulled at a dealership because the owner wanted the LSD - so, they yanked the entire trans and sold it to the local salvage place. That's not a bad price, IMHO.

I'll let you know what the other MINI parts run - output shafts, seals, etc. - that I cannot find salvage.

One of the bigger expenses will be the new lightweight flywheel, pressure plate and clutch since the Cooper stuff won't work. I'm thinking Exedy Hyper Single Stage 3...

Labor would be a killer if you couldn't DIY - maybe 18-24 hours?

 

Someone here in Italy did the swap to the getrag 6-speed too, and the list of things he changed matches your one. I'm thinking about doing the same too, however I was wondering, is the Getrag 5-speed gearbox more reliable than the Midland? Is it possible to fit it on a pre-facelift MINI?

 

72K and still going strong....Especially with my 4 revolutions of pure MC tire burnouts...

 

I recommend against blowing a Midlands.
Have you ever tasted manual transmission oil???

 

the one who did it here in Rome (Italy) paid 300 euros (430 $ more or less) for the job, not much considering how many things have to be changed. It took him all day of working on the car. But I expect many would ask quite more for it, in fact I'm considering an exaggerate amount of money in case I want to do the swap just for the fitting. I guess more than 1000 euros (1440 $ more or less) they can't ask.

 

I'm sure you could get the Getrag 5-speed in by changing all the same bits... the question is, why? It hasn't proven to be able to stand up to the same abuse as the 6-speed, which is seemingly bulletproof...

 

yeah, yeah, I checked on realoem.com and to fit the getrag 5speed you still have to change clutch, flywheel, drive shafts...I hoped it was simpler, just swapping the gearbox...from what I know, it's a bit more reliable than the midland, but if you have to change all those things to fit it, the 6speed is much better

 

But if you put in the MCS's 6 speed getrag, you probably should get one of
the lightened flywheels, since the oem MCS flywheel is about 50% heavier than
the MC one, right?

 

well, since the flywheel has to be changed anyhow...why not...I think I'll get a lightened one if I do this modification, in fact. And an helix clutch kit too, since the clutch and the pressure plate have to be changed anyhow.

 

I'm going for the Exedy Hyper Single...

 

yeah, that's a possibility too...

 

Looks like the surgery will commence the weekend of Dec 1-2... All the parts are enroute, and I'll post a final tally when all the bills come rolling in...

(*eeps*, not looking forward to that!)

 

How exciting, good luck with everything!

Just curious, are there good transmission shops that can tear open the Midlands and rebuild it and still be cost effective? And reliable?

I just think it's weird that the Midlands tranny was considered reliable on Rovers. Isn't that why BMW chose it for the Cooper? They could've gone with the Getrag from the get-go.

 

HHAHAHA

 

Welp, the majority of parts are sitting here for the gearbox swap... The 2nd gearbox is on its way, courtesy of Tony Nuzzo - the 1st one that showed up was advertised as a 2006 'box but was really for an '07 R56!!! Doh! That one went back...

I've got the Exedy Hyper Single setup - what a work of art! - as well as the Quaife LSD and assorted OEM parts to make it all work. There was a bit of confusion around which gear shift lug and cables to order, but that should be sorted out now. I've got output shafts (axles), various seals for the axles, new axle nuts, a new starter, new slave cylinder, etc.

Look for a full writeup sometime after the weekend install thrash on Dec 1-2 weekend. I'm going to take a LOT of pics and document the whole process. I'll put the whole parts list that I used in it, too. Should be helpful for those of us that want to ready a Cooper for road racing or AX (like mine), or for those that want to once-and-for-all take care of fixing this weak link - funny thing is the MINI parts guy told me that they've swapped quite a few now, most of which were daily-driver-not-raced cars... ugh.

 

Please do take a lot of pics....I would appreciate it...I am having a dilemma again on to with block I should build on...

 

Well, I can't wait to see the pics, and have a complete list of what is needed. could you do it with every single little piece you had to purchase? Because till now I know there's need of:

gearbox
clutch and pressure plate
output shafts (Don't know about what seals I need though)
flywheel
starter
lug and cables (in my case the lug is the same of the post-facelift S though so I don't need it for a post-facelift gearbox)
clutch control (here is what I'm in real need of knowing the exact pieces needed though)

 

Yes - I'll put all the part numbers in the writeup!