Heads up—this is really long. I summarized my main points at the end of the post. I apologize in advance--forgive me!



Otherwise, read on!

I got up bright and early one Saturday, planning to install my brand new B&M short shift kit and craven speed well cover. I jacked the car up onto stands, shoved in some ‘safeties’ just in case and tried to move the car—rock solid. With all well, a buddy and I started the job at about 10 AM expecting to finish at roughly 3 or 4 PM.

Boy was I wrong. It’s taken me a week so far to get it installed, and I still don’t have the well cover in yet.

I used the B&M instructions and looked around NAM and Mini2 for advice on installation and it looked simple. I started by unbolting the exhaust support plate and then moved to lower the exhaust—except that I couldn’t. The bolts on the flange were rusted tight (I mean the thread had actually rusted smooth and the bolt was now part of the nut). No amount of grunting could budge them, so I decided to see if I could do the installation without moving the exhaust (I wasn’t ready to try to cut the flange off and buy a new exhaust or anything like that). I was able to get the heat shield off with much wiggling and bending, giving me access to the shift assembly baseplate. These tabs were almost impossible to pry off using a flathead screwdriver as the instructions suggested so I used a claw hammer and some dental tools—really (actually all you need is something hooked that won’t bend). Baseplate off, I removed the sockets off the ***** (you’ll see it if you under the car) using a claw hammer as recommended by NAM (again B&M told me a flathead screwdriver was the best tool…yeah right). I unbolted the shift housing from the car (yes a few steps too early but I thought it would help) and got stuck. I couldn’t get the pivot cup out of the housing. After much cursing, I found it took one person on top holding the clips out with screwdrivers and one person on the bottom gently tapping on the cup to pop it out. Now, I just needed to pop the fore-aft plastic piece from the shift stick. This was a *****, and in the process of trying to pry it off, I broke the pivot cup.

I finally managed to get it off and pull the stick out but I was up a certain creek without a paddle. Regardless, I wanted to get as far as I could in one day (it was already close to 5PM and getting dark) so with the help of my friend, I managed to remove the rubber gasket from the housing. I took the gasket into my basement—according to B&M’s instructions, the whole shift housing had to be removed expressly for this particular part—so you could remove the stock rubber bushings and replace them with B&M’s metal ones. I’d chosen the B&M kit because of the metal bushings, but I couldn’t figure out how to remove the stock rubber ones. Well here’s something they never tell you! The stock bushings are actually part of the rubber gasket—it’s all molded into one solid piece. The only way to remove the bushings is to cut them off—I used a razorblade. Then I smushed the bushing into the holes in the gasket and called it quits for the night.

I needed to solve my broken pivot cup problem so I posted up on NAM and called the dealership. Unfortunately, my worst fears were confirmed—I had to buy the entire shift assembly to get that one damn plastic part that couldn’t have cost more than 50 cents to make. I found an assembly from a scrapyard and ordered it. When I received it, it turned out to be the wrong housing (it was white with a gray pivot cup, I had a black housing with a white retainer cup). My MINI’s build date is May 2003, meaning it SHOULD have the white housing, gray pivot cup assembly—but it doesn’t! For whatever reason, I’ve got the new 2004 and later model shift assembly (black housing, white pivot cup). There’s no records of accidents or the transmission or shift assembly ever being replaced, any ideas on this?

Also, since the shift assembly was 2004+, that meant I needed a 2004+ short shifter (different sizes for the ***** on the stick). Ack! I gave up on the B&M and ordered a new shifter from CravenSpeed.

I sent the scrapyard assembly back and ordered a brand new assembly from MINI of the Main Line in Bala Cynwyd—surprisingly enough, the dealer’s assembly was similarly priced. The service and parts people there were also very helpful and polite.

I’d learned my lesson from trying to bend plastic in a cold garage so when I received the new assembly, I turned up the heat and brought out a few space-heaters. I put under the car and another on the kitchen counter, right in front of the new assembly. After a few minutes, I was able to pop everything out and got the white pivot cup off the ball. This was scary because physics was screaming at me to stop or the plastic would just break. The way I got it off was by pushing as hard as I could on the bottom end (don’t squeeze! The cup has to expand around the ball to get off, squeezing just prevents that) and praying to every religious figure I knew so I wouldn’t have to do this again. Once off, I lubed the CravenSpeed shifter up and popped the cup on (same process sadly). I’d managed to also [superficially] damage the fore aft arm of the shift assembly so for sake of looking nice, I also removed the new arm. I took the gasket, CravenSpeed shifter + pivot cup, and fore aft arm out to the garage.

I started by putting the gasket in. This was tough with the exhaust in the way and it required a second pair of hands (called my buddy back over). When putting the gasket in and trying to put in the new bushings, I noticed there was a lip on the housing, prevent the bushings from lying flush with the car—it was a sandwich—torx bolt, bushing, plastic lip, gasket. This just struck me as odd, but no matter. After some fiddling I got it all in.

I actually put the fore aft arm and the shifter in simultaneously so I wouldn’t have to deal with popping the two together later. They went straight in and popping the cables onto the ***** just required a hammer and some good ol manliness (read swearing and hammering your thumb). I bolted the assembly back onto the car.

The next obstacle was the baseplate. I’d decided on the B&M for the bushings and because you could use the baseplate with no modifications, but the CravenSpeed is a different animal. After trying to cut a hole in the baseplate large enough for the lowered shifter, I just gave up and left it off. I spoke with Kellen and she said it didn’t really matter if the baseplate were on or not—the exhaust shield blocked most of the dirt and water anyway.

The exhaust shield was a bit of a pain to put back on, and I had to bend the shield out and around the shift assembly.

So finally I finished! It cost me a lot of money and took over a week (hello bus and rides from friends). But I have to say it was worth it. The shifts are much shorter, much more solid and much more mechanical than stock. And the experience itself was interesting to say the least. I got to learn a lot more about the way a MINI is put together and despite all the setbacks, I had fun. I enjoyed tackling the various challenges and I think I’m a bit more knowledgeable about cars (or at least mine). I’ve also got this incredible sense of achievement and feeling of triumph that feels pretty darn awesome.


Here are my main thoughts:
--You don’t need to drop the exhaust to do this mod, but it is a bit tough to do with the exhaust in the way
--Don’t do this in the cold—make sure the plastic parts are warm and not brittle
--You need hooked tools to pry a bunch of things off—claw hammer for the ***** and sockets, dental tools or coat hangers for the baseplate
--The fore aft arm is attached in two spots—there’s a bolt with a snap ring and the ball/socket joint. Take the bolt out first.
--The Pivot cup tabs are infuriating—have someone pop these while someone else pushes up gently from the bottom
--Pull the stick, pivot cup and fore aft arm out all at once, then try prying things off
--The rubber gasket’s stock bushings are attached—you have to cut them off to replace them.
--Reinstalling everything is insanely easy compared to taking it all out.
--The instructions from any manufacturer are absolutely terrible. I had the most luck with B&Ms but I ended up throwing the booklet in the corner and figuring out the rest halfway through the removal process.
--Don’t forget to enjoy the process

That was really long and I’m apologize. I only wrote this out because I think somebody out there can benefit from this—I know I certainly could have.

 

Way to stick to it and get it done. Feels great to do things like this on your own with a successful outcome doesn't it?

 

NM engineering makes a cover that has a recessed area molded in if you care now.