Hello, fellow MINI enthusiasts. We, meaning my boyfriend with me as his lovely yet greasy assistant, just swapped out the tranny on my 2002 standard with that of a 6 speed. It seemed the transfer went well, we used parts from a donor car and bought a new clutch kit. My BF has worked on many cars and has done trannies and clutches multiple times. We've discovered that my beautiful Simone is quite the project, however. (Simone is my car btw). Anyhow, after getting everything put back together, we fire her up and there is a horrible noise when the clutch is activated: thumping and grinding, maybe a little squealing. Any thoughts on where to start and what might be wrong is greatly appreciated. Could it be the master cylinder or throw out bearing?
Much thanks in advance. Oh, and did I mention I've only had my beautiful Simone less than a month before the tranny went out?:confused

 

Curious if any codes have been thrown since the start up. It might also help if you can post a video of the noise you can hear. Do you not hear anything when the clutch isn't engaged and it's at idle?

 

Sounds like you and your poor boyfriend will be taking the transmission back off.

If you're positive the noise isn't coming from the axles, I awesome you have it in neutral, there's no way of knowing where the noise is coming from without pulling the tranny off again :(

I haven't done a 5 speed for 6 swap myself but I would imagine none of the parts are interchangeable. Hopefully he switched everything, including the flywheel and throwout bearing.

In wouldn't be the master or slave cylinder themselves, they dont make any noise, just push the clutch in.

 

I went out and started it again today... no noise (yay), but when engine is on, it's very difficult ultimate to shift, when it's off, it's smooth. What could that mean?

 

Wtf that's strange.

Hard shifting could be a number of things, fluid, cables, or the tranny itself.

Since you fixed the noise, just drive it around, maybe it will loosen up some as you drive it. Or maybe it's just harder to shift than your 5 speed was.

 

I know, weird, huh? I'm definitely hoping we don't have to tear the whole darn thing apart.... again!

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Havent done a trans on a MINI, but have done many others. My $.02: noises like that dont just "get better". Hopefully, MINI trans experts will chime in here shortly. Starting point basic question: it is a known good trans you put in, right?

 

 

Lori! Did you get this sorted out? I am curious about what happened.