'Don't know about finding SVT trannys in the junkyard, but I think there's quite a thing here that might work out well! Derek

 

Well, I heard back from the guy I mentioned earlier, and he just got his Focus tranny. He will be sharing photos, along with measurements!

Anyone have a MINI box lying around, and if so, would you be willing to help-out with this comparison of the exterior dimension, namely the mount points?

EDIT/ADD: Nevermind... I just got an email from one of our friendly Sweedish MINI tuners in SoCal who is willing to lend a helping hand...

 

Ye Yeah! Swedish tuning in da hiz-house! . I can't wait to get this sorted out! Thanks TonyB and everyone else!

 

So is anything happening with this? Does it fit or not? BUMP TO THE TOP for more info

 

I have been distracted with the holidays, but I think I know where to look, now [for the gears]... I'll post when I get it sorted out. Note: I cannot right now assess fitting, because I am slightly afraid of tearing into my tranny right now, becuase I don't have time to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. Any word on the test fitting in Cali?

 

How bout trying the Swedish tuner that has actually done the work many times, down to tearing apart the pinions (Tjena Peter, Från Philadelphia ).

I have two trannys here, one complete and together and one in bits. I would ba happy to compare images from the SVT trans to this one. The key will be comparing the shifter linkage, including the plastic cable brackets, the machining on the bell housing. You could spend a lot of time fabricating and machining stuff just to make it fit in the MINI. It might end up being one of the kind of projects that I am prone to getting myself into, where I think that I can save a couple of bucks by buying the cheaper part that needs work, and then discovering that it costs me twice as much getting it right. Someday I'll learn, but in the meantime, let's get this trans in your MINI!

Take a couple of images of the linkage (the two ball joints and brackets that actuate the selector rod on the outside of the trans case), and the mounting bore pattern on the bell housing and I'll compare it to what we have here before you get to ripping apart your car.

 

Thanks Helix! I'm myself curious about the internal dimensions of the case, since I'd ideally like to swap some Focus FD gears into my MINI tranny, without modification. The ratios, as I said above, work out quite nicely.

 

Eric, I have a quite a few images of an SVT tranny that I'd be willing to share... If interested, let me know, and I'll gladly email them to you...

 

you wouldn't be able to just swap the gears: the pinions which hold the gears have the output gear machined into it as a unit. The easy part is the king gear: that'll bolt onto your diff.

 

Yeah, out of curiosity, shoot me a photo of the linkages (the brass-colored brackety things with two ball joints on them), and if there is a plastic bracket right next to them, shoot that as well. Do you have the trans? We could compare bolt pattern for the bell housing.

 

No, it's not my transmission, but a nother MINI guy shared these with me... Check your email! I forwared to you a couple... the last one has plenty of photos...

 

Okay, just got 'em. It looks like not only are some of the peripheral stuff different from the MINIs, the bell housing half of the casting is different as well. The starter gear opening is in a different place. Not only would you have to change the gear shift linkage (which is harder than it looks), you'd have to change AT LEAST the bell housing and maybe move some sensor wires here and there.

The verdict: run, don't walk from the direct SVT to MINI trans swap method of gear ratio reduction.

Of course I'd be happy to do it for $5k .

Which brings Ingsoc back to the internals swap idea. That's a lot of work, too, dude. Getting the pinions out of one of these boxes is no walk in the park. If it worked, you'd save some $ by buying a used SVT trans for a few hundred, but you'd pay out the snoot to get both transes apart and bits swapped.

 

For me, it's a DIY job... when I'm prepared to make the plunge. To pay someone would cost an arm and leg.

 

"For me, it's a DIY job... when I'm prepared to make the plunge."
I'd recommend you get and show some respect for those with experience. Transmission rebuilds are not for the novice. You do a dis-service to people like Eric who have made their living perfecting their trade.

 

I sure hope you'll calm down. There's no disrespect whatsoever in my post! Heck, I THANKED him just a couple of posts above for showing attention. I was being extremely honest- to me, it is and has always been intended to be a DIY [with help from a tuner, to be precise]. I would not venture to hire someone at the going rate for professional expertise because it would not be worth it, financially speaking. That's the complete and honest truth. Again, why are you so volatile? Just because I'm intending to do my own work and contribute my own valuable time for the good of myself and the community and not asking for help from an admittedly fine tuner and great guy in Philly [about 1200 miles away- I've driven it before!] does not mean I'm disrespecting him. You confound me.

To be blatantly honest, out of utter respect for Helix:
Thank you for giving your time and attention to this thread. Thanks also for your help to a number of my friends in the Philly area. I went to Penn for my undergrad education [class of 2004]. They all speak highly of you and your operation. I have nothing but gratitude. Again, thanks for being cool and helpful!

 

you thanked him and then went ahead presuming you could DIY. My point is you did show dis-respect, apparently un-intended. to put it another more crude way, where the F do you get off thinking you can DIY a trans rebuild with ze-ero experience? It is pointedly about your remark: "do(ing) my own work and contribute my own valuable time" which shows a lack of understanding and respect for the expertise and skill of those who do know what they are doing and are making a living at it.

 

I can verify that the external mounting, linkage hookup, and bell housing are extremely different. Also the SVT has an internal clutch slave cylinder and the MINI is external.

The internals can be swapped. The only thing that had to be done was one place on the casing had to be ground down for clearance of the SVT gears. This area is machined down from the factory on the SVT transmission. I do not remember where but if you look at the inside of the SVT and compare it to the MINI you can figure it out. The case will also not go together until the area is machined down. I looked at my pictures but cannot find any pictures right now of the area. My pictures seem to stop at the SVT transmission being torn apart and the MINI pulled from the vehicle. I could probably find the SVT case in the garage and find the machined location and photo it.

I performed this back in Feb 03 and have had no problems except for the cruise control will no longer work and MINI cannot make it work either. Well it will work in third gear only.

This is not an easy transmission to work on, at least not alone. Aligning all three shafts to drop down into the case at once is a nightmare. If you have transmission experience it can be performed.

What I would like is my Cruise to work again. If anyone that knows about ECM Tuning could tell the difference from the 02 ECM and 05 ECM and could reprogram mine to make it work would be great.

 

If you wish to further express your misunderstanding, please direct it via pm. I don't appreciate the exaggerated misconception of my inclinations. Thanks.

Those who have the time and _patience_ to try something new, like Helix clearly has!, should be encouraged, not discouraged like you clearly prefer to do. In your conduct, I'm reminded of those early threads about pulleys where nay-sayers were frankly offensive and misguided in their "doing a service."

This thread should remain open and unimpeded, for those who are willing to experiment with this mod, because for those of us unhappy with our gearing this mod could potentially be the ticket. Perfect example: Rwilde has had some success with Focus parts. Proof of concept.

 

I've rebuilt a couple of old plymouth 4 speeds in the past, and from the sounds of it, the mini getrag is a much bigger undertaking, I was a bit bummed that the bentley manual had next to no information on it.

The mini community is a great place where many experts from different fields come together and share thier knowledge. Some projects a backyard mechanic will determine it is better to leave to a professional, others choose to embrace the challange and undertake the project. In those cases, due to lack of information, we backyard mechanics are greatful to professionals who undertake such projects as their bread and butter.

I don't think any backyard mechanic will claim that they can do the job just as well as a professional who does the work on a daily basis, however it is also disrespectful to a backyard mechanic to say that such an undertaking as swaping the gears in the getrag transmission is beyond our abilities and we should just pay a professional to do the work for us.

 

Dr. Spin: you seem to choose what to mis-understand. I am encouraging Helix, a true professional. I would not presume to be able to DIY what he can do, nor would I what you, the Doctor, can do and it pisses me off when I see people say this sort of thing: "I would not venture to hire someone at the going rate for professional expertise because it would not be worth it, financially speaking." or this "For me, it's a DIY job... when I'm prepared to make the plunge." remarks which ignore the professional experience required and make the assumption that it is simple a matter of applying "your own valuable time" to it.
Maybe all you meant was you could not afford to hire a professional; fine, but then don't presume you could then DIY.
How would you like it if a carpenter told you it was too expensive to have you remove his wife's appendix, so he was going to take his valuable time and DIY? Ridiculous, right?

 

That's probably taking it a little to far. On many things, you hire a professional because they have the tool and experience to do a job quickly and right the first time. For a DIY-er, if they have the time, and the patience to take a bit longer (sometimes a lot longer) and are willing to redo the work two times, or more, then many mechanical jobs can be done with the help of a book or phone support. A transmission is hardly your wife's appendix.

I didn't see anything in those posts which was disrespectful to professionals. The statement of "it's not worth it" was obviously in reference to the performace gains weren't worth the cost of a professional doing the job.

I've done the same thing when it comes to car or home repairs. When I need it done now, and right the first time (plumbing, don't ask ), I'm likely to hire someone. But when I have the time to do it myself, and I can deal with redoing it when I mess it up the first time, I'm likely to attempt it.

So give him a break. Do you have your mechanic rotate your tires, or change your oil when you've got the time? I do when I'm to busy, but I'm certainly going to try and save a few bucks on a Saturday morning if I've got the time. Everyone's level of DIY is different.

-Mike

 

Interesting. I know that the computer compares revs to wheel speed and calculates what gear your're in but I could never figure out why it cared. If the cruise control is limited to certain gears, swapping all the transmission gears would muck up that calculation and confuse it.

 

it's a sensitive point for me, sorry to belabor it. in my profession, I am frequently dealing with amateurs who balk at the professional price saying they can do DIY if they have the time. They will say that in front of one of my technicians who is a master at structural welding, or finish welding, or finishing or machining or metal fabricating and has learned his trade by a combination of schooling and hard knocks. Everyone working for me has at least 10 to 20 years experience. How do you think it makes them feel when that background gets "equated" with "if I took my valuable time?" Arrogance? Ignorance? Dis-respect? choose your own word, but give the expert his due.

my analogy was meant to be just that; make your own if that is more appropriate, but you get the idea.

Finally!!, there are plenty of chores for the DIY'er in every area of work. In this context, as you mentioned, oil changes, even pulley installs, but just like you said to call in the plumber, call in the transmission expert. And I say that having rebuilt British, and American transmissions.

 

Pardon me if its been posted, but what are the gear ratios of the SVT transmission compared to the MINIs?

 

No prob, man! Glad to help. Here are the Focus ratios, quoted from my post, #4:

"1 : 4.41:1 2.88:1
2 : 2.67:1 2.88:1
3 : 1.34:1 4.25:1
4 : 1.08:1 4.25:1
5 : 1.32:1 2.88:1
6 : 1.07:1 2.88:1"

The second column is the final drive gear ratios. To get the 'overall' gear ratios [which are the only ones MINI officially provides on our cars, btw] you multiply the first column times the second, to get the overall effect across the two involved gears.