So my brother came into town this past weekend, and i let him take a spin in my MCSm. All was well and good......until he missed 2nd gear eek2:, i suppose he let off the clutch before the shifter was fully engaged which resulted in over revving and the transmission grinding. After kicking him to the curb and taking all his belongings, i got in my rightful seat behind the steering wheel and took a drive around the block to assess any possible damage. Now every time i shift from 1st to 2nd, i feel slight turbulence from the shifter. This has happened before, but the problem sort of faded away slowly, but now it has definitely reappeared thanks to my brother.
Can anyone shed some light as to what my brother's incompetent driving skills resulted in? AKA- WHY DO I HAVE TURBULENCE?

 

Probably the burritos.

What exactly is the effect you are feeling? I don't understand what turbulence means in a mechanical device.

 

What do you mean by "turbulence"? You can feel it vibrate a little when you rest your hand on it or somthing?

If that's all it is, I wouldn't worry. Though unpleasent... and not recommended... I don't think you could damage a tranny that badly by missing a shift and grinding gears. Do it every shift and you might create some issues... but once? No way.

As far as over-revving while up-shifting? Impossible. Thats what the rev-limiter is for. Your not going to effect much there, either unless your the type to keep it floored and let it bounce off the limiter for an hour or so.

I think your worrying too much. Did your brother mess upyour toys when you were a kid, too or somthing?

 

Everyone has missed a shift from time to time. Generally it doesn't cause a problem unless it becomes habitual.

Chances are that your brother did no damage whatsoever with just one missed shift.

 

I would expect some turbulence in the relationship after such an event. How it would manifest in the gears is beyond me?
Sorry your brother boo-boo'd a shift. Hell, I've seen Colin Mcrae blow more than a few, and he was a pro. RIP.

 

thanks for your replies. dont get the wrong idea, folks, imnot losing any sleep over this, im just curious, because i definitely feel "turbulance" going into second. as far as trying to describe this turbulance (no, it wasn't any burritos ) well, while moving this shifter from 1st to 2nd i feel resistance from the stick before fully engaging into the gear. Mild, but very apparent. It just doesn't smoothly fit like all the other gears.

 

Firebolt, you're OK. I believe what you're experiencing is a manifestation of your mind, and it's not uncommon. How many guys will cop to the fact that they somehow feel their car runs better AFTER they do an oil change? Or (gaaah!) WASH IT? Come on, we've all been there.
In 4k miles over the last six months (no job to commute to, WAH and a real TOY car, too) I've missed shifts a fair amount of times, and I should say it was more due to my being LAZY or LAX or EASY GOING with the clutch (lazy left foot not getting the clutch all the way out, actually being pretty CAREFUL)) or pulling the shifter to the next gear less than enthusiastically rather than when I was hammering the car through the gears. That little BITE gets your attention, you cuss yourself and have a moment of mental grief, and you drive on. IF that getrag box was going to give up or go problematic after half a dozen or even twenty or fifty missed shifts (over say 50k-100k miles), it wouldn't be much of a gearbox. Nobody's perfect. Motor on, and have fun.

 

Sounds like you have unresolved issues with your brother!????
Seriously.......

 

don't sue him please.

 

haha, seems like i might have wrote this with a bit too much vigor. i didn't really chuck my brother out of the car and am now planning to take legal action. like someone said before, missing gears happens to everyone, it just so happens that this time i feel (or maybe i think i feel--no no, i definitely feel) the repercussions. I just feel that its pretty minor and not worth bothering the dealer about it. it just irks me a tiny bit now and then when shifting from 1st to 2nd past 3rpms

 

Well Fire, you may have some inherent problems with your transmission, but it ain't your brothers fault. Tranny's are very forgiving and if one missed shift will kill it, then none of us have a chance.

Sounds like you love your MINI more than your brother. At least you have your priorities straight.