I have a 2003 R50 with 71,000 miles. No break-downs, full synthetic oil, good condition. When I shift there's this squeaking right under the leather of the shift *** boot. I think the squeaking sounds like its coming from the plastic part of the shifter. I removed the shift boot (Leather part) and drove around and could tell the squeaking was coming from inside there. I'm not driving to the MINI dealer because its three hours away and last time I went there I payed for nothing. I'm wondering if I should just spray some WD40 in there and see if it'll go away. Any suggestions?

 

squeeking.... i havnt looked at mine before. but just from working on other FWD cars, with the shifter mounted inside the cabin (not under the car) the rotating ball the that shifter pivots on should be greased really well and other than that theres only cables, right?

is it shifting more stiff than before? or feeling sloppy?

 

It feels a little coarse when shifting

 

i had the shiter cables go out on my SVT focus, but that took all of 2 min for it to go from- feeling alittle sloppy, to- being stuck in 3rd gear. so its probly not that...

since noone else is chiming in, you just might need to tear it open and see for yourself or reference a manual.

 

assuming it's a manual? heat related? not sure where you live though. i have an 03 CVT and have noticed when it gets warmer (like now) it seems a little "coarser" when shifting from reverse to park. a little stiffer.

now obviously a cvt and a manual are 2 different beasts but, just curious if there is an issue with the cars and heat. maybe the cabling expanding?

 

The pivot ball may need to be gressed. You gotta drop the exhaust and the heat sheild out to get to the shifting lug....