I have a 2005 Mini Cooper (Base/NonS) all I know is that it is a 5 speed.
How can I tell if I have the midlands tranny, or the getrag?

 

Getrag in 2005. They stopped the midlands in Mid 2004, I believe I was told.

 

I hope your right. I've heard horror stories with the midlands, and I don't want to, and can't, budget for a problem like that.
I wouldn't say that I'm having tranny problems, but I'm having...hiccups lol just inconsistencies with the clutch.

-I don't know if my left leg is getting stronger, or if the clutch feels softer sometimes.
-Sometimes there a clanking under the car when I press the clutch.
-sometimes I have to rev a little more to get the car moving, sometimes less.
-and the shifter is all over the place. sometimes its smooth, other times its tight and rough. This I guess is normal.

 

Are you sure?

I thought all the Getrags were 6 speeds, if this is a 5 speed, it's a Midlands..........that's my understanding anyway.

 

Nope. I've got an 05 Justa that I'm (right now) dealing with transmissions issues in. It needs replaced!

If I had a Midlands Trans there is a UK ebay seller that has a rebuild kit including the Clutch kit for just under $800. He sells re-man Getrag units for $1700 INCLUDING next day (whatever that is considered from the UK) shipping to the US with no core charge or return of old trans. It would cost me about $1200 to have that installed but the warranty would basically be useless from either of the places as it would be easy for one to blame the other.

I'm thinking I'm going with the dealer replacement because they are offering a 2-year unlimited miles warranty on the unit and the work. The bad thing is the quote is $3200 plus the other parts that I'll have done while they are in there (clutch pack, rear main seal and flywheel if needed). It's not that much more, but when $ is tight you do what you can. I'm currently looking into the discount that they offer my local Mini group to see if that saves me anything.

 

What kind of problems are you having, and how many miles are on it?

Do manual transmissions have transmission fluid that can/should be changed?

 

I have 130K+ miles on the car. It's an 05 convertible cooper. We purchased new and I commuted 35+ miles one way to work for about 4 years before becoming a "virtual" - work from home employee. Now it's relegated to my wife's commuting car. We have since moved from the rust belt of Northeast Ohio to North Carolina so the mechanics here have never seen the rust that was under the car.

The problems are (to me) normal wear and tear mostly but the transmission was a bit of a surprise. I stated hearing a noise in the front end and getting some abnormal wear on the tires (via a vibration) so I started replacing components. (probably did some earlier than needed).

Struts / Shocks - Didn't fix the issue but with 130K needed done.
Tie Rods and ball joints - Needed done
Wheel bearings - Probably didn't need done, but made me feel better


I figured after that that the problem would be solved, but it was not. I then scheduled a day at my local dealer for them to diagnose. They came back with 2 things that needed work. The trans and the drive axle.

Passenger side drive axle - rebuilt. I attempted to replace with a unit from the Drive Shaft Shop but they did not have the correct unit in stock (they took the measurements from mine just in case). The good part here is that they only charged me $25.00 for the rebuild but it took me 2 days off of work to get there and have the work done.

That leaves 1 drive axle and the transmission that could be my problem since nearly everything else is new now. I took it to an Aamco to have them diagnose and they too said the trans needed replaced and did some explaining to me what they found. The don't actually think it's the trans that is the problem but more in the differential. The issue lies in that they are one in the same and there isn't a "rebuild kit" available (yea you can tear into it to see the problem, but cost wise that may not be the best option...)

As for your question about changing the oil, yes it can (should be) be done Mini says it's "lifetime", but at the cost of a few bottles and the DIY why chance it? I found the instructions here and was able to do it myself (a few times in the last few months). It helps greatly to change it (at least the first few days it feels great). I was able to find a nifty gear oil spout that made the work much easier. It's just long enough to feed from the top of the engine into the fill hole. I used an oil from the auto parts store the first time and Redline synthetic the second time. (the Redline bottle didn't fit onto the adapter above but I used the hose it came with on a regular funnel)

 

Nope...
midlands ended in mini's in 2004...
They were replace in just-a's with a 5 speed getreg.



to be sure, use your production date, located on the doorjamb, and then either call a dealer with it and a vin, or try realoem.com.....and look up which tranny was used in that production date...

 

You slso cannot switch the trannys midlands to getreg or viseversa without lots of parts...

 

Nope, 05/06 R50's have a 5spd Getrag.

 

Ok I guess that's good news, minus ThomB's situation - especially since my wife wants to start driving my car... she doesn't know how to drive period (no license yet) let alone automatic.

Can anyone suggest some smart, affordable, preventative maintenance? Do manuals have transmission fluid that can be changed?

 

Use redline MTL when you do a fluid change. Lots of people suggest magnetic drain plugs to catch any loose metal shaving. And take it easy no need to baby the transmission just don't abuse it.

 

The trans fluid can be changed quite easily once you feel confident doing it. Just do a forum search and you'll find some threads with pictures even.

 

The hardest thing about changing the oil in a stick, is getting the car level when you need to refil tge tranny...
just remove the drain plug...drain the tranny...put it back in....then pour the new oil, using a funel and imo a long tube into the fill hole....stop adding oil when oil starts to come back out the fill hole.
Manual tranny oils useually have a very high zinc content to prevent gauling, and do last a LONG time....so doing it once maybe 5 years is even lots....proper clutch use is much more important than oil changes to not spending $$ on a stick car....simple fact is most stick cars may never have tranny oil changed, and not have issues....but clutches...ridden, smoked, abused, need to be replaced regularly...about $2000 done by a 3rd party.....
The above midlands tranny was just not up to the job longterm....was it a quality issue, or due to the tourqe of the motor, or agressive drivers? Who knows, but it is likly best to lern how to drive the first few hours of stick on a old beater...not a mini...the cluch replacemnt costs too much.