Hello everyone,

I've had a 05 MCS JCW R52 for a couple weeks now, and I like it very much.

I got it when it had 72,300 miles on the dial. Now it's 73,300 and I'm somewhat concerned with the transmission noise... it grinds when shifting into 2nd gear -- the only time it doesn't grind is when I shift slowly into 2nd gear, or skip 2nd gear entirely and go straight from 1st to 3rd.

I consulted a few of my friends regarding this transmission noise, and the general consensus is that the synchronizer has gone bad. I'm concerned, because transmission work is supposed to be extremely expensive -- well into four digits.

Also, it has come to my attention that the motion of shifting the gears is becoming a little bit stiffer than before -- ie, I encounter resistance when shifting into 4th, or 6th when previously it was perfectly smooth. Not hard enough to be a true concern mind you, but stiff enough that it's noticeable.

What are my options here? I am not adverse to doing all the work myself, though this will be my first time tinkering with cars in general (I am IT, so I leave the wrenching to the mechanic). Evidently exchanging the synchro is a little out of my league, but what about the sluggish shifting? Can I fix that?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

First, try changing the transmission fluid to something like the redline MTL. Not saying it will fix the problem but it is a cheap alternative to try before the more expensive transmission fix.

 

Could also be a bad pilot bearing. Has the clutch been replaced on that car yet? If not, it is probably getting close. Mine made a crunching noise going into first but all other gears were fine. My bearing was shot and only a little clutch left. It will cost you a about 1.5K to get it fixed.

 

To test if the synco is bad, try giving the motor a couple hundrend rpms when you try to downshift into second....just like a non-syncronized tranny (now only common on heavy trucks, but common on many classic cars. Ittakes a good ear, and just the right blip of the throttle, but done right, it does save/negate the need for syrincro's. Done wrong, or (likely what happened) the motor was repately forced into a lower gear before it was ready (sounds good, but ouch, poor tranny) the tranny takes a beating.

 

I've read a little about this -- would this, at least, fix the sluggish shifting?

I figured, since I'm going to have it serviced anyway, wouldn't it be better to just leave the transmission fluid as it is, and then have the mechs put in new fluids after the service?

It's entirely possible. The grinding noise was present when I received the car. Normally I would complain, but considering that I got a perfectly working JCW that grinds in 2nd gear for $5000.... I thought perhaps it was better if I kept my mouth shut. Even if I pay out for the transmission noise, I'd still be below the average market value for this car, so I'm not really complaining. But I am not looking forward to seeing the bill.

I bought this car through a car auction, so I have no idea as to the service history. However, Carfax shows that this car was originally a Arizona vehicle, but moved to CA and has been serviced at a two different dealerships in Redondo Beach and Irvine, which isn't too far from me. Would it be possible for me to drop by this dealership and ask them for the service history for the car? I mean, surely they would keep track of all vehicles serviced, no?

I ask because as I said, I have absolutely no idea as to the service history to this car. I've had the oil changed and had the mechanic topping off all fluids in the car, including the supercharger oil. So, I don't know if the clutch has been changed, or is still the original one.

Does anyone know of a reputable Mini service in Long Beach / general LA area? I went to the dealership to get a quote about the transmission work and I nearly received a heart attack at the price they were quoting me.

 

Yes, I've actually changed the gears without touching the clutch by accident a few times -- and while it was a novel experience, it's quite difficult to intentionally change the gears while matching the engine RPM to the transmission -- more so if you're in traffic.

Honestly, I think the previous owner wasn't kind to the car, and just repeatedly floored the car between stop lights, because it's only the 2nd gear that grinds when shifting fast. If I slow down the speed of shifting, the transmission won't grind.

 

The synchronizers are not sold individually, so to fix it you need a whole new transmission. That's why the quoted price was so high. Thank BMW's stranglehold on Getrag for this.

 

That....is not good news.

My friends recommended looking for transmission rebuild kits. I see that the prices are quite reasonable compared to a whole new transmission..... what are your thoughts on that?

I'll probably get murdered through the labor cost, but I'm trying to see what options I have before I take the plunge.

 

Find a tranny from a wrecked mini....
waymotorworks.com out in atlanta is usually parting out a few...shipping would not be that $$
then save the junk ones for parts if you want. The S tranny is pretty stout, and rarely fails unless mistreated...so imo a used one should be fine.

 

True enough. Here's what I've collected so far:

Dealership: $3500 for a "new" transmission and labor (which I'm construing to be a rebuilt transmission)
Used: $1440-1700 for a used transmission, not including labor. The catch is that they're almost all high mileage cars -- in excess of 100k miles. Considering that my transmission has less mileage than them, I could be looking at another rebuilding in a relatively short period of time if I ever go through a transmission swap.
Rebuild: ???? I haven't found anyone who gave me a concrete answer. Most responses I receive is anywhere from $300 up all the way to $1500 depending on what's broken and what's not.

I am wondering... new clutches are cheap (relative to the cost of transmission) -- so since if I am going to get the transmission fixed one way or another, should I also buy a new clutch and tell the mechanic to swap that in while the transmission is open?

 

Well, that's something you don't see everyday. A philosophical spammer.

 

Lol....might be a robot.
Many S's that i hear about are 160k plus...no tranny issues. However, many mini's are weekend cars, and thus quite a few have low miles....heck i found a sc off a 15k totaled car a couple of years ago...
One thing to note...
trannys from 2005+ have slightly different gearing, and thus these are priced s bit more...they make the cars marginly faster in accleration from a stop.
and 100% put in a new clutch ....they are 90% labour to swap, and with a new one, you should have no worries for many miles.....the cost, mostly just the part since 99% of the labour is done.

 

How do I find that out? Are you saying from 2005 up, or...? Because my car is a 2005, from what I understand (I haven't yet gone to a dealership to see all the options... keep forgetting) this car was originally a R52 MCS, bone stock. Later dealer added the JCW package. So theoretically speaking, it should have the original transmission and not the "quicker" transmission with shorter gears.

Is there anywhere I can find this info out? Perhaps on the transmission itself or...?

And roger that on the clutch. How do I find OEM or clutches similar to the original one? What wordings will I have to look for? Does this suffice, or do I need to look elsewhere? I don't think I'll be modifying this car for speed or power -- most of my planned modification will be purely visual.

 

I am having this same exact issue.

For a while my second gear would grind harshly.

Now it won't engage, it pops back out when I try to rev.

Or sometimes just rev without engaging, thus grinding further.

I'm at 80,000 miles, car is '07 (almost 8 yrs old)

Did you fix the issue?

Please help!

 

+1

I had synco grind into 3rd and 4th, and thought mine were going bad. Turns out the fluid that I was running was breaking down under heat too quickly. So I performed a flush and changed to a much better fluid and the grinding completely stopped. Might be able to find a tech article that can help you with the fluid change as well. Good luck!

-Luccia

 

I never did fix the transmission issue. Most shops ended up giving me quotes that were almost half of the car value, so I kept driving and babying the transmission (if I shifted slowly into 2nd gear, absolutely no grinding, all other gears I could shift as fast as I wanted to) until I sold the car.

Your issue sounds like the shift linkage -- the linkage may be broken since it pops into neutral.

The suggestion of changing the fluid before doing a complete teardown is a great one. It's a cheap method to see if you have dirty fluid or a real genuine transmission issue.

 

I had purchased an R53 and it shifted so harshly. Reading on forums here I did two things. One: changed the transmission fluid over to the redline product and lubricated the shift linkages under the air box assembly as well as under the car exhaust hatchway that leads to the linkages below the gear shift lever. It changed the shifter feel immensely and for the remainder of the life of the car I had no troubles as long as I routinely kept the linkages lubed well.

I would start with the inexpensive fixes first. Best of luck