newbie's transmission question
 

Another question here from a newbie on my 05 MC 5-speed........is this the first year for the Getrag in the base Cooper's?..........previous models used a different 5-speed, am I correct on that?

Also,....I do all my own work and service [work at a Honda dealer].....I noticed a tag on transmission that stated life-time fluid, do not change......
whats your thoughts on this?.......no change, or go ahead and change? [47,000 miles]......I would probably use Amsoil MTF synthetic snycromesh fluid...........
but if life-time is OK,...........then I'll leave it........

This forum already has helped me track down a cold-condition dripping of fluid off the transaxle are....thermostat housing, I believe is going to be the fix....appointment pending to get fixed under warranty.

Steve

Oops reread the post. The older ones were Midlands not sure of the newer ones. As for the oil mine looked like new when I replaced it at 50K. For the cost and ease of doing it replace it.

My understanding is that all 05 and later Coopers had the 5 speed Getrag. The earlier builds had a 5 speed Midlands.

The Midlands had issues, one of which was not the actual transmission, but the axle seal failing do to extreme cold weather. This happened to my 03 MC during it's second winter, after a couple of weeks of temps at or below -25f . I got the car to the dealer right away, the tech, knew right away what the issue was, as fluid was coming out at the trans axle. He changed the seals to newer improved ones, flushed out the tranny, refilled it and sent me on my way. The dealer ordered a new tranny, and I got a new one not a rebuild. The old tranny worked like new for the 3 weeks before I could get the car back for the swap. This happened at around 30k miles, I now have 95k miles on the car, and the Midlands is solid, have not had an issue. When I take my car in for the next oil change, I'm getting the tranny fluid changed, regardless if it's lifetime or not with the OEM fluid.

If you have an 05, you should have a Getrag, and changing the fluid is good for piece of mind at a cheap price.

Mark
:cool:

thanks guys for the insight and replies...I'll change it.

I changed the fluid to Amsoil on my '03 MC (Midland) at 11,000. There were a lot of metal particles on the magnetic drain plug, and the fluid appeared darker that I expected it to. After the change to Amsoil 5W-30 Synchromesh Fluid, it shifts smoother.