Car: 2006 R53 MCS manual.
Miles: 156k

Background: As some of you know I spent last summer fiddling with this car (at a snails pace) and finally wrapped it up back in Sept. During the build I pulled the engine and trans. I cleaned up the flywheel and installed a new OEM LUK clutch kit. I also did the weight set upgrade as well and finally even installed new shift cables as mine were a little worn. (Up to this point the car always shifted well with absolutely no issues - just a small amount of slop- but nothing to be worried about.) Also, all new redline fluid since we added an LSD.

Issue: After everything was buttoned up the car shifted great. It felt tight and solid. Recently, however, the shifter decided it would only go into the odd gears (1,3,5 ) and not the evens (2,4,6). We parked it and I pulled the airbox thinking one of the cables might have popped off. Everything was fine. I went back in the car (while the box was off and the car was off)- shifted through all the gears with ease- I had not done anything significant to cause this fix! I lubed it all and took it for a drive. No issues. A few days later, it's doing the same thing again. While the clutch pedal is a little soft, it's been fine for months. There are no leaks around the MC or the slave. Even have a new hard line (pipe) because the old one had some corrosion.

Temperature does not seem to be a factor as it happens after driving for 20 minutes or cold straight out of the driveway.

What am I missing here? Thoughts?

 

With 156k miles, wondering if the FL version shifter's injection molded "bushing" is failing as reportedly prone to do? That part (and the bumpstop o-ring) seem the only parts prone to wear and failure on the FL shifter version. Since the symptoms don't seem temperature related, perhaps pop up the the shifter boot and see if anything apparent is going on with that while not easily engaging 2/4/6 gears? At same time I swapped my original modified shifter assy with a relatively low mileage donor, I replaced that original (unbroken) bushing with the Cravenspeed kit sourced from WMW. I like that I can quickly and easily fine tune the clamping tension from topside to suit. The shifter box will need to be dropped to do the bushing kit swap. More pics available or will delete these if unrelated to your problem.

https://www.waymotorworks.com/mini-s...r-bushing.html

 

Thanks for the quick response. I don't think that's the issue. Everything was opened up, inspected (did not see any visible damage) and lubed when I redid the cables. I had even swapped out the damaged o-ring. Remember this was shifting great before and after and I'm betting I can go outside right now and it will work. It's super strange.


***Edit*** Just went outside to check my theory. No key. Car off. No clutch depressed. These work- R, 1,2,3,4,5 - won't go into 6. Tried with and without clutch- 4th was intermittent, 6th a no-go. Getting out of R felt like it was catching on something. Wonder if that little black block on the weight set might be hanging up? When I forgot to install it before it would not let me go into gear. Wonder if it's binding or something...

 

Hoping it's a simple fix for you.
I had struggled with similar (intermittent) symptoms.
As you may have read in one of my earlier post (Sept 2023); it turned out to be internal = a bent or broken gear selector fork.
I am in no way suggesting that may be the issue here (I don't have nearly the mechanical expertise) but merely empathize in your frustration.

You've put an amazing amount of effort & $$ into restoring this little guy.
Crossing my fingers that it's something minor.

 

Thanks. Me too. I can't believe it would be a bent selector. I row through gears like an old lady and it's been perfectly smooth. I'll keep plugging away and find it. Only so many things it can be.

 

Think I may have found the issue. When I re-did everything I purchased this kit on ebay to update these worn pieces. In the first pic the worn piece is visible- lots of play/slop. In the last pic you see the new one. Much tighter. Maybe a little too tight. In the second pic is the kit and there is also the little black square that rides up and down on the selector groove. It is NOT square but rather slightly rectangular. It will go in incorrectly but will bind- so it needs to be lubed and run through the entire range of the groove. I did that and it helped a little, then I pulled the thinker white piece and hit it with a quick file job and some lube. Assembled it all and it all works perfectly. Took it around the block with no issues. Boss will drive it to work tomorrow and we should know for certain.

 

Yeah - The rectangular white plastic bushing was impossible for me to slide the shift-weight shaft into that opening while installed too!
However, uninstalled from the weight assembly the shaft slid in effortlessly . I struggled for a long time with it until I finally resorted to pulling the weight back off and slightly dremeling the opening of the metal itself. Just slightly.
When I reinserted the bushing the shaft slid right in with only a light drag and a little bit of effort. Worked great!
That was not too long before my transmission finally failed and had to be replaced.

I still have not pulled my air filter box to see if the mechanic had re-installed my original (repaired) shift weight set or installed the new/used trans with it's old/original shift weight attached.
I purchased and have a new second backup repair kit on hand and will have a look at (shift weight set) what's on my trans in the spring.

Hope you found the cure!

 

Fingers crossed! I'll report back if there are issues or if we have resolution.

 

I think we have resolution. The white rectangular bushing appears to have been too tight. Might still need to go back and trim a little more. It's smooth now but wants to lightly "catch" every once in a while. Still an easy fix.

 

Eating my words. NOT and easy fix.. Car started giving same issues again.

Worked on all the bits I mentioned earlier and with the car off the car shifts perfect. When I turn the car on the shifter will not go into reverse, 1,3 or 5th gear. So, maybe I need to bleed the clutch more if the throw out bearing is not letting the clutch disengage??

 

If it were a bleeding issue, wouldn’t you have the issue in all gears instead of just all the ones with the gearshift forward?

 

I was thinking about that but what else could explain the issue? With the car off, the trans rows through the gears like butter. As previously mentioned the clutch is new, as well as the throw out bearing. Everything was perfect when installed and was pretty decent for several months. Now, it has become an issue. We can still drive the car but the reverse and at least 1st gear are really a chore to get into place when driving.

After dismantling everything again to make sure there was no binding, it all went smooth like butter. As soon as the car is started (engine running), the (R and odd gears will not engage). Not sure what else it could be.

I am open to suggestions.

 

Man - I 'm sorry to learn that the fix wasn't as easy as we'd hoped.
Perhaps it's a bent shifter cable? = I.e: the rod portion of the cable that connects to the balljoint at the shifter lever inside the shift lever box?

My transmission history woes:
Originally my symptoms began similar to yours. Everything seemed fine for a couple of years after having my clutch replaced. It only progressively got worse having begun to notice that shifting started becoming more difficult after driving at highway speeds when the gearbox got hot.
Unbeknownst to me at the time the clutch was replaced; I later discovered that less than 1/2 qt of fluid was put in the gearbox. Enough to cause internal damage over time.
But I digress...

After a trans fluid change (2qts Redline MTL) and replacing my shift weight bushings; made for a great improvement in shifting smoothly into gears. Unfortunately that was only short lived for a couple of months when my trans got stuck and would not come out of 6th gear. I finally had to force it out of gear and managed to drive it to a (inept) BMW/"Mini" repair shop. They had the car for several days and finally dropped the shifter box and reported that one of the shifter (cable) rods was bent (I personally believe they bent the rod not understanding how to pop it off/ remove it properly with a 14mm wrench).. . Unfortunately in my case; ultimately the problem was internal damage and not a bent shifter cable/rod (see above)...

Not withstanding; However, I suppose a bent cable rod may not be too far fetched?

 

The shift cables are brand new. Basically everything is new. The clutch slave cylinder was a real PITA to bleed. The pedal is solid but could be better. Wondering if I simply need more work on the bleeding, Not sure what else would explain the issue.