I'm looking for a good oil for my transmission. Most of them work great in a manual. . . . . .If you don't have a LSD. Mine came with the factory LSD. I had ordered Amsoil Synchromesh which is rated pretty high, but when it arrived, the fine print said "not for use in limited slip transaxles". Still looking.

 

I got some hate for posting about Mobil 1 LS gear oil, but it is safe to use and rated for LSD. I use it in all my vehicles.

 

The Mobil 1 looks pretty good. I think I'll check that out. Thanks.

 

Changed to Redline MTL after 2nd track day in 2008 and never looked back.

 

What viscosity should we be running? Is there a way to find out what comes in our trannys from the factory?

 

Is there a "How To" any where on changing ATF in a Mini? I asked the local Mini dealer and they said they did not know how and did not recommend because it would cause problems. Mini saw fit to put a drain plug in their "fluid for life" transmission for some reason. I am curious at how you get the fluid back in. Is there a fill hole similar to a rear end or manual transmission?

 

Its a little scary that a MINI dealership doesn't know how to do this..lol.. But the way I have done mine is with a pump. You fill the trans. in the same location as you drain it. But ive heard of others filling it through the top. There is a small plug on top of the transmission. Maybe they can chime in here and help you out! But I do know you will have to do a few changes because you never get all the old fluid out on the first change.I think Pelican has a step by step on how to do this.. check it out there.. But I would highly recommend using a synthetic ATF that meets the specs of your transmission.. It holds up much better and protects the transmission better also.. Of course that's MO..lol.. good luck!

 

Manual or auto?

It's weird that a MINI dealer to say that. BMW now even lists a trans service for all of the automatics. it is no longer a lifetime fluid.

I guess they got tired of hearing that their slush boxes die shortly after 100,000 miles... So the fluid was a lifetime thing, it only lasts for the short life of the transmission....

But, the manual is really easy to do. (Which should be every 30k miles...

 

So

when do you plan to change your wheel bearings? You can't lube them so surely you don't trust them to last for ever ....

and that gas in the a/c .... doesn't that wear out too?

chassis bushings .... we KNOW they wear out .... 30k must be time to change them all cuz those engineers are just trying to screw u and make the wheels fall off

engine mounts?????

 

Not sure if serious or....

Sent from my Nexus 10 using NAMotoring

 

They're everywhere...

 

I don't change anything, I just buy a new car every 5000 miles so to me everything lasts forever. ;-)

 

I used to trade up whenever the ashtray got full. Now the cars don't have ashtrays so I'm not sure what to do.

 

The write up on Pelican was for a "S" model so I wasn't sure if it would be the same for a non-"S". They even show a filter and pan gasket. The service guy went back to ask about it and came back to tell me that Mini did not offer a "code" to do the job. But the service tech told him it would be at least $500 in labor only and that the transmission should never be opened because that is when the transmissions start having problems. I said "Thank you and have a nice day".

Sorry, ATF stands for Automatic Transmission Fluid.



Since you brought it up, I do change my wheel bearings every 100,000 miles or so.

I don't use the A/C that much and it has a slight leak so I basically get new gas every year.

The Sport Trac has 200,000 miles on it and I am in the process of replacing the bushings and ball joints. Don't forget the end links on the front and rear sway bars. I am even replacing the upper control arms and the body mounts! You know, all this stuff does wear out.

Doesn't everyone do this?

 

Darn you guys.


I had managed to sublimate the subject of Automatic Transmission fluid changes after I looked into how to do it about a year ago. I had decided to just wait till the next time I have the Motor and transmission out of the car and up on my workbench.


I have to do sit-ups for a week just to acquire sufficient flexibility to attack the job.


How hard is it to just take the motor and transmission out? Can my wife do it?

 

If you look up the ATF process on a 2010 VW Jetta it shows how to do the ATF on the MINI. They are the same transmission and use the same fill tool and process. My daughter has the VW so I'll be doing her's sometime this year. Good practice for the MINI when the time comes....

 

Did you simply drain and then fill through the drain hole?

 

how would any fluid stay in if you filled it in the drain hole?


there's two hole, an upper and a lower. fill through the upper when the lower is plugged.

 

Belay my last.

 

One of the first messages in this thread has a DIY link, but the website says the page isn't available. Does anyone have a DIY for the transmissions fluid flush?

 

On a manual transmission?

1. Remove fill plug
2. Remove drain plug
3. Replace drain plug
4. Fill trans fluid till fluid starts to run out of fill hole
5. Replace fill plug

The R53 Transmission is essentially the same so this Pelican Parts article is relevant to your interests... http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...Oil_Change.htm

 

SpennI, what type of transmission do you have? auto or manual?

 

my wife's auto justa hit 50,000 miles. I saw on another thread a recommendation to follow Bavarian Autosport's maintenance schedule, which states to change the auto fluid and filter every 50K miles. That seems early to me. What are your thoughts?

Bav Auto's schedule: http://www.bavauto.com/Assets/inst_pages/r56mc.pdf

 

I haven't done mine yet but at 80-85k miles I plan on that and walnut blast. I guess it kinda depends on how much you drive the car. Everyone will have a different opinion on that.

 

I definitely don't think its to early.. Most transmission shops say 35k. Ive done mine around the 30k mark. Heck even on my new mini I changed it at 12k or somewhere there abouts..lol.. Change it when you think you should. But don't prolong it to long though.. At least I wouldn't. Transmissions are one of the most over looked items on a car.. Usually the only time people do anything to them is when there is an issue.. But by that time in most cases it will need more then a simple fluid change.. good luck