when are you supposed to change the fluid/filter for r56?

 

Sticker by the drain plug says "Lifetime" and think MINI recommends 100,000 miles.

Here is a story about one that was done early:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/coupe-talk-2007/101513-diy-r56-cooper-s-oil-change-with-pics-9.html

From that (and previous page), it looks like a major job.

 

arrgh! you beat me to the DIY oil change!!

 

Yeah, there's a sticker on the transmission underneath the car that says "Lifetime" also.

 

i dont feel comfortable waiting 100K miles to change the transmission fluid+filter

i'd definitely wanna change it before 50K miles

 

while i'm here,

when do you change the differential fluid, power steering fluid?

and when do you flush coolant?

 

Get redline brake fluid its some primo stuff. And its not a big deal to wait that long. The big deal is your clutch fluid aka brake fluid for the clutch. You should do that every so often.

 

old thread revival!

my r56 cooper has reached 42,000 miles today :D

I'm planning on changing my transmission fluid very soon (before 50,000 miles) with Redline

Seeing as how the transmission is the 2nd most expensive part on any car to fix/replace, I'm going on the safe side and ignoring the 'lifetime' recommendation. Like many others have said, it can't hurt to replace the transmission fluid & filter early, right??

@Porthos: are you saying that the brake fluid is the same as the clutch fluid?

I recently changed my brake fluid.

Anyone change their ' differential fluid ' ?

 

Yes the clutch fluid is the brake fluid. It shares the same reservoir.

For a manual tranny, change the fluid every 30k.

For autotragics you're on your own.

 

I did my transmission (auto) and power steering at 100k in my 3-series. Brake fluid every 30k. Power steering is a total cinch, so is the brake fluid. Transmission is not so easy in an auto as it holds way more fluid. Manual is only around 1L.

Also did coolant flush every 30k, also a total cinch.

I'd personally wait the 100k for transmission. It worked out fine in the BMW. Same thing basically. Just my 2 cents. I'd do the other fluids (brake and coolant) at 30k. Power steering in the R56 isn't a fluid I don't believe, all electric? Not 100% on that as I'm only at 1300 miles so haven't checked. Again, just my experience and thoughts.

 

The cooper takes MTF-LT-4 bmw fluid for the manual tranny.No redline product available as a replacement. Anyone know how much it takes?

 

You can use the Redline MTL as a replacement for the OEM fluid. I went through two bottles when I did mine.

www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=45&pcid=7

 

They have a conflict in there application guide as it says no replacement is available.

 

Maybe I should have said "instead of" vs "replacement". With the speed at which info on the Internet becomes outdated, it can be a challenge to figure out what will work and what won't in spite of the info on manufacturer web sites. Even MINI has outdated info in their OL. It definitely takes some time and research.

 

MTL works just fine.

 

I changed mine out at 35k miles... bought the car with 30k. I dont trust the lifetime transmission change interval. I used redline as well to. At first it made shifts a ton smoother but that didnt last very long. Now it feels like it did when I first got the car.

 

I am at 28,500 miles in my 2011 MCS auto and I am going to flush and refill the tranny with Castrol Transynd. I use it in my Alison tranny in my motorhome. It dropped the operating temp of the transmission oil from 200F to 175 F !!! Gotta be a good thing !!

 

I changed mine today, for the first time, at 66910 miles. The fluid was dark brown, just like the engine oil that I replaced last week. The engine oil was supposed to be good for another 7K miles.

The new Redline MTL 75W80 that I put in is clear pink and thick like gel. Used 2 quarts and a tad more from the third bottle to fill it to the point that it started dripping.

The cost to change it more frequently than the suggested 100K is low ($16 per quart). I also rented a lift for $30 an hour so I didn't have to buy my own tools or oil drain pan.

 

oil changes color from many things

dirt? Yes
but also heat

in today's cars your oil will brown up in a few weeks .. cuz the engine temps are HOT ... by design. Is browned oil bad ????? or did it just change color?

in my Mini I can run oil for over a year & it looks clean ... cuz it never got HOT ... but is it dirty?

Enquiring minds want to know . . .

 

There is more than one manual tranny fluid, look at the tag on the bottom or call your mini dealer and give them the last seven digits of your vin. It depends on what transmission you have. It's easier to have help filling your manual tranny. If it's an automatic "cvt" I believe there is only one type of fluid. There is not a fill plug from what I remember, you have to pump it in thru the drain plug with a special tool.

 

Haha I am very simple minded. To me, if it looks dirty and it has been 7K miles for the engine and almost 67K miles for the tranny, then it must be dirty. The change only took one hour each, including driving to and from the workshop for lift/tools. It will take me substantially more time to scrub the forums to get a definitive answer.

I did some good-faith research to the extent permitted by my short attention span. It appears that the gold standard for manual tranny fluid is MLT, so that's what I got. I read somewhere that Gen 2 uses 75W90, but will 75W80 kill my transmission? I don't think so, not more likely than dirty fluid.

Where's dinner? I'm hungry.

 

I have a 2013 MINI and come summer I am changing my ATF. By then I might have 3k on it. The ATF they use is garbage in my book. A friend of mine works at a MINI dealership and we always do it after hours. Quick and easy for me.. I just bring my own synthetic ATF brand I like to use and we change it out!

 

did the mt fluid on my '11 couple months ago at 30k miles. used redline MTL as the site states its a direct replacement. tranny feels good. used around 2qts, but i bought 3 just to be safe.

 

Just did ours with royal purple synchromax takes about 2 1/2 quarts now shifts smoothly!!! and also did oil change with 5w30 fully synthetic royal purple also added royal purple purple ice to the coolant reservoir vehicle runs smooth, cooler and never exceeds 220f*

 

Mini says lifetime on transmission oil, but there's no such thing because no matter how good the synthetic oil it still get metal shavings and does breakdown like any other oil. The timing chain components should say lifetime as well even though Mini claimed it would last the life of the engine! Change the transmission oil every 30,000 miles, not 100,00 miles.