Does anyone know what oil to put in the manual trans for the r56 MCS. Mine is a 07. Mini says the oil is life time but i dont buy that and i am having a difficult time finding a oil that meets the bmw spec. also how often should i change it?

 

It is lifetime. Once your transmission fails, you have reached the end of the lifetime use of the oil.

I used the BMW oil. Many use redline. There are others as well. Royal purple comes to mind.

 

^^^ hahahahaha, thanks for info! yeah i have heard redline too i just wanted to make sure it wouldn't damage anything since it doesnt officially meet the bmw specs. how often should i change it?im at 52000 miles right now.

 

Yea, I think RL has one for the Gen1 specs, however my local indy shop uses it on the Gen 2. Don't know if they should.

I had a seal start leaking at 100k on the output shaft. Had the dealer replace the seal and do a drain/refill instead of a topoff.

There are others here that I think know more than I.

 

How often? As often as a failure occurs. As previously stated, the lifetime of the oil is determined by when it NEEDS to be replaced. If the transmission needs a new seal or internal work, you replace the fluid.

 

If you have the optional LSD, I would not sway away from OEM MTF-94.

 

I haven't got the optional LSD but in my opinion, as a non-synth 75W/80 mineral oil, MTF-94 is not a lifetime fluid.

I changed mine at 5000mls in my 2012 R56 N18 manual MCS ('cos I already had some MTF-94 on the shelf) and it came out surprisingly contaminated. I'm glad I did it; the gear change lost its 'notchiness' and felt really smooth straight away, even from 'cold'.

Again IMO, it's a cheap, easy, preventative maintenance and I intend to change it (at most) twice-yearly.

My original MTF-94 came from a Land Rover/Bentley dealer and I used 2 litres of Carplan MTF-94 with my latest change. It's recognisable by a unique smell whatever the packaging and it's found in other manual gearbox applications, so it seems universal and unspecific to MINIs.

I personally don't think manual gear oils are the 'mysterious black art' that some would have us believe. They're made for manual gearboxes not manufacturers, aren't they? And are the Getrag gear internals unique to MINI? Or even to Gen1/Gen2? I don't see why they should be...

I might expect auto 'boxes to be more fluid-specific due to the different designs available, though.

 

Sorry, but the manual transmission fluid is not fluid for life despite what your Mini dealer says. Point of reference: these are the same wizards that advocate 15,000 oil changes. Do you also believe that your engine (your turbo engine) only requires 15,000 mile oil changes? CRAPOLA!!!

Use BMW's OEM fluid.

I've called Redline Oil (their products don't meet BMW's specs), and I also called Amsoil (they said they have a product that meets OEM specs). I haven't called anyone else.

 

Ive used Amsoil.. They seem to have real good products..

 

I've got to go with cjm on this one as far as what fluid to use. You prove to me, with facts and proof, that the materials and function inside the getrag the MCS uses are different from others and require a special oil to function right, and I'll buy it. But you wont be able to do that. "Manufacturer only" fluid requirements are usually total garbage.

 

Injected:

Please recommend an aftermarket replacement for the LT-4. Be specific.

 

I used Redline MTL.

 

Howabout anything that any other Getrag runs perfectly on? I even used GM Syncromesh in my old MR2. I just don't get "It must be LT-4" in a manual trans that functions as any other.

 

+1 for Redline MTL.

I've used it for over 15 years in all by bimmers and now the MINI.

YMMV,
a

 

So it seems like redline mtl is a good choice then. I think they say it does not meet the spec for the r56 mini because it is not a lifetime fluid. from what i have gathered it still works great in the manuals, you just have to change it rather then let it go for ever.

 

No kidding.
Lifetime == end of warranty.
Outside of warranty: tranny dies, oil's lifetime is over.

It's up to you if you want to keep changing transmission oil, or transmission itself + oil.

In the old days, you changed tranny oil every Service 2, at 50-60K miles.
Once BMW/MINI started paying for in-warranty service, that requirement went out the window, and in came "lifetime" fluids.

a

 

Just a couple of points to inform the issue:

MTF-94 doesn't claim to be a 'lifetime fluid' on any cartons I've seen, so why should it attain that status when poured into a MINI? Even if it retains it's lubricating efficiency (it doesn't claim to be synthetic, either) it still suspends increasing amounts of metal debris. Shouldn't this debris be purged, once at least or more often?

IMO regular fluid changes should always enhance the life of a car.

I think afadeev's hit the nail on the head...

 

+1

 

MTF here.

 

MTF is that the redline or a different brand?

 

Maybe MINI doesn't expect the transmission to last more than 60K miles?

I had a local shop change mine out (they gave me a deal since they were doing other stuff) around the 60K mark. It did not shift right, so I had them do it again. Better, but still weird feeling. I ended up doing it myself, using the MINI fluid. Everything was better. So, it can be a little sensitive to oil brand. I suspect Redline would be fine, and my mechanic was using whatever cheap crap they had on hand. The MINI fluid wasn't cheap, but then, it worked, so was worth it to me at the time.

 

MTF is Amsoil.

 

You've had a good experience with this oil then? feels good?

 

how much did you pay for the mini oil. i called my local mini dealer and they wanted to charge me 50$ a quart for it and it takes 2 quarts!

 

I personally like to use the Amsoil syncromesh transmission oil....Stuff works great...last a long ..It geared to use for tranny like the ones in mini cooper..You can go on the amsoil site and read more details on it as well...