I also noticed a tapping sound when idling....more to tell MINI of Nashville

 

One thing that hasn't been talked about very much is shifting technique.

One thing I know from a life-time of manual shift trannys is you need to work the shifter at the correct speed with the right force. Too fast or hard and the syncros can't do their job of matching gear speeds. Too slow and the engine driven gear slows down too much. Either will cause the syncros to work harder and makes grinding more likely.

All a syncro does is help match up input shaft speed with output shaft speed. If you shift at the right speeds without jamming the shift lever, the syncros will do their job and all grinding in any tranny can be avoided.

The ultimate version of this was an old fuel truck I used to drive, I got to where I could change gears without using the clutch. I memorized the RPM where each gear would mesh at a given speed. I'd reach that engine speed, pull the tranny into neutral, wait for the engine to reach the correct low RPM mesh speed and shift into the higher gear. Do it right, and it was the fastest way to shift, do it wrong and it ruined the tranny.

 

I practiced the same way on an old Ford Transit in the early 80's, in a pinch I think I could still do it with a little practice!!! What was even more fun was shifting down without the clutch!!!
Mine doesn't grind when I shift, but I won't force the gear until it's ready to go in even when using the clutch. (I have not tried shifting without the clutch on Hilla and don't intend to at this time) I have found that the 1st and 2nd gears have a bit more resistance than 3rd and up. Is this common on this type of transmission?

 

Every manual I've used, Mini or otherwise, has had more resistance in the lower gears than the higher ones.

You bet, speed-shifting down was a real challange!

 

That's what I thought, but since my last reference point is a 1971 SAAB Sonett III, which I drove fairly often without using the clutch in the non free wheel mode, I wasn't quite sure how modern standard transmissions felt!!
I think your point on the technique is correct too, it may be a good idea to practice shifting technique to improve the performance of the transmission. My wife commented that I don't do quite as good a job shifting as her uncle - her uncle learned to drive in the 1930's and was taxi driver in Finland his whole life. I told her he was a much better driver with a great deal more practice!!!

 

Sorry but... after I got the tranny replaced I'm able to shift as fast as I humanly can, hot or cold without any grinding at all; Shes perfect. The original tranny had a problem that I would not and could not live with.

 

Great that your problem was fixed!!! Sometimes it is the hardware, and not the software behind it!! Which transmission do you have?

 

2008 MCS 6 speed manual without LSD

 

Hey guys, I have a 2008 MCS early build (week 2). I noticed that if I park my car outside and it is fairly cold, when I drive it, the first couple of shifts from 1st to 2nd make a grinding/not right noise. Goes away very quickly. What are the chances that it continues to happen even after a transmission replacement? I've got about 6K on the car.

 

Has this happened for a long time, since you received the MINI or just now? Is it a grinding sound, crunching or clunking sound? I guess what I am wondering if it's actually the gears grinding or something else? Sound would be nice, but probably too hard to produce.

 

Last winter it may have happened once or twice, but the car was brand new and I thought I had maybe made a mistake. Now I see that it is cold weather related. The sound is grind sound, not a clunk or crunch. It's basically what the other folks have posted in this thread.

 

You should lobby to get your tranny replaced since you have the same problem I had. The replacement tranny is night and day better hot and cold. I can literally shift in like a quarter second now without any noise at all.

Also, and if you want to put in the extra $, its time to ask for a tranny with LSD. Im sorry I didnt.

 

thanks for the advice unclemeat. I'm a bit hesitant about them replacing my tranny because i'm not that bothered by the 1-2 cold grind. It only happens when the car has been sitting out in cold weather and that too it is only the first 2 maybe 3 shifts. Also, it's always from 1-2 and never any other gear combo. I already have LSD. I'm just hesitant on having the entire tranny replaced w/o having some soft of future issue. But i'm going to the dealer tomorrow so I'll let u know what they say.

 

Also realize that the transmission fluid is still cold, so isn't very viscous (not that transmission fluid is all that viscous when warm, but worse so when cold). Let it warm up and take it easy.

 

Good point! The majority of grinds for me were when the car was cold although I experienced when warm also. In any case the issue went away after the trans was swapped out. With the new trans, the shifting was much smoother than before. Before it seemed like you were trying to force the shift at times.

Your MINI sounds sweet. Tell me, in your opinion does the LSD make that much of a difference in the driving experience? I'm considering trading my MC in for an MCS. Appreciate your insight.

 

Actually, cold oil is more viscous (thick) than warm oil. Viscosity is the measure of a fluid's resistance to flow, and all fluids flow faster when warm. Also, manual transmission oils are traditionally thicker than engine oils; the increased thickness does a better job at handling the high pressures generated between the gears.

I don't have any direct experience with Mini trannys, but VW Bug trannys would grind when cold when shifting into 2nd because of worn syncros. The problem would tend to fix itself when the engine was warm because of the difference in internal clearances with temperature, as well as an increase in oil flow. There might be a wear issue, maybe something with how the syncros work with hot oil, no telling without more information.

 

So I took it to the dealer and they let it sit out overnight and couldn't reproduce the issue. They let it sit out all day and also couldn't reproduce it. It was fairly cold those days too. Since I got it back, I haven't been able to get it to grind either. I'll have to wait till Jan or Feb when it's really cold out to see if it happens more consistently then.

 

Dammit, I always get it backwards, but you get the idea.

The LSD is nice. Having not driven a non-LSD MCS hard, I can't tell you if it makes much of a difference or not, but at only $500, I considered it a no-brainer for the car. Car torque steers with or without one.

 

There was an earlier tread where I posted in about a similar problem with my car. It's an 07 MC. I brought it in at 1200 km and 8000 km overnight but they could not replicate the problem. How hard did you have to push them to fix the problem. I'm worried about it. Since other members report that their problems have gone with a new transmission. I'm at 11,000 km now. This is my only issue with the car.

 

I have this very same issue on my 07 MC. I've gone through all the different shifting scenarios etc and still, when cold, it grinds when shifting from 1st to 2nd.

I finally took it into the dealer and of course could not reproduce the grind becuase the tranny was already warm by the time I arrived. So the tech tries to tell me that he thinks it's probably just a "glazed" clutch or pressure plate, but how does a clutch disc or pressure plate cause a grind? Then he goes on to say that I have to give them approval to tear into it and that if they find that it is the cluch disc it will not be warrantable and thus I will have to pay for all labor and parts. I would have to say this makes sense to a point, but I still do not believe that @ 30K miles that my cluch disc is "glazed" or worn out and thus causing a grind if that is even possible. Luckily they are doing the brakes and taking a few dents out today so it should be sitting most of the day and we will take it for another test drive this evening. If again, we do not reproduce the grind I plan on leaving it overnight and we'll try again in the morning. I'll comment back once I have more news on my problem.

On a good note they game me an automatic MCS, but I have to ask how all the automatic people deal with a tranny that lags like it does. It seems like it doesn't know what gear it wants to start in and at times what gear it should be in while driving down the road. Would have to say that the manual is the way to go even if I have the grinding problem.

 

I left the car overnight as other have posted but I came back in the morning and drove the car with the tech. Since it was intermittent, it didn't do it for the tech. But I insisted on driving it and was able to reproduce it. Once the tech heard it there wasn't much of a choice but for them to pursue it. I also brought in a similar NAM thread that cited other dealers fixing the same problem so they couldn't say that it was an unknown issue. Good luck.

 

I brought my 08 MCS to Prestige Mini, NJ last week and they determined that the grinding was coming from the clutch - which they then replaced. Seems like it has actually gotten worse since then. As some others noted, if I pause in Neutral 1->N->2, then I don't get the grind. But still this sucks and I'm scheduled to go back next week. Gonna give them the puma #.

 

Well the Dealership could not duplicate the issue and now it's warm here in Houston again. I have lesss than 3K until the warranty expires so with spring coming I'm doubting I will ever get this fixed. Therefore, I contacted MINIUSA and here is their reply:

So I've sent a reply to try and get some additional help.

 

I'm curious - how many people have had this occur on other (non Mini) cars? I recall having this issue on my 94' Eagle Talon TSI and a google search yields other makes and models ... Just a bit nervous about having my whole tranny replaced if that is indeed the only solution.

 

It actually happened on my 350Z when shifting from 2nd to 3rd @ redline. I admit that this might have been extending the tranny to its limits, but this is not the case for the issue I'm having with my MINI.