I lost my 5th gear while driving on the highway yesterday, all of a sudden the rpm shot up and 5th is like neutral. Had to drop the speed and limped home in 4th. All the other gears seen to be fine. I'm gonna have to find a tranny shop to look at the problem. Has anyone else experienced the same problem? What could it be? Bad linkage cable? I hope it doesn't need a new tranny or a rebuilt.

 

Does not sound good. good luck with the 6 speed upgrade

 

Another Midlands bites the dust.

 

Did it pop out of gear or just not function?
If it popped out of gear that is a bad sign. Likely the tranny is going.

 

It didn't pop out of gear. It just stopped functioning while the vehicle was moving (ie. 5th gear behaved like neutual, if you get what I'm trying to say)

 

I am not an expert in MC trans but have had a lots of cars and here are things to check-- (have the tranny looked at by a good indy shop before going to MINI; many will give a free look or charge a nominal fee).

Low gear oil--if the oil is below level a transmission will act as if it is in neutral--this also happens in 4wd transfer cases.

Linkage--loose linkage could allow the tranny to slip into neutral--try to push/move the shifter and see if you get a noise or contact

Bad synchro rings or one of the clips in the transmission.

Good luck

 

Very bad.
You need to get your car to a tranny shop ASAP. If 5th is spinning free there is no telling what damage has been done and will continue to happen. On the other hand my guess is you will be buying a new transmission either way.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'll take it to an independent shop for an assessment, but I fear a new transmission is probably what it needs. Sigh....

 

Just in case you dont know,the tranny you have is a Midlands and have a history of failures,it makes no sense to replace it with another time bomb.The Cooper S getrag 6 speed can be installed,more money but your problem is then solved.1320 autos are the people you need to speak to.Good luck

 

Christ! More problems with that Midlands. You're definitely going to need a new tranny. I can tell you from experience with my 03 MC that a new one is the "cheapest" route to go. It's gonna run you about $4500-$5k (maybe more for a 6-speed Getrag). It was enough $$$ for me to warrant the MCS. Depending on how many miles you have, I have might even suggest trading it in.

 

On the other hand, if you want to save money, you can get a 5-speed Getrag transmission which is the same gearbox that was fitted in the 2005-2006 R50 Cooper hardtop and 2005-2008 R52 Cooper Convertible.

Don't think that you have to go down the route of the 6-speed Getrag gearbox if in need of replacing.

 

Thanks for all the feedbacks guys. MINI is going to an indy transmission shop for an assessment tomorrow. This shop is highly recommended by local car groups, let's see what they find out. I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

 

Got a call back from transmission shop.

Verdict:
"melted 5th gear" as the shop calls it. Likely caused by low fluid.

Solution:
Install new transmission. Total bill $4,700.

 

I had to rebuild mine 2004 Cooper... When I logged my car into Identifix, it is a common problem with Coopers.

Family owns a shop, so just the cost of parts.. still spent $1000 on parts for it, did a clutch while we were there, and the P/S fan was seized too.