Hi guys, I own a 2003 (90,125 miles) automatic mini. Unfortunately when I was driving yesterday I noticed that when I accelerated my car felt forceful and made a a huge sound, it felt powerless as if I was riding over a hill. I knew this day will come due to my mechanic spoting a leak on my tranny a couple of month ago. I returned to my mechanic and he was able to find the leak coming from some previous repaired done to the tranny from the previous owner, it looked like there was a crack that was "sautered" where the leak was discovered.

It was almost impossible searching for used 2003 mini tranny's. He quoted me flushing the tranny for about $300 labor included as a possible temporary solution. We talked other solutions but we didnt really come up with an answer.

My question is, is it possible to try to fix the leak by sealing it? Any one know of any shops that can do this type of work? or have had any similar problems with leakage. How were you able to solve your problem? I searched the forum, but I was unable to find the solution to most of the leaks

Knowing that it will cost me an arm and a leg, its either try to repair it, get a use transmission, or sell my mini

any advice/similar stories would be greatly appreciated

-cheers

 

Where exactly is the leak ?? where is the solder ? Is it on the case, or the pan?
You can get some separate parts for that transmission
Those transmissions will do weird things with the incorrect oil level in them. You may need to repair that crack again if you need a transmission.

 

Your best bet would probably be to try to find a replacement CVT. If the fluid leaked out there's a good chance that there is internal damage due to lack of lubrication. Once its fixed properly you can shoot for 200,000 miles!

 

thanks for the responses guys, just talked to my mechanic he said that the transmission case was cracked. He said there was a good chance the welding got done incorrectly. Any success/horror stories on case welding ? know of any good welder shops here in california (san jose, san francisco) area?
or know how much it would cost to have it welded?

Im doing the flushing on tuesday since it's lost some fluid and the transmission will be inspected a lot better, if its fix-able I'll be looking at some shops that can weld and hold off on the flushing til' after it's sealed

-cheers!

 

If have seen transmission cases impacted and welded with success. This, of course, all depends on the extent of damage to the case. Make sure the fluid level is correct after the flush