I'm sure this has been answered before, but I combed through a lot of posts and didn't find the answer, so I appologize in advance for the repost.

I have an 03/04 build date Cooper S. I want to improve the protection of the power steering fan. Mini Mania states that in 04 MINI improved the fan's shroud. Is that for all 04s or was it done mid model year?

I'm thinking about retrofitting the 05+ air duct and want to see if it is necessary with my model's current equpitment-- or if there is a better option available? Also, to retrofit the air duct, I need to also purchase the 05 underbody paneling correct?

RealOEM is a little confusing in terms of parts, everything says "for automatic transmission" Which parts do I need? I'm assuming #2 and #3 with all necessary clips and screws.



http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...66&hg=51&fg=75

 

Technically you need the new underbody panel, but I suppose you could just swiss cheese the OEM part. It says A/T only because for whatever reason only the A/T cars got the ducting.

 

Thanks. Do you know MINI's reasoning for not adding the ducting on manual cars? That seems odd, I can't imagine that manuals are any less prone to damage/overheating. The air duct does fit on cars with manual transmissions without need to retrofit anything, correct?