Hi all,

I have a friend that bought an 06 MINI base manual trans with what i was told is a 'blown motor'. Being a mechanically inclined person i offered him a hand in getting it going...
I haven't had a chance to go look at it just yet to know %100 what's wrong with it though.

After a few days of reading, MINI specific you tube videos, and whatnot I'm pretty sure that the fastest and cheapest option will be to get a low KM motor from a wreckers and just do a straight swap. But before i tell him to head that route i just want confirmation from those who know what year R50's will work with an 06? is it a straight swap across all years of gen 1? When i search the wreckers database i get from 02-06, are there any little gotchas between years?

A few years ago i did a motor swap on another car and while the engines were mechanically the same, the intake manifolds changed after a certain year, MAP sensor was in a different place (extend wire harness), and a few other things. I just want to try and cover my bases ahead of time.

With everything I've searched over the last couple days, this site is usually at the top of the google results which is why i finally caved and joined, you all seem to know your MINI's .

Thanks

 

2002 to early 2004 should be a straight swap.
Mid to late 2004 to 2006 should be a straight swap.

Sometime in mid 2004 the transmissions changed from Midlands to Getrag. Not sure of the month of the change. My understanding is that shift cables, reverse light switch and axels all are different. I think that the starter motor moved to a different location but not sure on that one.

Best thing to do is get a motor from as close to the same model year and build month as you can get (yes I know that will be very hard to do). If you have 2006 get a 2006. Should give you the least amount of problems.

 

Does the donor engine year matter if I'm keeping the original transmission and Axel's? If there's a difference in the crank mating to the flywheel then I see the concern but I'm just strictly looking at the engine.

Wreckers can be a crap shoot so if I have to stick to 06 that limits the potential donors.

 

I would stick with either 05 or 06 years

should have no problem

 

Check out realoem.com to compare parts diagrams from different years to see what changed.

For the engine itself, as far as I know, you should be fine swapping with any 02-06 base cooper engine. As the others mentioned, the transmission and many other things changed in mid-2004, but the engine is still the same.

 

Thanks everyone. A local wrecker has a few low mileage 05's and 06's so i'll stick with that to avoid any headaches.

Cheers