Today I was looking at a 2006 MCS Getrag 6 speed still in a wreck and am not sure if its good. Can't ask the owner, its at a pick n pull. What has me wondering is that when I put a socket on the axle nut and turn the axle it rotates with little resistance, regardless of which gear its in. I would have thought that the engine would turn, with some resistance instead of the free wheeling nature of what I observed. I tried both front axles with the same result. Does this indicate a broken differential and is it worth the salvage yard price plus my time to remove it and rebuild?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

You failed to clearly mention if the other axle turns opposite direction, which is the most pertinent point. You probably not quite ready for the job.

 

Excuse me? Even though I'm new to this forum I'm not new to working on cars. I've been doing this as a hobby for 45 years and know my way around most of them. However, I haven't worked on Minis, but have rebuilt several other front wheel drive cars in the past. I asked a simple question about a transaxle issue I haven't seen with other front wheel drive cars. I guess maybe I asked it on the wrong forum.

 

I know, mean people sucks. Seriously you are so offended that I pointed out the most important question, and you seek help. I help countless members here and I am seldom wrong. Good luck with your venture if you can't learn new tricks. Mini diff is no different form 99.99% of cars out there. And Mini does not have a transaxle. Transverse mounted engine it is but makes no difference in the diff, limited slip or not.

 

Well, I beg to differ on the transaxle thing. Here's what an SAE certified mechanic and technical writer wrote in an article on CARiD. https://www.carid.com/articles/trans...nsmission.html. There are other sources as well that define the differences.

Does anyone else want to weigh in on the Getrag question? To answer the previous question, no the other axle did not rotate when the other was turned.

 

I think the problem here is your question is both too vague and too obvious. There is nothing special about this transmission compared with the vast majority of manual transmissions. It doesn't matter if it has the LSD or not.

If:
- the transmission is actually in gear (which may not be the case just because you tried to select one with the stick if there's an issue with the linkage) and...
- the clutch is engaged to the engine (which may not be the case if it's fried, or the crank is snapped, etc.) and...
- the opposite side output shaft is prevented from turning (which may not be the case just because the wheel is not moving if e.g. the shaft is broken or disconnected)...
then turning one output shaft should be trying to turn the engine over, and should therefore be difficult to do.

 

I'm not sure what happened to my last post, so I apologize if its here and I'm not seeing it. But what I said is that today when I pulled the Getrag I discovered what you see in the photo. The hole wasn't evident until a few parts were removed, but ominous looking metal pieces lodged in the power steering fan suggested problems.



The passenger side output shaft inboard cv joint was also toast and no longer connected to the intermediate shaft. It fell apart upon removal.