Just bought a 2003 Mini R50 with the Midland 5 speed last week with 146k miles on it. With the car in neutral and the clutch pedal out, the transmission makes a rattling/tapping noise that goes away when pressing in the clutch pedal. In gear when driving, the transmission makes a scraping/growling sound that gets louder when you let off the throttle and coast/decelerate. You hear the noise while accelerating under load as well, but it seems to be a bit quieter the higher the rpm’s get. The noise is quietest while cruising in 5th gear but still present. My wife’s uncle, who we bought the car from and has several 1st gen Mini’s, says it’s normal and that these cars are noisy but I highly doubt that. It sounds to me like a bad input shaft bearing from the research I’ve done. The transmission shifts just fine but is quite louder than the engine.

 

While i know nothing of the midland 5 spd, the Getrag 6spd throw out bearing sounds like your clutch is about to explode even when brand new. Have tried multiple clutches, dual mass flywheel, single mass flywheel... Problem always returns almost instantly. Apparently the throw out bearings are famous for making a ticking noise while in neutral, once the clutch is depressed the sound goes away instantly.

I am concerned over the noises you hear while driving, that is not normal by any means. Even with the Getrag you cant hear its awful ticking bearing while driving.
I had a subaru 5mt transmission that made noises similar to what you describe, the main shaft bearings in the transmission were gone. Upon removal you could move the entire transmission shaft an inch in any direction.... close to disaster.

Best of luck

 

That’s an interesting phenomenon with your Getrag throwout bearing!
Yeah I’m positive that the noise isn’t normal in my Midland. I’m pretty sure that it is the input shaft bearing that’s making noise. My only option for now is to check the input shaft when the transmission is exposed whenever I change the clutch next and go from there. It shifts perfectly fine and all, just noisy. It’s my main car for now so I don’t have the time and skills to pull the whole gearbox and disassemble it right now unfortunately. I am looking at buying a second Mini in the near future as a second daily driver

 

Phenomenon alright, beyond common though if you google a bit. You could be hearing a bit of something similar.
It may be worth draining the fluid and at least inspecting the drain plug for debris as it should be magnetic. Some fresh fluid may also bring some life back into it.

Best of luck, wish there was an easy solution for you!

 

It would be nice if it was something easy and simple, though it is still fairly involved just to change out the clutch and throw out bearing haha. Yeah I forgot to mention that I’m going to check the trans fluid soon, and see if the previous owner refilled it to the proper level. Hopefully he used the correct type of fluid as well. I should probably just drain and change out the fluid to be safe and eliminate that as a possibility.
I also want to convert to a single mass flywheel and Stage 1 clutch whenever the clutch needs replacing

 

It could be something easy, but the odds are definitely stacked against you unfortunately. There is a few old posts i dug into, seems to be a bearing issue most commonly when scraping/grinding noises occur.

One here of a guy describing your issues and his transmission rebuild https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post3768057

Definitely check that fluid, if the drain plug comes out looking like a mushroom your in trouble. If the drain plug looks rather clear of shavings, you my friend likely have a golden ticket to a simpler clutch issue. I hope for your sake it's the clutch!

 

I have the same feeling 😬 Thanks for that thread link, that sounds a lot like my gearbox’s symptoms. Next I need to find that pdf on the teardown and reassembly of the transmission. I’ll try to do a fluid check soon (hopefully this weekend) and see what we get. I’ve read that when you take out that top bolt, you should feel inside the hole with your finger and see if you touch fluid. If your finger comes out dry, then the fluid is low I believe

 

Yes, I believe the Midlands is the same as the 5 speed Getrag. Fill until fluid comes out of the fill plug.

Also, the R50 doesn’t have a dual mass flywheel. No need to convert it. And I’m curious - why do you think you need a stage 1 clutch? The R50 was lucky to make triple digit hp at the wheels when it was brand spanking new.

 

I was in your shoes 2 years ago: bought a Mini with a noisy Midlands gearbox. My father-in-law quickly diagnosed some bearing in the gearbox was bad, but the symptoms weren't quite the same: for me there was no noise with clutch in. Noise would scale both with speed and with load (no load on the engine would have little to no noise, especially when you matched RPM to vehicle speed rather than let the gas totally out, but floor it and it sounded like a racecar).

Since I didn't have the time and expertise to do a gearbox rebuild while it was out, I instead opted to buy a presumably good used Midlands gearbox with 2/3 of the mileage and just swap it. I got lucky and it was indeed a good gearbox (there is just one very small abnormal noise, but I didn't expect a perfect gearbox, it still has plenty of life left in it). I really advise you choose this route if you rule out clutch/throw-out bearing issues. It's a lot less stressful.
Used Midlands gearbox might be hard to find because of their unreliability though. Keep your eyes peeled for one. I lucked out and found one for 500€ at a 1 hour drive.

As for the gearbox oil, it's simple, the Rover (the gearbox manufacturer) rebuild manual advise for 75w80, so that's what I advise: https://www.motoringalliance.com/pdf..._%20Manual.pdf
Servicing it is super easy, on the driver side located the drain and fill plug. Crack the fill plug, open the drain plug, empty it, close the drain plug, refill until it spills. Ideally with the car leveled, but if only the front is leveled it's good enough. Torque both plugs to 35Nm and you're done.

Edit: also yes when removing the fill plug the first time, ideally a tiny amount of liquid should drip. If it does you're golden. If not, put your finger in, and yes if it's dry, it was underfilled. You can also see it if you look closely.

 

This is a copy of the Midlands manual that I edited to remove some of the parts not used in our transaxles.

The things highlighted in yellow on pages 5 and 6 weren’t present on my daughter’s 2004 R50.