I'm having the leaking axle seal replaced next week. So new fluid will have to go in.

I used Royal Purple tranny oil in my BMW and liked it a lot. Can I use Royal Purple or Redline in the MINI? If so, anyone know the specific weight oil I need?

The bimmer had a differential in the rear, so it got a different weight oil than the tranny did in the front. The combined unit of the MINI is obviously different.

The car is out of warranty so I don't have to keep MINI happy by using their OE stuff

 

I may have found my answer. Minimania.com sells Redline MTL 70W80 API GL-4 for use in the manual transmissions. Looks like that will work.

 

Just because Minimania sells it doesn't mean it's the right stuff. I had a friend that had his tranny eat the syncros after switching to synthetic tranny fluid. It wasn't a MINI, but was a BMW. The guy that rebuilt his tranny said that what he used was too slippery for the syncros to work properly.

You said in another posting that you had what you thought was a lot of metal on the drain plug. Sure you want to use something other than what's recommended by MINI?

Just a thought.

 

As long as what you are putting in conforms to the minimum engineering specification for the transmission oil, it should be okay to switch to a non-OEM oil like Redline. But make sure that whatever you are switching to does in fact conform to the OEM specification.

 

I use Neo (http://www.neosyntheticoil.com/) in my RX-7 and like it a lot. I have also tried Royal Purple but Neo shifts like butter once it is warmed up.

 

Redline MTL will work fine. RP may be OK but I have used Redline products for many years without any problems.

 

Ditto on the Red Line

 

Redline's MTL conforms, and just to be sure, I called Redline to make sure this was the right-stuff to be using with a LSD in the Mini. The answer was yes, and no addatives required.

Results: Not dramatic, but with the MTL, shifting is "silkier". Just a bit smoother and quicker shifting both down & up. Exactly the reason I put it into two prior (non-Mini) cars.

 

It's this kind of testimonial that makes me want to change my transmission fluid right now at 12K to RedLine MTL. I occasionally miss 3rd gear in hard driving.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for us. I was wondering about us folks with a LSD in our tranny's.

 

this wouldnt void any warrenties would it? Im specifically referring to extended warrenties.

 

I run a mix of 10-30 full synthetc motor oil and ATF in my car.

run that mix for about 2k miles the swap it out for MTL.

 

which do you think would work in a cvt.
thankyou for your response.

 

Probably neither. The CVT requires a special fluid that seems to be made by only Esso (Exxon). You could try sending an e-maiil to the manufacturer of Redline and Royal Purple and see if they respond with a recommendation for any of their products, but I wouldn't hold my breath (in anticipation of a response).

 

I'm running RP oil now and love it. I was thinking of RP tranny lube but the Redline stories look promissing.I know where the drain is but where is the fill hole. First tranny change on a mini. (06 justa)

 

I have been using Redline 10W30 in motor and Redline MTL in trans. In trans. not a night & day difference but it does shift smoother... especially when it is cold outside.

 

When I was having my control arm bushings replaced, one axle had to come out to get leverage on a seized bolt. Lost a bit of fluid.

Called up some supplier, and gave them the model# on the transmission, and 40 minutes later they sent us a bottle of Redline MTL, and the label said "for automatic transmissions."

Was confused, verified it with the supplier, checked it with some mechanic database. All matched up, didn't have any other option, so topped up the transmission with that stuff. Didn't notice anything better or worse. But my shifting is a little sloppy as of the past few months.

This was around May/June on my '05 Justa, 5 speed getrag.

 

MTL stands for Manual Transmission Lubricant. You'll be fine using the Redline MTL. Have it in my MCS for over 10K miles & love it.

 

I use it in my Mini and it has LSD as well. Redline makes top notch products and the MTL comes highly recommended. 'Might have gone with Amsoil, but they don't make a lube suitable for use with a limited slip diff.

I highly recommend you completely drain and refill your transmission. Manufacturers usually don't specify frequent enough fluid changes and with more frequent changes, you can keep your transmission new much longer. Meshing gears are really tough on lubricants.

And for those of you with CVT's, more frequent changes are even more critical to avoiding expensive transmission failures.