I purchased my 2004 MCS MC40 in April of 2005. I learned how to drive stick on her and she now has 27000 miles.

Should I get a Trans. Fluid Change at my next oil change?

I have no reason to expect a need for a fluid change.

And the only issue I am presenting to the dealer at my next oil change is a slight lag/shudder once in a while when starting from a stop (doubt this is a trans fluid issue).

What does everyone think........also does anyone know approx cost of trans fluid change?

 

It won't hurt a thing to change your trans oil. In fact it's probably not a bad idea. As for how much they will soak you for it, no idea. Why not change it yourself. It's a pretty straight forward job.

 

Probably best to change it yourself and put in Redline MTL. It is unlikely the dealer will put in anything but MINI fluid.
You can get MTL directly from MyOilShop.com for a very good price and putting the fluid is an easy DIY. About $20 and better results if you are willing/able to do it yourself.

 

ok so if I was to do this myself....how many quarts am I buying from MyOilShop.com?

AKA - How much fits in the trans?

Thanks for the help guys......

 

I was going to tell you to look in your owners manual, but heck it's not there. I'll go in the shop & check the Bentley, manual not the car.

EDIT>>> OK here' what Mr Bentley says.... Refill with with 2.1 Quarts of Long life transmission oil MTF 94
Torque for the drain & fill plugs is 32 ft lb.

I don't know what the oil spec means. You may want to check & see if the Red Line MTL is compatible. You most likely will find a grey sludge
on the drain plug. It's magnetic & will be holding some crap. Not to worry, just clean it up before you screw it back in.

TIP>>> Take the fill plug out first. If it doesn't come out, don't pull the drain plug.

 

It takes around 1.75 liters (page 026-26 in the Bentley Service Manual) for the MCS gearbox so that’s a little less than 2 quarts. Get some Rhino ramps (good for other maintenance as well) and it takes an 8mm allen wrench for the fill and drain plugs. I recommend an allen socket, ratchet/breaker bar, and torque wrench. A photo and torque values are also shown on 230-4 in the Bentley Service Manual.

There are siphon pumps and all kinds of gadgets available but the easiest & cheapest is a length of ½ inch OD, 3/8 inch ID tube routed through the top of the engine bay and a funnel. The stock fluid is good stuff and so is RL MTL (close but not exact match), be sure the spec is close to 75W85 GL-4 and good for synchros (not straight gear oil).

Fluid change intervals depend on use, and oil analysis should help with that determination; you can’t go wrong with 20,000 mile changes on average. Manual transmission fluid is subject to tremendous shear forces so it is doubtful any transmission fluid’s viscosity will remain unaltered for 50,000 miles and certainly not 100,000 miles plus. There is a magnet in the gear box (my drain plug is not magnetic) which will collect metal shavings; take a look at this magnet (it’s a little larger than the size of a half dollar coin) after 70,000 miles and two fluid changes. Those ribs/spokes are rows of shavings so I will be upping the viscosity to 75W90 for this interval if the fluid analysis concurs on that decision. BTW, the sychros were in good condition before anyone jumps to conclusions.

 

And does anyone know the cost of this change at the dealer? I guess I will just be asking when I go...but just so I have an idea?

 

I paid $116, including $69.30 for labor, to have the CVT transmission changed at New Country Mini in Hartford, CT. That process is decidedly more complicated than for a manual tranny, so I would expect it would cost less than that.

 

If you have ramps or willing to jack it up, the manual xmission lube change is super simple... no reason to pay someone unless you fear you'll break a fingernail or something.

YD

 

Right now it is cold...and I have two $100,000.00 jaguars in my way in the garage. Doubt dad is going to let me back those out to get rain and snowed on all so I can change my tranny fluid.

thanks for the help everyone

 

How do you get that magnet out?

 

I just replaced my manual tranny oil with Amsoils replacement for the Texaco stock fluid, and it's SAE 5W-30 weight, you sure it should be 75W85? My MINI shifts smoother than ever and seems great with the Amsoil fluid.

 

This is how I accessed the magnet.


Yes, I'm sure of the viscosity. OOPS 75W80


A how-to http://www.lonestarminiclub.com/foru...read.php?t=474

 

There is a reason MINI GL-4 fluid. Is your Amsoil GL-4? If not I'd consider changing to the correct one.

 

It is pretty easy. I did my trans oil on my 02 MC with nearly 100k. My only problem was being able to get the car high enogh off the ground to reach the fill plug. (no problem reaching the drain plug). In the end I lowered the car back down, removed the air box, removed the battery and the tray (MC batterey under hood) to access the fill plug, and the jacked the car back up and drained the gear box.

My drain plug had a small magnet on the end with a few metal shavings, almost paste like, which is normal.

Closed up the drain, lowered the car, and filled with just over 2 quarts of Red Line MTL (I seem to recall that the MC 5 speed box holds tiny bit more oil than the MCS 6 speed?).

Put it all back together, and went for a drive. Best $30.00 I ever spent on a transmission!

Motor happy!

 

After reading this thread, now I want to change the transmission fluid of my 03 MCS (73K). I haven't done it before, so it'll be the first drain & fill.

I asked around two shops. One would do it for $75 using Redline MT90 Synth (75w90). The other one would be $156 using LP2 (that's the MINI stuff I guess).

What would you do? Go with Redline or the MINI stuff? If Redline, would you go with MT90 (75w90) or MTL (70w80)?

Please note that I dont track the car. It is my daily driver, but I take every opportunity to have "fun"

 

Oh my. Ok, thanks. I think I will leave the magnet where it is.

 

OMG. Just for the heck of it, I called one of the closest dealers for a transmission drain & fill price. $580!!! The service adviser told me that it takes 12L and it is $40 each. I even told him that it should not be more than 2 L, but he "insisted" that it was 12! I guess the 1.75L stated in the Bentley Manual is for a miniature MINI
Gotto love the depth of knowledge MINI service advisers have (not all of them, but the majority).

 

OK... I want to ask another question. The MINI MTF is only sold in 20L bottles and I can have that from a dealer for $275 (wholesale price). The problem is that is a LOT of tranny fluid! The car has now 73K miles and if it only takes 1.75L per drain&fill, I dont think I will be able to finish it before the car expires

Is there any other option to get the MINI MTF?

Thanks!

 

Share a bottle with 11 of your closest MINI friends.

I think I'll change my fuild to RL MLT, last change was at about 10k under warrenty whilst trying to diagnose shifting probplems. Its ok now at 37k.

 

I went to the dealer the other day, and they poured off 2 liters for me, for about $36. I got the same explanation - the trans fluid comes in large containers, not individual liter bottles. Your dealer should be able to do the same. The only odd thing is that they labelled the bottles "274 oil", which doesn't match the name in the picture that k-huevo posted.

 

I think that "274 oil", has something to with a Landrover PN# The oil in our Minis is the same as the stuff they put in the late 90s to now stick shift Disco that was not offered to the US.

 

That's what we did a few weeks ago - ordered a case of Red Line and split it with friends and had a "transmission fluid changing party" at the house. I have a lift, which makes things a little easier... I tried a couple of different filling methods (have a giant syringe-type filler from Griot's - works like CA CA - don't buy it! ) and determined that the hose/funnel from the top was the easiest way. Changed the fluid in 4 cars, IIRC.

On some cars, the old fluid looked pretty good. Still amber colored at 60K miles. For others, it was obvious it needed changing when it nearly came out in clumps...

 

Oh wait... I had my clutch replaced at 52K (now the car has 73K). Does that job include new transaxle oil? I checked the invoice, but it is all very cryptic. If so, I dont have deal with this for a while

 

Most likely not. If some oil came out once the axles were removed it would have been topped off not necessarily changed.