1st Gen R53 Cooper S HELP!! I lost 6th Gear

just today i went to go into 6th and it would not go in i let out the clutch and it just loosely grinds. like its jut kicking the gear it wont catch. all day it was fine. don know whats up... 5th gear will be sketchy some times; sometimes i have to try twice to get it to catch. but it goes in with no fuss. other than that the 5th 6th gear plane feels weird going into like pushing the lever right has been limited or something.

also lately the gear shifts have been weird like its really clicky no noise or and extra force needed just going in and out of each gear it like it has a biger notch it has to jump over or something.

anyway i am really hoping its just the cables and that they can be adjusted. i really really hope this is true, because i do not want to drop the tranny.

any ideas?

 

ok, i will check the post though. but worn/ broken cables was my first guess and what the book recommends to check too. but i really hope its nothing internal.

also on another forum while searching for this problem someone said there is a mod that can be done to the levers? any idea what this is. the thread was 3 years old so i didnt bother ask.

 

2002 R53 135k miles, yea i have a helix short shifter i have and have been waiting to put it on when i do the exhaust because i did want to do this procedure multiple times.


no i dont have a problem with the cold. but i am changing the oil while im at it just got two bottles of redline and im gonna change it on sunday when i poke around to see whats up. will check that post though and how the cables are holding up

 

yea i saw those pics i will check them out. i wont have time to till sunday. worked all day today and i have a 12hr work day tomorrow.

the mini is not my only car i have fun with, i have a rx7 too

yup, new that all ready thats why i was gonna wait till when i got an exhaust to do it hahaha

 

so poke around a little today. cables and posts are fine. its 100% internal....

very likely its the 6th gear syncro or a retaining clip jumped out of its groove and now the gear just floats around the shaft.


also changed the oil shifting is heck of a lot nicer now.

 

oh also would like to add that i can put it in 6th from a dead stop and get it rolling and cant get it in gear when the car is in motion so its a synco most likely but why 6th it dosent make sense to me that take no abuse what so ever.

 

yea, im gonna do it my self. not the first time i did go l0oking around for quotes, one guy tells my 3500.00 to do a new used trans with new clutch, master and slave cylinders(which i dont need) and to change my belt. when i heard that i was like F' that in my head. tranys at the yards are all like 1500-2000 which is also crazy.

he also told me that the 2002's have a different gear box than all the rest of the R53s because its when they first started and just put whatever they had and slapped a gearbox together. he tells me the output shafts are diffrent sizes on the 02's than 03 and up. dont know if this is true or not, but i can believe it.

 

yea i am going to tear the box apart, and see whats up. i will shoot way a message see what he says, about the shafts and gearing. i dont really see a problem with 1st and 2nd but i havent driven another r53 with the diffrent trans, to see and feel the diffrence.

and yes im gonna change the clutch. at this point i might as well just do a complete engine over haul too. freshin it up a bit. almost at 135k miles so why not. but we'll see. how i feel. hahaha prob send the SC out to get rebuilt too.

it would make my mini new again, im really happy with it the body/parts/frame etc.. are in really good shape and have really no rust on it. even with this many miles on it.

im no stranger to engine and trany complete rebuilds, i have done a few. just though i would bring it to a garage because i dont want to deal with the cold and it being wet out this time of year. but im gonna hold off till it get warmer out and dryer

 

this just made things look a whole lot better!

http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/cooper-s-engine-drivetrain/5818-taking-apart-getrag.html#axzz2LxTaHNPL

looks like we share the same transmission as the focus SVT and they have parts# and you can buy them!!!!

now all that's left is to take the box apart and see whats bad and replace!

 

Well Found my problem! now lets hope i can fix it.

this is the selector for the 5th/6th fork and as you can see it is broken i found the broken part on the magnet. now all that's left to do is find a replacement or have a machine shop weld on material and cut it down. or have them make me a brand new part.

as i was playing with it to watch what was going on with the cover off the finger would go into the slot but when you went to turn the relay shaft it would just slide right out of the slot, so that's why i could not select 6th and why 5th would be troublesome some times.