1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: HELP!! I lost 6th Gear

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.

 

so an update.

i found a used tranny with 52k miles for $500 and i decided to put that in and not waste any more time, i did open it up to check it out to see how it look and it looked good. and feels good too.

just finished putting it together this afternoon.

the only bad thing is my ABS, DSC, and TPMS light are on. any reason why thats on? looks like i may have to go to the dealer. no CEL codes.