1st Gen R50 Cooper Most liked posts in thread: Manual Transmission Fluid

You also need the correct amount of Bavarian sawdust added to that mix. The dual-mess flywheel can also add to the sounds you are hearing. My advice change the lube & turn up the radio. :wink:

PS Just kidding about the saw dust. :biggrin5:

 

Black Forest sawdust rules [emoji106]


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Yeah... well, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised to find out there is some South Texas MESQUITE sawdust in my gearbox, the way the previous owner treated the poor thing. That's why I'm trying to find the right path to rehabilitation for it. My new name for my Mini is "Stitch" because i've been having to stitch it back together a piece at a time AND it sometimes behaves monstrously, like an alien experiment... Maybe #626! It's also blue!

 

Amsoil 75w-90 will fix it after you get that crappy Redline junk out of your tranny.

I was running the Amsoil above for years without any issues. I am only changing fluid (Motul 823511 Gear FF Competition 75W140) because its what OS Giken says to use for my new LSD.

 

Thanks Dave.O I appreciate your recommendations and comments on this forum generally. I may go ahead and do this service sooner than later because at this point the clatter is making me a bit nuts after getting so many things fixed and the motor itself quieting down enough for me to hear and notice the tranny! I have DSC on my Mini, does this influence the weight of the fluid I should use?

 

Since getting the Mini back on the road the straight cut gear set crunches in every gear which I thought was the clutch. Therefore I think I need to change the oil. All we have here in CR is Redline(which I use) AND Royal Purple, they have 75w140 in Royal Purple. Seeing as Dave is using Motul 75w140 I thought I might give it a try. Anyone used Royal Purple?

 

I've changed the Redline oil for Royal Purple 75w/140 which is like honey to pour in but the gears seem to shift a little better and the heavy weight of the oil seems to favour the hot CR weather.

 

I had factory DSC / LSD also and used 75- 140w Amsoil without any issues. (98k) I do not track the car this is for a Daily Driver.

No that I have dumped the old OEM LSD and installed a OS Giken Super Locker LSD I only use Motul 823511 Gear FF Competition 75W140 100 Percent Synthetic Ester Based Racing Lubricant for Limited Slip Differential (LSD).

Again I run this in my Daily Driver.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LEZPHY/ref=sr_ph_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487174533&sr=sr-1&keywords=motul+823511+gear+ff+competition+75w140

 

FTFY

[emoji38][emoji38]

 

So, now I'm just a little confused... If my problem is that dull clattering sound while in neutral at a stop, should I be going for the Amsoil 75-90w or the 75-140w?

I haven't ordered it yet as I haven't been desperate and I need to save up some money for the changeover.

 

If you have that horrible habit of sitting at a stop with the clutch depressed, you're killing the throw-out bearing.

First off... if you're stopped, put the car in neutral and get your foot off the clutch. If that noise goes away, then that's what it is. It's a plastic housing that WILL eventually fail and could cause a lot more damage when it does.

If your hearing the noise when the clutch is depressed at a stop, and not when you take your foot off.... you're already on borrowed time. The type of oil in the gearbox isn't going to help that.

 

This 100% over and over. ^^^^^

Also don't sit on a hill with your clutch half way out as that is sure fire way to burn up an clutch.

 

The noise is present when the car is running, warm, in neutral and idling.

I don't think I said anything about sitting around with my clutch depressed. I designed cars professionally for 8 years and have ALWAYS driven a manual and only VERY RARELY ever replaced a clutch in 100's of thousands of miles of driving.

This car was BADLY abused by the previous owner and I have come to realize that Minis are touchy creatures, so I'm trying to rehabilitate mine while minimizing the replacement of perfectly good parts so I can still afford to replace the truly bad ones. This is the first time I've seen such specific opinions about which manual transmission fluid to use in ANY street car I've owned, so all I'm looking for is a little guidance, not insulting assumptions about my driving habits. Thank you very much. :rolleyes5:

 

Well, I didn't go back to read the two month old post. Sorry for that. If you and your tech are convinced that it isn't the death rattle (timing chain)... and you've put "ears" on the trans case at cold idle to really isolate it to the trans, I'd put the heavier weight oil in.

The reason for such specificity on the oil that goes into ours transmissions depends on what limited slip differential you have. Some, like Dave.0's new OSG, have specific requirements. Or personal preference for higher end synthetics. Either way, my post wasn't meant to piss in your cheerios. It was simply letting a relatively new MINI owner know that the awful habit most people have of sitting at a stop with the clutch depressed, will kill your TOB quicker than you killing your clutch. I have seen the aftermath of many that have exploded... it ain't pretty.

 

Even a good car designer does not make you a good used car buyer. The whole R56 series sucks.

 

Fair enough warning and no hard feelings. Thanks. If my transmission craters, it won't be because I ride the clutch though. I'm still on my first clutch on my '97 318ic with 180,000mi on it.

My concern is over what the previous 4 owners did and whether the last owner actually DID replace the clutch like he'd sworn to me at purchase. He was WAY less than honest, come to find out. I've already had to have the master cylinder to slave cylinder line replaced because he'd installed it upside down and crimped it by running it under the suspension and bending it into the slave cylinder instead of over it as designed.

So far the car shifts clean and quick with no gear gnashing, missed shifts, or slipping. If not for that danged noise, it'd be perfect. At this point I'm trying to mitigate any further sloppiness or damage to the transmission by running as reasonably viscous an oil in it as I can, but I don't want to cause further problems by overdoing it and clogging something up, hence my question to you more seasoned owners.

Sounds like I can reasonably use the 75-140w.

 

I didn't mention being a Car Designer as a guarantee that I couldn't be duped by an unscrupulous dealer or pulled in by an attractive exterior design but as assurance that I do know my way around cars and am not just a snot nosed punk with a lead foot and daddy's money to burn.

Anyway, we are aware of your preference for the original R-5X series Dave. You are certainly unabashed about that!

 

Mornin kids,
1. Is the OE MTF Synthetic?
2. Do most of you replace your MTF with Synthetic?

 

I used Redline MTL in the R53. It worked well for me. Not sure if or how your R56 transmission differs.

 

I don't think they're all that different. They're both Getrag I think. Anyways, I was asking really because most of what I can find for R56 MTF, be it Redline Synthetic or Amsoil Synthetic, is mostly all synthetic and I can't find any definite answers on the BMW MTF being synthetic or not. When it comes to Manual transmissions does it matter like it does with say a car engine that was designed to use conventional instead of synthetic? I know my in my older cars, when synthetic came out I jumped on it and started to use it right away, but also noticed how much noisier the engines were and after some reading I discovered it's due to the synthetic being smaller at the molecular level and can fit thru tight spaces easier and not providing the same pressure when traveling thru oil pathways in the engine. Do the same principles apply? Maybe I'm reading too much into it.... :nonod: