Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: The Automatic Transmission Rebuild Thread

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  1. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #24 BlimeyCabrio, Nov 16, 2014
    Engine is back in the car!

    Physically, anyway. It's just in the bay, hanging by the upper mounts. Nothing hooked back up yet. I have some surgery coming up later this week, so it will have to wait a few more weeks before I get Blimey back on the road. Hopefully by mid-December.
     
  2. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #30 BlimeyCabrio, Mar 9, 2015
    Oh, and for everyone who asked, I'm doing GREAT health-wise. I had bariatric surgery in mid November. I've lost about 50 pounds so far and feel the best I've felt in decades. Brand new man.

    Thanks for your concerns, and for the well-wishes!
     
  3. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #37 BlimeyCabrio, Mar 10, 2015
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2015
    CeeLowe - good feedback. No offense taken :)
    The only shim for this specific tranny I've ever seen mentioned is one related to overal "stack height" that you many need just before the pump goes back on. I measured mine and it seemed within tolerance.

    I'm pretty confident that my valve body has particles in it, causing problems. The unit was making a LOT of metal dust before the rebuild. In retrospect, I should have cleaned out the valve body while I had it apart. Major oversight on my part at the time.
    Yeah, I know why my case leaks. I used good sealant the first time... Then had to crack it open again to get the oil pump gear in the right place, and used inferior sealant to reseal. Doh. It matters, as I now have proven. Use the right sealant, people.

    I really don't have any more insight for you based on the symptoms you're describing. I'd suspect valve body again. if clutches are shot, you'll see lots of silver metal paste on the pan magnets. If you don't have much of this, odds are its a valve body problem.

    Chris - yeah, it will be the car I want it to be when it's done. And I'll be happier. Agreed.

    TexasChiliS - $2500 is a great price for the work you had done. You won the lottery.

    Everyone else - thanks for the welcome back. I'm in the process of starting a new business, along with everything else. So I won't have the forum time I had in the past. But I'll be here more than I have been the last few months.

    I'll take the story of what I'm doing from here back to the BlimeyCabrio 2.0 thread.

    I hope the info in this thread helps someone be more successful with their DIY rebuild than I was. Someone will conquer this, but it won't be me. No regrets... It wasn't a super expensive tangent, and I learned A TON. And it gave me the confidence to take this next step.
     
  4. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    #12 wmwny, Oct 6, 2014
    Nice drive, indeed! I'm all packed and am headed to Erie, PA, area today...in whatever weather conditions God sees fit to send my way. I'm thinking of taking back roads and not so much the interstates, but that could change as the day wears on as I plan to be there before nightfall. Even so, I'm hoping to see some early fall color.

    I have the all seasons on and the fluids are ok. Hopefully, I'll be back Thursday. Catch ya later.....:Thumbsup:
     
  5. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #21 BlimeyCabrio, Oct 7, 2014
    Unfortunately he won't be all sutured up until November, waiting on a torque converter from a dude who is on vacation out of the country.

    But I plan to be hovering around Fontana that weekend, doing ride-alongs with some buddies. :Thumbsup:
     
  6. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    #32 cct1, Mar 9, 2015
    Awesome news on both counts! You are going to be so much happier--and faster--with a manual. And if/when you go mental on further upgrades, you now have a whole new world open to you....
     
  7. Crashton

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    #3 Crashton, Oct 5, 2014
    Jeff I'm pretty sure you are easy on the equipment. Change out the fluid periodically & enjoy the drive. :Thumbsup:
     
  8. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    #8 Nathan, Oct 5, 2014
    Wow, thanks for documenting all this.

    Mind if we turn it into an Article for the Library here on M/A?
     
  9. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #9 BlimeyCabrio, Oct 5, 2014
    That's what I had in mind :Thumbsup:
     
  10. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    #10 wmwny, Oct 6, 2014
    I know I do not beat up my car as much as many on here. I DO keep the fluids fresh and changed within spec or sooner[ with regard to brake fluid]. However, the failures of the automatic transmissions concern me a lot. Even though I enjoy my MINI drives, as each car ages, my concerns grow. On the bright side, though, I cannot see leaving any of my Gen 1s anytime soon...even if a new/newer tranny may loom on the horizon. After all, could anyone even buy a similar car at the price of a new/newer tranny? I think not, so, prices be damned....:Thumbsup:
     
  11. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    #11 Crashton, Oct 6, 2014
    My thinking is treat them well, keep up on the maintenance & don't worry about it, just enjoy them. If something breaks you fix it & drive some more. Life is too short to worry about stuff before it happens. Heck it may never happen, what a waste of worrying.

    Now Jeff, get in your MINI find a nice road & drive. :D
     
  12. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    #17 Minidave, Oct 6, 2014
    The first time you take an automatic apart is a little daunting - my first was the auto trans in my '83 Audi 5000 - it failed while towing my boat, about 3 houses from my driveway - but once I got into it it wasn't that bad. You do need a good large clean surface to work on, and you need a parts cleaner to clean everything up properly - and don't let your red shop towels anywhere near your work area, the lint will kill your newly rebuilt tranny!

    That said, when/if the trans goes in my wife's 2004 Allroad, I found a place that rebuilds them regularly, I'll ship it off to them as they have all the parts and know all the tricks and they'll warrant their work, I'll just do the R&R.

    I'm sure there's a place here in the states that does the Toyota trannys too...

    But I agree the idea of lifetime fluid is just silly - I can see it for a diff or even a manual, since those are closed systems with little chance for dirt intrusion (no clutch material to clog the filter etc) but not for an engine or auto transmichigan.
     
  13. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #29 BlimeyCabrio, Mar 9, 2015
    Sorry for the super long delay in an update.

    Sooooooooooo.........

    It all went back together. Engine started on the first try. Transmission actually shifts. But it's still not "right".

    Initially shifted in just R-N-1-2-3
    After a little time, I got access to 4-5-6
    So mechanically, all shifts are working. But inconsistent shifting, some hard shifts, still flares between 3 and 4. And noticing more friction material in the fluid than I should have.
    INPA enables you to monitor the individual solenoids doing their thing, and they all appear to be working. But at this point, I'm not confident in either the valve body, or the mechanicals. And I have a leak in my main case seal (the RTV'd one), about 15 drips per minute while running.

    So, I'm going to punt.

    Options are:
    1) buy a MINI reman transmission and torque converter. Because if I'm going pull the engine again, I'm not putting it back in the car without a tested-and-warranteed transmission and torque converter. About $6000
    2) Go radical, and convert the car to manual. For the cost of a parts car, plus new clutch and a few other tidbits.

    I'm going with the second option. it will be a new adventure.

    So not the outcome I wanted, and not the encouraging outcome I was hoping to give other travelers... but it is what it is.
    With Blimey now morphed into a track car, I've really been wishing he had a manual and an LSD.

    By the time MOTD gets here, he will. Stay tuned.
     
  14. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    #33 MCS02, Mar 9, 2015
    It's great your back and doing well!
     
  15. CeeLowe

    CeeLowe New Member

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    #34 CeeLowe, Mar 10, 2015
    Great to hear that your well. These forums need people like you. Bummer about the transmission.

    I have a couple of questions if you dont mind.

    In any of your findings did you ever read anywhere of shims, or different thickness steel plates inside the unit that would need to be measured while putting the unit back together?

    I have done a lot of reading now and I have not found any information about that, but I have been curious. I have built several transmissions in the past, and most have shim packs for the clusters.

    Also correct me if Im wrong on this. But didnt you have the revmax VB installed and run in the vehicle before you busted the transmission down?

    There is a possibility that small amounts of trash are inside the valve bodies fluid passage network. The part that looks like the human brain on the inside of the VB. There are numerous passages in there in the gaskets that are 12-18 thousandths of an inch.

    There is also a possibility that trash is inside the pump unit in the front case half.

    And as for your transmission case leak. Im not going to insult you and tell you why or how. You already know all of that. However in the future consider a case bond such as Yamabond, or Fujibond instead of RTV.
     
  16. checkers

    checkers Well-Known Member

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    #38 checkers, Mar 10, 2015
    Good to see you back Paul. Sorry to hear you are changing to a manual . Mine is still good, no problems at all. I guess I'm lucky.
     
  17. CarlB

    CarlB Active Member

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    #41 CarlB, Mar 17, 2015
    I want to thank Blimey for all the help he has given all of us with automatic transmissions. He helped me with my transmission problem, and Remax saved me a lot of money over the dealer for a rebuilt valve body. The dealer charged more for the wiring harnesses that go inside the transmission than the valve body repair cost. My car is running fine, thanks to you Blimey. THANK YOU
     
  18. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    #42 cct1, Mar 17, 2015
    Just stop already. He already had to have a procedure to make his body smaller; you keep with this fawning, he'll need another to make his head smaller. :cornut:
     
  19. Nathan

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    #43 Nathan, Mar 17, 2015
    This is why Paul has a convertible.
     
  20. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    #2 wmwny, Oct 5, 2014
    All I can say is WOW..FREAKING W_O_W! :Thumbsup:

    I'm not mechanical at all, but I have an '06 MCSa that will turn 100k miles this week. It, too, has been to the Dragon a lot, as well as to Mid Ohio and Putnam Park [IN], and has seen a ton of interstate miles and twisties. It's my daily driver, Dragonslayer and track car as much as I can get to a track anymore [usually Mid Ohio as it is only 130 miles from me].

    I have never had any problems with the tranny yet, but suppose it will happen when I am least prepared to deal with it. Fortunately, I have AAA emergency towing, but then the "fun" would begin as I'd have to take the car somewhere where it could be fixed. Oh well...the old "boys with their toys" adage, right?

    I have an '03 R50cvt that I baby now. Long gone are its trips to the Dragon and track, but it sees its share of British car shows. It has 55k miles and I CAN wait for the tranny to go south.

    My wife has an '06 R53a, too, but at only 44k miles, I think it is safe...for now. At least we have ONE MINI that should get us over any malfunctions....:ihih:
     
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