V-SMART June 2018

DISCOVER THE MINI ISSUE CAUSING A BIG PROBLEM

the preferred choice by BMW Technicians. BMW had wanted the engine to have a Getrag gearbox, but the original UK engineers put the Midland gearbox instead due to it being cheaper and more compact. The Midland gearbox is no longer produced and a BMW dealer will only supply a reconditioned gearbox or replace it with the later. After July 2004 the Getrag gearbox was put in on the facelift model. With this in mind I was expecting to help the respective garage remove the gearbox and clutch and find either a fault with the gearbox itself or fault with the clutch release mechanism. What I found however was

In March, our very own Rob Hancox took to the road to take a look at an issue experienced with a BMW Mini Cooper… As a Valeo warranty engineer, whose responsibility it is to analyse claims sent back to Valeo, I was extremely intrigued to find out why a BMW Mini Cooper would be experiencing clutch selection problems after having a brand new clutch fitted. As a car enthusiast I am well aware that the Mini 5 speed gearbox (GS5 65BH) found in the Cooper models (non-S) built between 2001 and July 2004 is referred to as the R65 or the Midland gearbox and was not

something slightly different. As a fully trained VW Master Technician, it has become second nature to drain and replace the gearbox oil during each and every clutch change. This, however, is not standard practice with every garage or clutch fitter. Transmission fluid, just like engine oil, is a lubricant. Its purpose is to ensure that the various working parts of the transmission are not subject to damage. The fluid will keep the transmission both lubricated and cool. When transmission fluid goes bad, problems will begin to surface. When the fluid stops becoming affective it loses its viscosity and

does not sufficiently lubricate the gears in the gearbox. This results in metal gears grinding on each other. When this occurs small pieces of metal, often described as filings, will be produced from the metal on metal contact. In this particular vehicle, this is exactly what I saw. When removing the gearbox drain plug I found the drain plug saturated in metal filings. As the drain plug is magnetic (which is becoming increasingly more common) the filings are collected at the bottom of the tank so they

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