hi im new to the mini seen ive had my cooper for a month now and its developed a strange whining noise from the front pasenger side when drivin along it gets louder as i increase my speed.but if i put it inti neutral and coast the car its still tgere but very faint.any ideas would be much apreciated thanks matthew.

Is whining noise in all gears and what year is your Mini?

Rover Midland gearbox fitted to early Cooper and One (2001-mid 2004) is well known for bearing wear and whine, more info here:
Early MINI Rover Midland Gearbox - Forums (http://forum.minicooper.org/showthread.php?t=9643)

Forums - View Single Post - Early MINI Rover Midland Gearbox (http://forum.minicooper.org/showpost.php?p=102273&postcount=12)

hi yes its in all gears its a 2001 cooper.also does it in neutral free wheeling.but not when im parked up thanks

Did you buy from a dealer with any warranty?
If not try to find a good trusted local garage mechanic who can test drive and diagnose exactly the problem for you, as there could be other reasons for the noise.

However, if he says it is the Midland gearbox it is often much cheaper to go to a Mini gearbox specialist like Minigearboxes, see link below:

mini gearbox, gear fix - Mini recon gearboxes | BMW MINI cheap gearboxes (http://www.minigearboxes.co.uk/)

Mini Gearboxes Ltd were featured in Modern MINI magazine (July-August 2010)
Their prices for an exchange recon gearbox and new clutch fitted to a MINI:
5-Speed Midland gearbox £595
5-Speed Getrag gearbox £690
6-Speed Getrag gearbox £750
Recon box supply only from £325
(Ask for a quote on upgrading from Midland to Getrag as additional parts are required.)

Main Dealers quote a minimum of 6 hours for job, 'Mini Gearboxes' fit up to 15 Midland gearboxes a week and have got the job down to around 4 hours by removing the front subframe only from below, instead of the modular front end/rads/bumper assembly. Full method with photos showing stage by stage in MM magazine above (Issue 41).

hi thats great thanks ill pop into my garage tomorrow thanks for your help.last question if it is the box isit to late to put the oil you talked about in your thread in the box.

We have two 2002 Mini Ones with Midland boxes in the family, changed the gearbox oil on both at 45,000 miles before any noises had appeared and they were both full of metal swarf in the old oil and magnetic drain plug................one failed a couple of months later (noisy in 1st & 2nd gear) but the other is still going strong after 2 years. So probably too late if it is a noisy bearing, and if you do continue driving until it fails completely the box can become too damaged for 'exchange' reconditioning. Let us know how you get on and what fault it turns out to be, as it helps others in future. :)

yeaa wil do thanks for your help.:-)