Midland R65 Gearbox Oil (MTF 94)

[mab01uk]

Decided to change the oil in my Midland R65 Gearbox (2002 Mini One) to prolong its life but even my local BMW MINI parts dealership did not stock the special MTF 94 Manual Transmission Fluid recommended! (nor did Halfords or any other local car spares retailers).
I eventually found it stocked in the Land Rover Dealer Parts Dept next door to the MINI dealer in Thames Ditton for £7.50 per litre bottle (2 Litres required) LR Part No. STC 9158. It is used in several Land Rover, Rover and Honda gearboxes.

At 45,000 miles there are no noises yet but found lots of metal particles in the old oil and on the magnetic drain/filler plugs.

Advise everone with a good Midland box to change yours NOW, I wish I had done this earlier - a cheap and fairly easy job to do .............don't rely on "filled for life" with this gearbox out of BMW warranty.
The gear change is much smoother now too.

[NeuroBeaker]

Roland at GTT changed the gearbox oil on my second midland gearbox - I noted the same: smoother gear changes.

Having said that, I've now started to notice it's roughening up a bit again... I wonder if that's it needing another change or whether the gearbox is turning itself into cheese again.

[mab01uk]

For the small extra service cost I think I would now change Midland gearbox oil/fluid at each normal engine oil service or at least every other one just to keep an eye on things..........the oil drained out can tell you alot and it allows cleaning off the magnets to catch any more harmfull metal debris before it circulates damaging the bearings and syncros.

[Silverado]

The Haynes manual says " Refilling the transmission is an extremely awkard operation".

What exactly is involved ? What did you use to refill it ?

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by Silverado (original)

The Haynes manual says " Refilling the transmission is an extremely awkard operation".

What exactly is involved ? What did you use to refill it ?

I followed these instructions on some US MINI forums below and refilled using a plastic tube and a funnel but job would be done a lot easier using a proper garage lift/ramps:-
MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring - Transmission Fluid Change How To?

Manual Transmission Fluid Change How-To - Lone Star Mini Club Forums

(Also the pics shown of the metal debris on the drain plugs was very similar to what I found on mine! )

Quote:-
Manual Transmission Fluid Change How-To
Although the manual transmission fluid for the MINI is called a “lifetime” fluid it’s far better to change it at not longer than 50,000 mile intervals (would advise more often on the Midland Cooper/One gearbox). It’s not so much that there will be a viscosity break down, but that it will be saturated with wear metals. There is no filtration system in the manual transmission only magnetic fill/drain plugs or disc to capture the large debris.

Tools needed:
8mm allen wrench or socket
Breaker bar
Torque wrench

Equipment:
Funnel
Tubing
Fluid receptacle
Ramps

"Operate the vehicle to warm the transmission and suspend any particulates, raise the front of the vehicle either by driving onto ramps or lifting and placing on stands. I backed the MINI up an incline before driving up ramps in an attempt at leveling the vehicle as much as possible.

Loosen the upper fill plug on the transmission case, then loosen the lower; I recommend a breaker bar and allen socket because often the plugs are over tightened from the factory. Once loose the plugs unscrew easily by hand; then drain the old fluid into a wide mouth receptacle.

Screw in the lower fill plug and hand tighten. Attach a tube to a funnel and feed through the top of the engine compartment near the exhaust manifold into the fill plug opening. A 3/8ths ID/1/2 inch OD tube is just about right; the length of the tube will be determined by the type of funnel used.

Add 1.75 quarts (or until fluid flows out of the fill plug) of your favorite transmission fluid. Screw in the top fill plug and torque both top and bottom plugs to 32ft-lb for the MCS, 22 ft-lb for the fill and 30 ft-lb for the drain plugs on the Cooper/One.

I had the stock MTF-94 transmission fluid analyzed after a 14,000 mile change interval and the results were outstanding; the stock fluid is a quality product so there’s no need to loose confidence in it. Many prefer Red Line MTL and that’s ok too."

[Cinimod]

Hmmm... wish I had known this... I am 500 miles over 90k on a 51 reg (2002) mini cooper and driving down the road today it went click, click, thunk, jolt, bang and left a load of goo all over the road and well not work in gear.

Now I am in need of finding somewhere good to take a look at it and see if I need a new gearbox, the local mini garage on a quick call said, oh, allow over 3k for it!

On a post on the mini forums, they say you should replace it with a Getrag gear box, a 6 speed if you have the money! - can anyone recommend anyone to do the job near Slough?

Thanks

[ScottyBoy]

The later model coopers came with a 5 speed getrag box it may be worth finding one of these.

[mella yella fella]

Quote: Originally Posted by ScottyBoy (original)

The later model coopers came with a 5 speed getrag box it may be worth finding one of these.

I've just had my 5 speed getrag box replaced cos it sounded worse than a series one Land Rover! only done 40,000 miles!!
so if you see one on ebay, and its from norfolk, dont touch it

[Cinimod]

Can I ask how much it cost to get it done... I went on breakeryard.com and got an offer from someone to do it for about £900 - not sure how good they are though!

[tnoy66]

Cinimod give these guys a call and see if they can help, they can collect from anywhere in UK

Cleckheaton Gearbox and Clutch Centre

[Cinimod]

Thanks TNOY66 - they picked up the Mini yesterday, so hopefully it will get a new lease of life!

[Cinimod]

hmmmm.... no ansa on the phone when I tried a couple of times yesterday, and no ansa at 8:35 this morning - will I see my mini again?

[tnoy66]

Hope you see it again and hope it's fit and healthy too

[Cinimod]

Yup - forgot to update... 8:45 got through - they had 2 men down yesterday and were manic - she should be up on the ramp today and hope to hear the verdict later...

[Cinimod]

She is back and running fine! - thank you ....