pre 03/02 built Cooper info!!!

[chris@helix]

There are two problems we have found in the early built cars I thought we would share with the board. The first is, as many of you know, a bad shift lickage cable for the Coopers. Most of the US cars were fixed @ the port in NJ. Only the very first batch got away with out the new part. We got the new shift cable and put it in our self to see first hand what failed. What had happened was that the metal outer case around the shift bushing comes off the top of the shift cable bushing a few mm. A roadside fix for this is to fish your hand down the side of the battery box ,to the top of the trans, and place your hand on top of the shift bushung case and push down firmly. The space is very small and tight (and hot!!! ask me how I know.) so be careful. This will reset the cap and you should be OK to get home or where ever you are headed.

2nd, Early build Coopers (pre 03/02) MINI changed the top of the front spring mounts and springs on all cars built on or after 03/02 so if you are ordering parts for these cars make sure you tell them that it is an early style front spring, they are different in both size and shape. If you can't find your build date you can tell by looking at the top of the strut opening in the engine bay. If the hole in the center of the tower is flush with the top of the tower that is the new style and if a metal cup sticks out above the sturt tower opening that if the old style.


All the best


Chris
helix MINIsport
helix13.com

[6f7]

Can you post pics of the failed linkage part? How do the new cable and old cable differ? pics?

Thanks.

[chris@helix]

I will try and post some photo's of the failed cable and the different spring tops next week


All the best


Chris
helix MINIsports
helix13.com

[Rob.]

Have a look in Apial gallery for pictures of the new spring mounts. Also search in the faults and fixes for the left pull thread he started. It tells the full story.

[squid]

Is there a TSB which specifies re-fitment of either
the shifter link or the spring mount ?

Are there any TSB for US market MINIs yet ?

[macncheese]

Quote:

Originally posted by chris@helix
(and hot!!! ask me how I know.)

Chris
helix MINIsport
helix13.com

Uhhhhh. How do you know?

--
Cheese

[chris@helix]

Here are the photo's of the old shift linkage that has gone bad. The first photo is the linkage in the broken postion. As you can see, the inner bushing is just pressed into the metal mount flat. The new style of cable mounts the bushing directly to the cable. It is very easy to tell from the top of the motor which style is on your car.


All the best

Chris
helix MINIsports
helix13.com