A 2004 Mini Cooper has caught my eye....it was registered June 2004, how do I find out if it has a Midland or Getrag GearBox?
LavenderGirl99
Not really, there would be many Midlands gearboxes in use and with correct preventative maintenance and correct use, they are very reliable.
The restrictions of a Midlands gearbox are not to labour it in 5th gear and an oil change every 50,000 km. Mine has done over 200,000 km and is working fine.
Any gearbox abused and neglected will fail in a big way, also when warning signs are ignored that something needs attention and the Midlands has a ready supply of parts to effect repairs.
One restriction of the Midlands is that (if you can find one) the JCW Cooper upgrade is only suitable for later R50's due to the power restriction in its design so if you can find an upgrade kit you need the Getrag box.
Midland or Getrag 5 or 6 speed gearboxes are a difficult design due to the compactness of the gearbox and the design of the layshafts cramming it all into a very small space. Labouring a Midlands in 5th gear put enormous pressure on the layshaft bearing which will eventually fail so the easy answer is to change down to 4th gear then upshift as you speed up.
The Mini gearbox in the Gen 1 would be a lot more robust if they were only ever a four speed.
The Mini R50 was never designed to be a straight line power beast but more at home in tight twisty stuff where one would never even get into 5th gear. The 5 speed Getrag was a redesign to accommodate more power (JCW Kit) and remove the 5th gear layshaft bearing issue. The 6 speed Getrag was designed for the power of the Super Charger output and straight line sprinting that you would rarely do in tight corners.
One of the forum members uses the Midlands in his Rally Car and has often said how simple it is to rebuild and he often rallies the Mini in Costa Rica.
Don't discount a Midlands Gearbox, just learn how to drive the car to its capability. I keep pace with many an R53 in the tight stuff, I just get left behind when we hit a straight
The restrictions of a Midlands gearbox are not to labour it in 5th gear and an oil change every 50,000 km. Mine has done over 200,000 km and is working fine.
Any gearbox abused and neglected will fail in a big way, also when warning signs are ignored that something needs attention and the Midlands has a ready supply of parts to effect repairs.
One restriction of the Midlands is that (if you can find one) the JCW Cooper upgrade is only suitable for later R50's due to the power restriction in its design so if you can find an upgrade kit you need the Getrag box.
Midland or Getrag 5 or 6 speed gearboxes are a difficult design due to the compactness of the gearbox and the design of the layshafts cramming it all into a very small space. Labouring a Midlands in 5th gear put enormous pressure on the layshaft bearing which will eventually fail so the easy answer is to change down to 4th gear then upshift as you speed up.
The Mini gearbox in the Gen 1 would be a lot more robust if they were only ever a four speed.
The Mini R50 was never designed to be a straight line power beast but more at home in tight twisty stuff where one would never even get into 5th gear. The 5 speed Getrag was a redesign to accommodate more power (JCW Kit) and remove the 5th gear layshaft bearing issue. The 6 speed Getrag was designed for the power of the Super Charger output and straight line sprinting that you would rarely do in tight corners.
One of the forum members uses the Midlands in his Rally Car and has often said how simple it is to rebuild and he often rallies the Mini in Costa Rica.
Don't discount a Midlands Gearbox, just learn how to drive the car to its capability. I keep pace with many an R53 in the tight stuff, I just get left behind when we hit a straight
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