5 replies to this topic

[Clubby1275GT]

trying to get into first when stationary can be a pain, usually have to put it in 2nd then first, and reverse alsways crunches in!!
is this a clutch or synchromesh problem, clutch isnt that old, infact i had it done about 3 months ago so i wouldnt have thought it was that, yesterday it was really hard to get it into any gear, even when driving, yet today its absolutely fine on the move!
mini madness eh, any ideas chaps???
help much appreciated as always!
Daz

[Guess-Works.com]

It's called baulking, and is a trait of the mini gearbox... and a very common problem in the last of the Mini sportpacks for reference...

It's basically that when the gears of gearbox are stationary the dog teeth on the gears need line up with those on the synchro, if they happen to hit nose on, the design should more the gear slightly, but more often than no they dont...

two ways round it, as you do, select second, which moves the gears slightly, or just de-clutch, which will spin the gearbox.

[Clubby1275GT]

does anyones gearbox actually select reverse without a crunch??
so i needn't worry about the gearbox going anytime soon??
what are the main reasons they go?? cant really think of how u would abuse a gearbox, apart from letting my gran drive it everywhere in first gear!!

[Guess-Works.com]

There's two main failure points in the mini gearbox, this is the 2nd gear baulk ring, which sees a fair amount of abuse, not only from changing down from second to third, but also when reverse is selected, the other failure point is the double roller bearing, this just ages and eventually collapses.

Reverse is called a crunch gear and needs the box to be perfectly stationary for it to be selected without a crunch... so if you a rolling it'll crunch, or if there is any drag on the clutch, it'll also crunch.

A mini gearbox should be good for 70k, if driven normally, drive it like a granny and it'll last longer.. abuse it... well I've had to rebuild boxes with less than 30k on them

[Clubby1275GT]

and how much is your average gearbox rebuild, including labour n parts n all that stuff, just for reference incase i ever need one, u seem like the man for the job!
but if i had it rebuilt i figured i may aswell go all the way and have straight cut drops if u recommend them?

[Big_Adam]

does anyones gearbox actually select reverse without a crunch??

mine only seems to do it after long drives.