Hello all,

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I've been wanting to get a MINI for a while and finally bit the bullet this past February - a 2010 JCW hatchback. It's been great until this past weekend. I drove it home on Friday and parked it. On Sunday evening I get in it to go to work, start it up and it won't go into gear, any gear. OK, then I turn it off and work the shifter and it goes into all gears no problem. So I start it up again and try to get it into gear and again, nothing. I turn it off again and place it in reverse and start the car up, whereupon it stays in gear and lurches backwards. I am able to control it and back it out of the driveway and put it into first gear, and it goes in very easily. I take it around the block to see how it will do before committing to my 45 minute drive to work. Almost 3/4 of the way around the block, it refuses to go into any gear and I coast it home and park it in the street where it now sits. My question to those in the know is, is this a clutch problem or a gear selector problem? What are my next steps towards diagnosing this problem?

Thanks for any help in this matter.

 

With engine off, a normal tranny can be put into any gear --- with a little effort. The clutch pedal must be depressed when you start the car, so if the clutch is functioning, the car will not move until the pedal is released. Does the car move before releasing the pedal? When you say it won't go into gear, is it grinding before engaging, or just not able to move the shift lever?

If the clutch is not functioning, check for fluid leaks at both slave and master cylinder. Also note that the master cylinder serves both clutch and brakes, so if the fluid is low in the master cylinder, check all your brake lines too.

If the clutch is functioning, maybe some plumbing is interfering with the linkage --- on top of the tranny.

Keep us posted ---

 

Thanks oldbrokenwind,

The car will start when I depress the clutch but once started, it is almost as if there is a wall as you try to put the shifter into reverse or first gear (really any gear). It is not grinding at all. The one time that I was able to get it into reverse, I placed the tranny in reverse and then started the car. When it started, of course it being in reverse gear, the car lurched backwards down my driveway. I was able to control it and once into the street, I pulled it out of gear into neutral. Then I pushed the clutch in and it went easily into first gear. I drove down the street and around the block getting eventually into 4th gear before I had to come to a stop for a stop sign. Once I had stopped, I tried to place it back into 1st gear and again, it was like pushing against a wall. I left it in neutral and coasted down the street to my house, where I left it parked in the street.

I'll check for leaks and see what I find. Does it sound to you like a problem with the linkage or with the clutch? I just remembered about 2 months ago, I was having a bit of trouble getting the shifter to go into 2nd and 4th gears. I lubed the linkage underneath the shifter boot and that didn't do anything but after a few days, it was back to normal. I figured that maybe it took some time for the lube to migrate into all of the tight spaces. I am wondering if there are more areas to lube or if the shifter (cables?) are bad.

I'll definitely keep you all posted to what I find out.

Thanks again.

 

I'm getting mixed signals, but it sounds more like a cable linkage problem than fluid, if not both. I'd check fluid level first --- lots easier. There are bushings connecting the cables at the tranny. Be sure to check them while ensuring there's nothing interfering with the linkage movement. Probably need to move the coolant reservoir out of the way for access to the tranny linkage, but not a difficult task. No need to loosen hose connections and lose coolant --- reservoir moves around easily when unbolted. Maybe have someone else move it thru the gears (engine off) while you watch the linkage move.

 

Does the r56 have a clutch slave cylinder like the r5x? Its down in the front underneath, in front of the tranny. I think when it fails this issue presents. Find modmini's video on youtube about this. Its a cheapish part to replace, I just bought one because mine feels sticky.

 

Clutch slave for absolute sure IMO. Cheap and easy to deal with. Make sure to get the tool from ECS or others that allows easy bleeding of the brake fluid once the slave is installed. A great time for you to check your rubber lines and get a motive brand fluid bleeder and some a few liters of fresh fluid to flush everything all out.
There is also a SIM article in the " sticky section" at the top of the forum that address " a stiff diagonal" lever that sits on top of the transmission. This is easy to replace with a few circlips and some patience. Print out the procedure in advance so that you have the notes with you as you are doing it. This is only for " fine tuning" the smooth engagement of your shifting once its working again. The frosting on the cake! First you will need to explore slave above.

 

i made my own compression tool with a 1" wide piece of 1/8" aluminum and a couple long 1/4-20 bolts with wing nuts. I drilled a larger 3/4" hole in the middle for the cylinders nipple part, then two either side for the bolts, which also go through the cylinders mounting holes.. works great.