2006 mini cooper manual transmission fluid type

I have read so many post's on NAM and other sites regarding what brand or type of manual trans fluid works best in their Gen I. Having rebuilt more than a few gear boxes and being an ASE Master Service Tech with a specialization in the highly competitive field of building competitive race cars, I thought I would do a test.

Table of Contents Show

Does a manual Mini Cooper have transmission fluid?
What kind of fluid goes in a manual transmission?
What kind of transmission fluid does a Mini Cooper take?
What type of transmission fluid does a 2005 Mini Cooper take?

Keep in mind that I have not driven or owned a car with a manual transmission since the early 90's before getting my Gen I R50 with the Getrag 5 speed gear box. My car came to me with fairly low mileage (80K) and was truly driven by a most delightful school nurse. She babied this thing! It was spotless clean and VERY well maintained with every single penny spent or bolt turned documented and provided at the time of sale. Ive known this woman for some years and know her to be a very good MINI owner.

Back to the test.....

Obviously, it came to me with the OEM oil still in the gear box. No leaks, no failures and no problems, other than what I considered, some fairly sluggish shifts and a bit of gear/bearing noise when car was idling with clutch out, particularly when cold. Performance is crisp, just didn't seem to transition gears very smoothly.

My first test oil was Redline MTL. I observed an immediate difference in the shift quality. I found the shifts to still be crisp, but the amount of effort it took to get this thing into each gear was cut by about 50%. Very smooth gear transition. As for gear/bearing noise, it went quiet as a church mouse!

About 6 months later, I opted to put a Helix short throw shifter in this thing and again, felt fine, worked great, no noise. I started getting some low end clutch chatter so I figured it was time to get a new clutch. I was up near 100K and I haven't been babying this thing at all! When I put the new clutch set up in, I lost some fluid so I opted to just get a couple quarts of fluid and change the fluid again. I had to buy Royal Purple because that's what everyone around here carries. I got the MTL on amazon. I got it all together and started about the break in phase and my transmission immediately became quite a bit noisier than I had grown accustomed to. Gear shifts were very labored and just didn't feel very good at all! Cold with the clutch out it sounded like a time bomb under the hood!

Horrified by the Royal Purple, and concerned that something was wrong with the clutch swap, I made a call out to my local Amsoil salesman. He said he strongly recommended the Amsoil Synchromesh Transmission oil. Of course, I started doing my homework and lots of MINI folks said they loved this stuff! Again, No MTL available locally, so I put a couple quarts of Amsoil in there. defiantly an improvement, noise levels cut in half, gear shifts were OK, defiantly tolerable, but I was greedy! I wanted what I had before so...........

I took a 40 mile ride to a retailer who carried Redline Lubricants. I put the fluid in my transmission and VOLA'! Quite and smooth once again! I should add that its COLD up here! Temp in the teens for the entire time I have been driving with these fluids in there.

Each fluid was in that trans for at least 150 miles so I got plenty of time to experience it in all its forms. The Redline product provided me with the best all around performance with regard to noise levels and smooth operation.

I'm not taking anything away from Royal Purple or Amsoil, I use a ton of their stuff in race cars and tow rigs every single year. All I am saying is that in my Getrag 5 speed, Redline was the best for me! I still have the Purple in my power steering system and Amsoil in my crankcase and master cylinder.

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Does a manual Mini Cooper have transmission fluid?

The factory recommended interval for the automatic transmission is 100,000 miles and MINI states the manual transmission fluid is a 'life-time fluid' that does not require fluid replacement.

What kind of fluid goes in a manual transmission?

Commonly recommended manual transmission fluid formulations include SAE 80W, 75W-90, 80W-90 and SAE 90. In some cases, a multi-grade engine oil or automatic transmission fluid may be recommended. However, a manual transmission fluid is typically the most optimal for manual transmissions.