Hi all,
I was driving to uni the other day, when I noticed that the gearbox was noisier than usual. I drove there and back (about 45km each way), and by the time I was back home the noise was quite noticeable. There was always a bit of a whine when slowing down, but it sounds a lot more 'crunchy' now. It only makes noise in gear and when moving at speed (no noise in neutral or with the clutch in.

Anyway, I figured the first thing was to change the oil to see if there were many metal pieces in there. I changed the filter while I was at it. The old oil had only been in for about 2000km (I normally change every 3000).

Anyway, this is what the magnetic pickup looked like:


There's a lot more there than usual. Anyone know what would be causing it? I'm guessing it may be the layshaft bearings or something similar, since it only happens when in gear, but I don't know much about gearboxes. Changing the oil improved the noise, but it's still there.

Would it be safe to drive it the 50km to the mini mechanic?

I wouldn't even be putting the oil back in.

You could guess any component as the problem here, but the best advice is to get that engine and gearbox opened up.

I wouldn't drive it another meter if you are hoping to get an extra mile out of the engine. Another 50 miles and you might as well add the cost of an engine on top of the gearbox bill.

The condition of the engine is dicey enough as is however...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

With fresh oil and new oil filter I would suggest it should be OK to drive carefully to a mini mechanic.
Only major issue is if you have too much worn metal bits floating in the oil then this could work it's way into the engine bearings, but for 50km and careful driving you should hopefully be ok. Maybe phone your mini mechanic before driving to him
Problem could be anything but your suggestion may only be part of the issue
I would do a complete overhaul with all new bearings

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

another 50k's isn't going to cost you any more than it's going to cost you already...

or to say it another way

it's probably 95% rooted now, why not take it to 100%

drop gear bearings, more specifically the idler gear bearings

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

good pickup

put it in the art gallery

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A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying "Damn...that was fun!"

My Cooper S...

my God Morris! Are you doing work on your Cooper S
Hows your restoration going?

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It's an old photo!

I have not done a lot with it lately, just getting the motor ready to drop in soon....
Into the Morris 1100.

Holy Moly Morris 1100! Does your Cooper S still go? I may have a chance!

I think I'll drive it in to the mini specialist anyway. I'm just afraid of it breaking down before I get there. It might just be easiest to swap the whole power unit - it's only a standard 998, and people seem to be just throwing them away. The gearbox was never great, but the engine pulled great for an unmodified 998.

If the mechanic says it's repairable (i.e it hasn't ruined the engine, just the gearbox), I might have a crack at rebuilding the gearbox myself.

And another question - the oil filter comes before the engine, doesn't it? In other words, the oil goes from the sump, through the filter to the engine, not from the sump, to the engine then through the filter, right?

The oil goes through the pump into the filter and then into your bearings. The filter should save the bearings but not the pump.

My Cooper S is currently in bits but it was still running when I changed the oil. I used to use it for motokhanas and I know that the gearbox was getting sad so I stopped using it in about 1988. The sump plug is proof of this! The car sat unused till I pulled it apart last year, the motor used to get started about every two years. The motor is going to get a full rebuild soon.

Now if you want to see what I found in my gearbox this week...

to see that amount of crap on the end of the sump plug used to be a regular occurrence with my old motors I had many years ago. They all still ran, for ages, but eventually will die like anything. Drive it casually to the mechanic, and you'll be fine.

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

With all these pictures of magnetic sump plugs, I was wondering if anyone uses the long ones that Minispares offer?

Are there any benefits?

Cheers,
HRS

The idea of the longer one is for use with a centre oil pick-up.
You stick the magnet where the metal is being drawn to.