Speaking from experience, owning a MINI will prompt you to feel a number of emotions, usually in one go. A MINI has the ability to make you feel enormously frustrated and immensely satisfied in equal measures. It has been perfectly packaged to create the world’s class-leading modern-day hatchback, but that doesn’t mean it’s innocent of causing a few hiccups, here and there. While the modern MINI is an absolute pleasure to drive and is sure to get you cracking a smile on the open road at the peak of summer, any MINI enthusiast will know that the first generation R50 MINI suffered from two very distinctive failures: the weak Rover Midland five-speed gearbox and the noisy power-steering pump.
A TEMPERAMENTAL MIDLAND GEARBOX
As mentioned a little earlier, Mk1 R50 MINI Ones and Coopers, built between 2001 and 2004, did, and still can, suffer from fatal gearbox failure, in fact so much so that the Midland gearbox is one of the most common gearboxes found in workshops. To paint a picture, the Midland box was pieced together using bearings that later proved to be rather weak. The two in question are the front and pinion bearings on the lay gear, found on either side of the crown wheel on the diff. By this point, as the driver, you would usually notice a distinctive whining noise, accompanied by gear crunches and grinds. You may even find yourself stuck in gear, or suffering a slipping clutch or loss of power. When the bearings eventually collapse, the crown wheel is no longer supported and will freely grind a hole through the bell housing. In extreme cases, workshops have seen gear sets chewed and gearbox casings cracked – costly damage that is deemed non-repairable, the only option being to buy a new gearbox. What is more, if you do find yourself with a broken gearbox, you’ll likely need a new clutch too, due to oil contamination.
Today, dealers only fit reconditioned gearboxes to R50 MINI Ones and Coopers, since it is well known within the industry and MINI circles that the Midland box is nothing short of a disaster waiting to happen. Drivers can even choose to convert their MINIs to accommodate the later, more fined Getrag gearbox of 2004 – but that involves changing other parts to match the new set-up, including the driveshafts, gearbox mounting, gear linkage cables, slave cylinder, clutch and flywheel. This also rings true for the more adventurous owners who wish to drop the six-speed Getrag gearbox from the Cooper S and John Cooper Works models into their modest Ones and Coopers.
The Midland box was pieced together using bearings that later proved to be weak.
Luckily, the performance models such as the Cooper S were fitted with a stronger, more advanced six-speed Getrag gearbox from production, so did not suffer from grinding gears. And thankfully for owners, replacing the gearbox isn’t too much of an issue – in fact, for keen MINI enthusiasts and mechanics, it’s easy enough to drop the old one out and fit a new one yourself. The beauty of the R50 MINI, and all models leading up to the second generation model of 2006, is that it was almost as accessible as the classic Mini we all adored working on. Knowing that you can lift the bonnet in the comfort of your own driveway on a warm Saturday morning and get to work on repairing your little car with your own hands, makes owning a MINI even more joyous. It is cheaper, too, since you only need worry about paying for parts, and not the hefty bills that tend to come with hourly rates for garage repairs.
A NOISY POWER-STEERING PUMP
The MINI features a different type of power-steering set-up to most other cars on the road today. Rather than being driven by the engine belts, the power-steering pump is driven by an electric motor, which means that the pump is always at risk of getting hot. It doesn’t help that the pump is also located directly below the exhaust manifold, placing it in a predominantly high temperature environment. Unlike the gearbox hiccups, the power-steering issue isn’t quite as vigorous, and usually the driver will only ever complain of a constant whining from under the bonnet. Most of the time this is due to how the pump is powered, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will fail. If it does, the worst problem you’ll face is a heavy steering wheel, which, if you owned a classic Mini, will be rather familiar to you – build up those arm muscles.
Replacing the power-steering pump is another ‘do it yourself’ job, if you prefer to work on your own cars. First, disconnect the battery in order to cut power to the starter motor, then remove the cap on the power-steering fluid reservoir. You need to remove as much of the fluid as possible – a task that can be made slightly easier by using kitchen utensils such as a turkey baster to suck up the excess fluid – to prevent it from pouring all over your work area. The next step is to detach the reservoir from the mounting bracket on the firewall, to give you some slack on the fluid lines.
You then need to slide underneath the MINI to unbolt the power-steering fan from the pump bracket: this is only held on by two 13mm nuts. With the fan out of the way, you can then work on moving the electrical connectors from the pump, followed by the two fluid hose connections – this isn’t the easiest job, since the pump is situated in a rather tight spot and lighting will be minimal.
Once you’ve removed the pump from the sub-frame, transfer the mounting frame from the old one to the new one. Now you can bolt the new pump to the subframe. Once it’s bolted up, reconnect both the electrical and fluid lines, and re-install the fan.
The last job is to refill the pump reservoir, and ensure you bleed it. BMW MINI specifies that only the product CHF-I IS should be used, as it is specially formulated for use in electric power-steering pumps: the fluid is much thinner than regular power-steering fluids you’re likely to find on the shelf, and prevents the pump from overworking itself. Once you’ve filled the reservoir to the MAX mark, start the engine and proceed to turn the steering wheel on full lock left to right, in order to help bleed the air from the system. During this procedure, keep an eye on the fluid level, as it may require a top-up.
So there you go: another relatively simple repair that can be carried out at home.
PENELOPE STOTHERT – A MINI FOR ALL AGES
My first encounter with a MINI was when I purchased my 2005-reg Cooper in Silver. Due to my career, I was usually equipped with a company car, which was upgraded on a regular basis. I never really needed to think about the buying and ownership process, or what I’d look for in a car if I were to purchase one privately. In any case, my company cars were usually the feisty sorts, ranging from powerful BMWs to luxurious Mercedes – I’ve always been a BMW girl, having owned my fair share of M cars during my younger years.
However, when it came to retirement, I did need to start looking for a car. Having gone round in circles, I ended up back where I started: with an iconic small car. I had had a classic Mini when I was a teenager, and I’d ended up with the modern-day version: BMW’s MINI Cooper. I’d gone back to my youth. It was a brilliant car to drive, and I had some fun with it – I even took it to ‘Mini in the Park’ at Santa Pod. One thing that the little MINI did feature as an optional extra was the sports suspension, though as you become more mature you become a little weary of it.
I had my Cooper for more than five years before I started looking for something a little more sensible earlier this year. I did look at getting a VW Golf, but they don’t seem to boast any personality. So, if you hadn’t guessed, I ended up getting another little MINI. I had no intention of purchasing a Cooper S, though had my eye on one at our local garage. But once I had taken it for a test drive, I knew I had to buy it. There’s something about a MINI that you just can’t help but fall in love with. Unlike the Cooper I had owned, the quality of the suspension has changed and the car as a whole feels much more premium: it’s like sitting in a BMW again, because it oozes quality.
Penelope believes the MINI is the ‘most stylish hatchback on the market’.
My Cooper is finished in Eclipse Grey and features the Chilli Pack with a few extra nuts and bolts, including Sports Mode, which tightens the wheel; I love feeling what the car is doing through the steering as it gives you more confidence on the road. I really like the turbo on the Cooper S: it makes a great noise, and the car itself holds the road really well. If I were to be a bit picky, I’d say that the second generation MINI doesn’t look very nice at the back, like the Mkl does. But I am impressed with the attention to detail inside the cabin, such as the ambient lights in the door panels and in the footwell. Having owned an original Mini, I’ve always been impressed by BMWs new creation, and I have to say, in my opinion, it’s the most stylish hatchback on the market. I think the MINI is an accessible car for all ages, and creates a unique social image. I love it.
MINI EXPERIENCES
LUCY FINLAY
I had never been too fussed about driving a MINI; I could appreciate them for what they were but it had never been something I was desperate to do. It wasn’t until I started my new job at BMW that things began to change.
Of course, working in a BMW garage meant that we had a MINI centre next door to the business. I’d seen them coming in, usually in the popular pepper white colour, but there would often be the typical pretty girl driving, I guess for the status factor, so that automatically put me off straight away. I’m not the kind of girl who appreciates a car for being ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’; plus, by this time I had driven pretty much every BMW in the range, so I was sure that I was destined to own one of those.
It all changed one day though, when I came out of the dealership to move a bunch of trade cars to the other site. I got thrown the keys to a MINI. Not just any MINI, but the MINI that would become my own prized possession. As I held the key in my hand, I walked up to the car while clicking the unlock button, waiting to see a ‘girly’ car with hideous stick-on eyelashes, flash at me. But to my surprise, I had come face-to-face with something much different to what I had imagined.
The MINI in question was a 2011-plate Cooper SD. It was Laser Blue with a black roof and spoiler, as well as black bonnet stripes, 17-inch silver alloy wheels and, of course, the Xenon headlights. Now, I understand this doesn’t sound particularly ‘wow’, especially when you’re used to seeing the premium BMWs driving around, but for a change, this was the kind of MINI I could really appreciate. I jumped in thinking to myself, ‘This is great; part leather seats, a line-black roof and push start/stop technology.’
Again, I had come to expect this premium finish in a car, but once I had sat inside the MINI, I felt that I was in a high-end car and not something flimsy. I didn’t quite expect this quality from a MINI. As you can probably tell, I was rapidly falling in love with this car, but it’s the next part of this story that really persuaded me to seal the deal. I pushed the key in and pressed the start button.
Lucy fell in love with the MINI as soon as she stepped behind the wheel.
For a diesel, it was surprisingly quiet and refined. The drive to the other site was about 5½ miles away so I had just enough time to familiarize myself with the car. From the moment that I pushed the accelerator down and felt the power that this little car could produce – in my eyes, it was something close to sheer brilliance – I fell in love. We swept around corners a little ‘enthusiastically’ and the little car cornered like it was on rails. For a front-wheel-drive car, this was amazing (and not what I was used to) – this MINI could hold the road!
I am not shy when it comes to driving a fast car but as soon as I felt the way this MINI drove, I couldn’t stop smiling. When I got out and parked up, my colleague walked up to me and said I was driving it like I had stolen it. It was at this point that I realized I had found my new car – I loved it so much that after my shift I went in and spoke to my manager to see if he would do me a deal on it. After a little negotiation, the deal was done.
It’s funny how the car, which I never thought I would ever want, became my favourite car I have ever owned. And once you own a MINI there really is no going back. You also become part of this secret order among other MINI drivers that people without MINIs don’t tend to understand. It’s not just a car; they have personality, presence and such a big character for a little car. The more you get to know about them, the more impressed you become with them.
My car has a 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine with 141bhp. Now, compared with what I drove about at work on a daily basis, that probably doesn’t sound too impressive. But I can assure you that, for a car as light as mine, it can certainly give some of the big saloons a run for their money – especially at the traffic lights! And that’s when you start looking into the history of the brand – those little Minis of old won rally races all over the world, including the Monte Carlo Rally. You get a sense of pride in owning a MINI and you remember that you’re driving a car inspired by the classic that people like Mick Jagger and Lulu once owned.
I know the new BMW MINI is based on German engineering. However, they still come to life at Plant Oxford and I firmly believe that there is not one person who can jump into a MINI and not get out without a huge smile on their face. One of the funniest things that I learned when I went on the many courses I was sent on with BMW was that 80 per cent of people who own a MINI will name it. I was, and still am, one of those people. By this point, I had named all of my cars and, from the start, it seemed like Bert and I were destined to be together.
