My 2002 MC w/95k miles has developed a growling noise in the manual 5 spd. tranny, so i took it to a mechanic. He jacked up the front end w/a jack & took off the plug and once he noticed metal shavings on it he put the plug back and said I need a new transmission & that it had been over filled. What is your opinion?

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Without seeing it, I would say metal shaving are bad. Overfull could cause foaming, which would lead to poor lubrication.

- Nick

A growling noise + metal shavings in the oil say "bad bearing" to me. Especially if the shavings are bigger than grains of powder. At the least, it sounds like the transmission needs an overhaul. It may be less expensive to just swap it.

Bearings are usually killed either by debris in the oil, or by a lack of oil. From what Nick is saying, too much oil could lead to problems getting the oil where it needs to go, so that sounds like a plausible mechanism. Too little oil will definitely lead to bearing problems as well. I've experienced it on other cars (though not my MINI, thankfully!).

--DD