Waiting to be turned on...

[bmcecosse]

Well done Jack. If it can run for 6 seconds then it will run again. Probably ran out of fuel.
XDB - Dizzy at 180 degrees is no problem - just swap the plug leads round two places!

[jackkelleher]

Thank you for the support everyone! It's been a long haul- I suppose I must have started this last august- and there's been plenty to do on the way, but it's done! I'd have been lost without the tips I've recieved- not only on this thread, which is great, but on all the threads I've put up while rebuilding!

You should lose the smoking after its run warm for a while -

That's good to know. I was hoping it wasn't a sign of another problem, I suspected though that it was just oil in the bores...
Right, now that's all fixed, on to the fuel tank! I'll check the pipe and the sender, which I suspect will be the problem- I've looked at the filler before and everything seems in order, but I'll check both anyway!
So good to have a living Moggy again! Now I just need those bonnet release bits to arrive and I can put the front end back on (at the moment I've only put in the rad supporter, not the main grille panel).

If it can run for 6 seconds then it will run again.

That's what I'm banking on! Watch this space (or maybe a new thread) for news of a first drive...
Thanks again, everyone! I'll be on here a lot more in the future, I know, and it's great to have such a friendly and experienced knowledge base as support.

[jackkelleher]

Talk to y'all again soon, as they say over here...

[jackkelleher]

And here's soon!
There's still a leak from the timing case, and although I've made sure all the bolts are tightened like they should be it's still leaking. It's leaking from the lowest point on the case (naturally, I suppose) and I don't really know what to do with it! Should I slip some extra instant gasket round that edge or something? I can't remove the cover since the crank wheel is held on with a lock washer, but I could undo all the bolts and... No, the oil would drain out, ditch that.
All right, moving on, has anyone fitted those door seals from ESM (think they also stock them on Bull Motif and probably most sites), the ones that have a metal channel and a rubber seal? If so, how do they go on? I see no way of connecting them to the door!
I just got a consignment of parts (door seals, boot seal (which causes the boot to not close), electric windscreen washer kit) and wondered, on the subject of the washer, is that little non-return valve that connects separately into the pipe needed with the electric pump? And what is the most efficient way to drill holes in those panels under the dash? I broke a drill bit trying that!
On the subject of the fuel tank, I checked the filler and it seemed ok, though I managed to tighten the jubilee clips quite a bit. When I started on the sender, first thing was that the screws weren't very tight... I removed it, and the gasket is old but absolutely fine. So I put it back in, put some instant gasket on either side of the real gasket to seal it more tightly, and did the screws up as tightly as I could... We'll have to see if that does the trick! I suspect it will, they were pretty loose (not beyond hand tightness, but still loose enough that I really made no effort undoing them...)
So! The washer and the boot seal need sorting and then I'm waiting for more parts... Always seem to be doing that!

[jackkelleher]

as for the rubber filler pipe to the tank these can sometimes develop a split

Mine's not a rubber one, but a pretty heavy-duty seeming one made of some kind of fibrous material, maybe it's kevlar-reinforced or whatever they do to these things but it didn't look like it could split! (And there was no split...)

[Orkney]

Hmm the timing cover drip isnt great news.
Honestly reckon you'd be better off taking it off and making a proper seal there. Know it means taking the crank wheel off but the little time spent doing that properly now will be an investment in no annoying leak forever.
Think trying to 'fix' from the outside with instant gasket is a very temporary thing even if it does work its always likely to let you down at some stage.
Anyway theres definitely something not right there so worth sorting properly - dont forget when you run it up and drive it the oil will be under more pressure and a lot thinner so that leaks going to get a lot worse.

That lock washer by the way - you can sometimes turn them off with the nut - BIG spanner can flatten it out for you - if it wont and you dont have room to flatten it with chisel/screwdriver then it migth be a time saver to whip teh radiator out and give you more room an a better look at whats going on once you get the timing cover off.


Door Seal - goes on the car body not the door that metal channel 'clips' onto the seam that is the edge of the door aperture - if you get stuck i can take a photo for you.

Sounds like you migth have sorted the petrol smell - doesnt take much for the vapours to escape fom around the sender.

[alex_holden]

on the subject of the washer, is that little non-return valve that connects separately into the pipe needed with the electric pump?

It's not essential but it's worth leaving at least the one at the very bottom end of the pipe (there are two on the hand-pumped setup) because it will stop the water draining out of the pipes when the pump is off.

And what is the most efficient way to drill holes in those panels under the dash? I broke a drill bit trying that!

Start by making a dent with a centre punch, then drill through with quite a small drill bit - say 2mm - as a pilot. Don't use too much pressure. If the drill isn't running backwards (not like I've ever done that ) and it still won't cut, the bit is probably blunt. beware when the bit breaks through it's likely to snatch and try to yank the drill out of your hands. The larger the drill bit the harder it will snatch. You can get special sheet metal bits that look like a sort of stepped cone that are supposed to prevent that but I've not had much luck with them myself. If you need a large hole then work up to it with a couple of intermediate sizes rather than going straight for the final size. If the bit starts to get hot, spray some WD40 or something on it to cool and lubricate it.

[Axolotl]

On the timing chain cover oil leak:

If you slacken the bolts, the only oil that will run out will be the little bit right at the bottom of the cover that hasn't drained back into the sump. You won't drain all your oil out, the bulk of it is in the sump below the level of the timing chain cover.

On mine, there is enough free play to slacken or remove the bolts without taking the crank pulley off, and slide the cover forward about 1/4" and have a "feel" around with a screwdriver or something to see if you've maybe got a bit of old gasket trapped in there, causing the leak. You could also inject some gasket goo in the gap and retighten to see if that cures it.

Also, the leak may not be at the bottom where its dripping; any oil that leaks out will run round the groove between the cover and the block to the lowest point before it drips.

However, as people have said, you may end up having to take it off and start again to cure the leak completely. making sure the cover rim is absolutely flat and that the cover and block surfaces are scrupulously clean with no trace of old gasket there.

When you tighten it up, be careful you don't bend the cover by tightening it too much in one place. Go round the bolts several times, tightening them all to the same level each time, don't try to get one really tight before you move on to the next one.

On the door seals:

I thought there were supposed to be little metal clips that go between the door frame metal and the metal lining on the strip to hold it in place. Maybe that's a different sort of strip? There were threads about this under "bodywork" quite recently.

[bmcecosse]

As above for the timing case cover - but if the cover has been distorted then nothing for it but to remove - and flatten it out on the bench before refitting. Check the oil thrower has been refitted - and right way round. Also - while all the little bolts are hand tight - centralise the seal by turning the engine over a couple of turns - then tighten the bolts.

[jackkelleher]

I thought there were supposed to be little metal clips that go between the door frame metal and the metal lining on the strip to hold it in place.

As did I! That's what lost me.
All right, I can see that the metal bit would fit over the aperture base, now that I look, but what's to stop it coming off? And how does the rubber go on to the metal? I must be missing something... It always is irritating that certain kits (and this is not a slur against any manufacturer/supplier, I've found it with all the ones I've used) don't come with instructions... You'd think they'd provide some with an electric pump, too, not just a bunch of bits! Luckily I'm ok with wiring that into the car, I can improvise additions to the circuits ok now after having done it a few times!
Anyway, that aside. It's more or less the least of the problems.
Timing case, I shall remove completely. If I just slip the front panel off, I can push the rad up and out of the way without removing it, which means no draining the system, and then I've actually found a spare lock washer so I'm not so fussed with removing the one that's there. (The reason I was unwilling to try was that I didn't have another to put on and they're most definitely single-use jobbies!

t's not essential but it's worth leaving at least the one at the very bottom end of the pipe (there are two on the hand-pumped setup)

I had a non-original Lucas thing until it broke, and it didn't require any extra valves at all! Then of course when I put the replacement in, I didn't realise that it needed any, so I could never figure why it didn't work... The bottom of the pipe? Which bottom? I'm afraid I can't visualise exactly what you mean...
Thank you for the drilling guide, that will come in most handy. I'm making pilot holes for self-tappers to hold the pump in place, shouldn't need to be larger than a mm or two!

[alex_holden]

On the original hand-pumped washer setup, there's a check valve on the end of the feed pipe inside the bottle.

[Axolotl]

Jack, re your door seal. Here is a link to the thread I was thinking of.

http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=17782

It seems to say you do need the little metal clips to hold the new trim in place. I guess you just need to know that, and are supposed to order them separately.

However, I see that ESM sell a new-type door seal that says it doesn't need clips. But they also sell the clips (!). Here:

http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... 14ff0b2d2c

I guess you'll have to work out what type of seal you have, and order the clips if necessary.

And the non-return valve on the washer jet pipe goes right at the bottom end of the pipe inside the washer fluid bottle. (Sorry, repeating what Alex has just said) Looks like a little upside down funnel with a wire gauze filter across it.

The pump has non-return valves in it, so the last one is just there to keep the fluid in the pipe between the pump and the washer bottle. That's all I have on my system, which I fitted myself to replace the push pump.

[jackkelleher]

An ugly spectre has raised its head! I discovered a Stripped Thread.
Before I removed the case, I decided to tighten everything as much as I could. At that point I realised that the bottom two bolts were neither of them as tight as they could be- not only that but the oil that had formed a little shiny line on the join between case and block (which I figured would probably lead to the gap) showed a flow from around the upper of the two bolts. I tightened the lower and that went fine, it was barely beyond hand tightness! The other, however, did something rather irritating: every time it reached a certain tightness it suddenly popped and was looser again, ie a thread is stripped/gone... I tried some stuff and figured out it's not the thread of the bolt but of the hole that is weak. I think if I tighten the bolt to the correct torque the leak will stop- that's the reason for the torque settings, isn't it (as well as to prevent stripped threads, which some idiot didn't bother with- I am executively absolving myself of the sin since I use a torque wrench! )
All very well, I have the UNF taps and a drill but for one thing- it's of course one of the two or three bolts behind the crank wheel, and therefore the gap in front of it is too small for the insertion of a tap... Looks like I'll be removing the wheel anyway!
Onto the seals:

It seems to say you do need the little metal clips to hold the new trim in place.

Mine is impossible to fit clips to! It's basically a channel of metal: the easiest way to describe this is if you took a cross-section widthways, it would look like a staple (I hope people can visualise that!) If you see what I mean, and you know what the black clips look like, you'll know it's impossible to fit clips on it.

However, I see that ESM sell a new-type door seal that says it doesn't need clips.

By extension of the sheer impossibility, I submit that that's what I have! Makes my life no easier. Basically the seals are shaped like a T in the width-wise cross. Therefore the crossbar of the T should fit into the channel of metal- that makes sense- but what makes it stay there? And what on Earth connects the smooth back of the channel to any bit of the car? All very strange.

that metal channel 'clips' onto the seam that is the edge of the door aperture - if you get stuck i can take a photo for you.

I think I need that photo! If the channel clips to the door, where does the rubber seal attach?

[Axolotl]

Substitute nuts and bolts for the stripped bolts. I think most of the smaller ones let you get a nut and bolt on, if you use half depth nuts and longer bolts.

[jackkelleher]

You know, I'd never have thought of that in a million years!
Brilliant, thank you.

[alex_holden]

The black clips push onto the metal lip of the door aperture, then the U section of the seal pushes onto the black clips.

I've stopped trusting my torque wrench at lower torque settings after stripping several small nuts and studs with it. I now just use a correct sized spanner and go by feel.

[jackkelleher]

So far mine's done me sterling service- its only tendency is to change torque slightly so I have to keep an eye on that but it's mainly because I'm too lazy to tighten the setting knob up fully...
Well, I regret to say I am off tomorrow morning, to the Bahamas. So my car won't be moving on for a week! I'll be back then. It's a bit of a nuisance really, can't change the family plans for my Moggy though...
I'll be back, as someone famous once said...

[jackkelleher]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[jackkelleher]

...And I am! Happy New Year everybody. I'm going to leave this thread now- it's pretty hefty- and start a few others for various issues as they pop up...
See you!

[Orkney]

Hope it wasnt too tiring going to the Bahamas
Reckon you should continue the thread - its actually really interesting to see the progress your making