My New Car! But what is wrong with it?

[rainbox]

Don't worry, there's been no tinkering yet, only a quick look and some more information. I know the guy used to have a minor, now he's got a mini. I think he's had few other classics in between. He obviously knows his way around them although he's not planning to take part in any major works on it. He has been very helpful pointing me in the right direction though, and is going to let me borrow a space to do some work under cover. I've now got the number of another guy who's local though, who's got a Traveller and a few minors who's apparently quite the mechanic. Hopefully he'll be able to help!

I have no clue what the clutch is, although I would assume it is mechanical. The only reason there is a question mark around it is this very funny experience we had with it, the gradual release of pressure as if there was a leaky hosepipe. I don't see how a mechanical clutch would do that? The only way to find out for sure seems to be to have a look!

[bmcecosse]

And the way to avoid it is to NOT hold the clutch down for more than 2 seconds -just enough to select gear and move off! But you are correct - the symptom is of a leaky hydraulic clutch - something the Minor happily avoids unless someone has been messing about with it........

[rainbox]

I have really taken note of the 'not keeping the clutch down' thing. But surely there are times when you have to keep it down for a little while, like when doing a hill start junction? I don't mean for ages obviously, but more than 2 seconds... Or is there a way around it? How do you guys deal with it? I'm still on my provisional license so without a doubt there is still much room for improvement in my driving style.

[bmcecosse]

Practice makes perfect! It really is just a case of wait till the road is clear - clutch down - into gear - handbrake off (if it was on) and clutch up as you do so. Simples!! What you don't do -is sitting with the car in gear and the clutch held down - holding the car on the brake... That just kills the carbon thrust!

[rainbox]

So I'm wondering what to do with some rust bubbles that are on the bottom of the door panels. I've read everything from 'grind - fill - paint' to 'cut out - weld - replace'.

What are your views? It doesn't look too bad, but if it is a real problem I'd rather deal with it before it gets worse. Of course I hadn't reckoned on doing any welding just yet and if there is a temporary fix even if it means dealing with it properly later I think I'd prefer that.

[MarkyB]

If they aren't too bad I'd leave them until they are.
Just filling and painting will buy you very little time and is likely to be quite visible as getting a good paint match will be difficult.

The lower section of the door is available as a repair panel when the time comes to do the job properly.

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Follow MarkyB's sound advice BUT in the meantime wire-brush the rust and treat it with Kurust, to stop it getting any worse. Of course this depends on how bad they are; there might not be any point. Conversely it could save you money if you can repair them in the summer.

[whyperion]

Judder relating to moving off with clutch can relate to the cable under the car attaching from the rear of the gearbox cross member to the rear of the gearbox , the cable could have broken or streached ( note this was originally an aftermarket kit when owners complained to morris of clutch judder , later becoming a standard fitment on the cars ). Could also be the rubbers wearing in the engine anti-judder bar ( cylinder head to under battery tray ) , (Again an after market to original item dependent on year when the A Series was fitted , it did not idle as smooth as the morris 8 side valve ). The rubbers might be ok , but the under battery bracket loose - as mine was , the engine movement had broken the welds after 30 years .

Finally could be wear in the propshaft universal joints ?

[rayofleamington]

The last thing is the clutch. With the pedal fully depressed it would start to engage after about 30 seconds, obviously a bit awkward if you're waiting at a junction or something

That is a sign of a fault* - and unless you have a hydraulic clutch conversion (very rare) it's a symptom that's pretty unheard of. I'd be interested to hear what that turns out to be.

*two faults actually - the second one of the faults is how people are now taught to drive, according to the latest rules, set by people who really don't understand cars. I don't blame the drivers, because if they drove correctly/safely/sensibly they could fail the test!
e.g. 1 Using neutral at traffic lights. (apparently the much less safe practise of waiting in gear with the clutch open was 'less confusing' for the learners. )
e.g.2 Noticeable engine braking ("gears for go, brakes for slow" - massively dangerous if the engine stalls with loss of brake servo and power steering. Plenty of accidents/injuries and some deaths would be avoided by teaching engine braking, which in turn keeps servo and PAS alive - and not to mention that it is useful in the rare event of brake failure. Instead people shift to neutral if the engine stops producing power...)

[rainbox]

Hey!

So after a looooong frustrating time waiting for some opportunity to get some work done we had a couple of hours in mechanic Mo's garage this afternoon. We gave the brakes an overhaul and sorted out the wheel bearing, it only needed some grease and tightening of the nuts.
The clutch is still a bit of a mystery though, it is definitely hydraulic and will need a closer inspection after Christmas. I have a fairly clear picture of how a normal clutch works but the hydraulic one is a bit of a mystery to me. It seems like it is not very well adjusted (a lot of play) but from what I understand they are meant to be self adjusting so what do you do when they are not? Could somebody give me a crash course in hydraulic clutches?

The other thing we found is that the top swivel joint on the right front side had a lot of play, what would be the best way to get a replacement part? And on the left front side the rubber on the bottom swivel joint was cracked, which apparently will fail an MOT. Is it possible to buy a new rubber without replacing the whole joint?

Any advice generally on what we found? I'm wondering what to do with the clutch, it seems appealing to change it back to a mechanical clutch but I understand the fastenings and everything are different, so a pretty big job. Is it better to just try and get the hydraulic one to work? Any thoughts?

I'm quite excited something is actually happening, it's been pretty frustrating it just sitting there considering I've never even driven the thing yet. Hopefully all that will change soon, now I know the brakes work I might take her for a spin....

[rainbox]

Oh by the way, the brake discs at the front will need replacing although it's not imminent, are these normally the Marina ones? Cheers.

[bmcecosse]

The fixing of the bearings by 'tightening a nut' worries me.... What exactly was going on here? The securing nut for the front (and rear) hubs should be thoroughly tight and never need 'tightening'. Hydraulic clutch is very non standard (and very unwise...) - is it possible the car has a non standard gearbox fitted?? The cracked rubber on the lower joint worries me - it doesn't have a rubber boot - and that's what would fail an MOT. It does have two little rubber sealing rings - is that what is 'cracked' ?? Seems unlikely.....but yes they are available and easily fitted. Top swivel - you need to decide if the wear is simply in the rubber bushes where the top swivel meets the damper arm (top tip - fit poly bushes here anyway) - or in the course thread where the swivel pivots on the king pin. If it's there - then a new swivel 'may' take up the wear - but more likely a complete new king pin assembly is required. See the MOSS diagram for the parts. http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Shop/ViewP ... exID=17091

[IslipMinor]

It looks like the car has disk brakes, and if they are Marina then taper roller bearings, which are not tightened on to a spacer. What is actually fitted though?

[rainbox]

Thanks for your reply, I don't know what is wrong with the swivel joint, but the bit I've put a circle around on the diagram jiggled backwards and there was quite a lot of play.

On the other side the bottom swivel joint looked different then on the right side, older and a different design with a grease nipple on top. This looked in decent condition and seemed to be working well, the only thing was the rubber sleeve covering the joint (this may be confusing as I don't know what all the different parts are called, unfortunately I didn't bring my camera today but I'll see if I can get some photos tomorrow) had some cracks in it and when squirting grease into the nipple that's where it started leaking out.

The wheel bearing had some play in it so we took it apart,cleaned and re-greased it but it didn't look like anything was wrong with it and when we put it back together there was no play.

Yes the hydraulic clutch is non standard and to be honest I'd rather have it without but atm my main priority is actually getting to drive the thing, so if it can work for now that's fine with me. Maybe later I can consider switching it back?

It looks like the car has disk brakes, and if they are Marina then taper roller bearings, which are not tightened on to a spacer. What is actually fitted though?

I'm not quite sure what that means, or what sort of bearing I have There were definitely spacers though, two of them.[frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

Yes -could be adjustment on taper rollers - same type as I have on my TR7 - if they have been fitted to the car. As before - decide if it's the rubber bushes, or the swivel thread that's causing the movement. Renew all the little rubber parts if in doubt. Cost is minimal!

[mike.perry]

It is a wise precaution to strip and inspect the front suspension, top and bottom swivel joints and eye bolt. You do not know the maintenance history of the car and you feel pretty silly if the front wheel falls off.
You do not give any information on the car, age, engine, gearbox etc which could explain the non standard fittings.

[rainbox]

It is a 1966 4 door saloon. It's had quite a few owners, and has obviously had some modifications over the years. It used to have a 1275cc engine but sometime after 2006 this was changed back to an original 1098cc. Somewhere along the way it has also got a hydraulic clutch, alternator and disc brakes at the front. I don't know what the gear box is, what is the standard and how can I tell? I haven't discovered any other modifications yet but I'm sure more will be revealed as we do some more work...

I'll definitely check out the suspension, you're right I wouldn't like it very much if the wheels came off

[mike.perry]

That explains the hydraulic clutch. If it had a 1275 engine then it would have had a diaphram clutch and hydraulic actuation. Has it got a 4 or 5 speed box?

[rainbox]

4 speed.

[mike.perry]

Could do with some photos