Breakdown...all help appreciated

[steaky]

Hi all, just bought a mm, hasn't done long journeys in years. I drove it home from eastbourne to surrey. Broke down 4 times, first 3 it restarted but 4th didn't, AA man said rotor arm, we 'bodged' (bluetack for the crack) it and got home. Next day replaced rotor arm went out quick spin to show friends. It broke down towed home. AA man reckons electrical on starter side. So i changed coil, points, condensor, rotor arm, dist cap, ht leads and plugs. Is that all i need to do? The stalling problem comes on after a few miles, as we idle i can hear the petrol pump so that seems fine, could it be anything else? Gonna try a drive tomorrow, but bloody nervous now. i am a total novice and am pleased it still starts after changing that lot! So if it stalls again while out what more can i do?

[rayofleamington]

Hi all, just bought a mm

Did you buy an MM or did you mean Minor 1000?

Various parts are different on the differnt models, so it helps to state the year of car.
It sopunds like you have changed all the normal service parts (and the coil too) so hopefully you should now be ok.

Take some tools and a few bits of wire etc.. with you on the next run. Minors are very simple - as long as you have petrol and a spark they should keep going

As for a car that has not been well used - you should expect all kinds of teething problems, but keep checking the oil and water (frequently to start with) and it should be ok.
The A5 size owners handbook is a good guide on how to maintain the car. A car that hasn't been well looked after is going to need a lot of TLC in the early days but it is all worthwhile in the long run as then you know that it will all be ok.
Good Luck!

[steaky]

The car is a 1098 saloon, genuine 41000 miles and has good history, seems well maintained up to last 5 yrs when it has done limited mileage, too and from mot shop it would seem. So i am going to do as thorough a service as a novice can, it has a years mot and was 'born' 1967.

[jojax64]

Just a stab in the dark......
I recently posted re: my first breakdown, which turned out to be the little nut on the points assembly that holds the little LT wire and the condenser wire. Apparently this is a common problem. The little nut works itself loose due to engine vibration. The result is an open cct. at the points. The car might actually start, and run for a short distance before dying.
Check that little nut, from now on it's my first point of reference if I ever break down again!

[Willie]

If it only gives trouble when hot then,usually that would point
to a suspect coil (if it IS an electrical fault). There have been
a spate of rotor arm failures recently, carry at least one spare.
You seem to have changed everything, which can be a bad thing
when trying to pin down a fault unless you save all the old parts.
You can then replace each item in turn to isolate the problem.
You say that the AA man patched up your original rotor arm and
the car kept going. If you still have it try re fitting it when the
car is in the fault condition. The fact that it breaks down when
hot could also be connected to the fuel supply side. Does it tick
over steadily when hot? When you say you can hear the petrol
pump when ticking over is it a slow tick or quite rapid?

[bmcecosse]

If the rotor arm was cracked-throw it away ! You have done a good job changing all the ignition stuff - well done. There is also a small fine wire inside the dizzy - the 'low tension' wire - this can become frayed/straggly/broken - would be worth it to change this too. Otherwise it could be loose connections to the coil or dizzy.. OR - it could be fuel starvation - the pump is ticking away hard trying to pump fuel but can't get enough through because of blockage or maybe because of a vacuum forming in the tank. Check the cap has a breather hole - and if it stops again, take the cap off - is there a great sucking noise ? There is a filter built into the pump too - take this out and clean it. Less likely is sticky carb piston - check it can slide up and down freely - with the dashpot unscrewed the oiston should fall to the bridge with a sharp 'clunk' - and add some oil in the dashpot when you put it back together.

[ColinP]

Hi,
basd on my recent experience, I'd really suggest that you check/change the fuel pump points.

I've suffered odd intermitent spells by the road side (usually about 5-10 minutes into the journey) for a few months - changed all the HT etc.

Last time I grabbed the fuel pipe off the float chamber and No fuel!. The pump hd been working on start-up (I listen for the tick), and after cooling down (and opening the points manually) worked ok.
New fuel pump points are about £6 - take about 1 hour to fit (I'm a bit slow first time around)

Colin

[bmcecosse]

Yep - annual cleaning of the pump points is part of the Spring time resurrection for my Traveller.

[chickenjohn]

If the fuel pump is working (with the ignition on pull the pipe off the carb float chamber- if it starts pumping fuel like mad then the pump is OK and there are no blockages or fuel vacuums- allow to squirt into a jam jar while you go to switch off the ignition) and the little points nut on the points isn't loose (a classic one that!), the only other thing I can think of - which happened to my Traveller- is that the distributor may be loose- thus it moves and causes the timing to drift, thus stopping the car. Check the bolts are tight that hold the dizzy in place.

Also, I'd say check the timing with a timing light (with engine running). If it moves about too much from the timing mark then the distributor may be knackered (internal bits), if so, then replace with a new one.

Another possibillity- does the car stop when the fuel level is getting low?? Possibly dirt or rust in the tank.

Other than that- as said above, the Minor is about as simple as cars can get- as long as fuel/air and spark meet at the right time, it should run!

[steaky]

Well after changing the gear in a service kit plus a coil and ht leads i went for a spin. Only half an hour mind but it was fine, refreshing to get home under my own steam so to speak. I run a bit of paper through the fuel pumps points but i have also ordered another set as they looked 'dodgy'...talking like a mechanic already...but so far so good...thanks for all your good advice...i feel i'm gonna learn so much from you guys....so much that i've posted another request in the bodywork section....never thought getting dirty and oily would be so interesting!

[bmcecosse]

Once it starts getting expensive it won't be quite so interesting !

[Cam]

.......... which is why you should try and do as much as you can yourself!