Morris Minor Owners Club

Keep up the good work fella.. I no these engines and oil leaks can be a real ngt mare... its testing you at the minute the pick up.. but its getting better and better the more you do... keep your spirits up !

thanks Paul. The new Gasket set arrived from ESM after I ordered it from them yesterday mid morning.[frame][/frame]
the sump off again, this time a view of the cork gaskets after reading the BMC/BL manual, the top end of the cork gasket needs to be 1/8th inch longer than the ends of the top edge of the curve.[frame][/frame]

I make that to be about 3mm, looking at the old one's, they are too short at the rear but just right at the front, probably why the gasket leaked at the back then.[frame][/frame]

and from the side it's clear it was too short[frame][/frame]

so new sump cork gasket, measure twice cut once, using a macdonalds stirring stick, cut off and marked to 3.2mm[frame][/frame]

but first the manual mentions checking the edges of the sump are true,there's a raised burr on one side that needed filing down flat.[frame][/frame]

then it was ready for a dry test fit of the gaskets to see if all was right before they were oiled up and fitted.
[frame][/frame]

a drive around to the council recycle centre to use their used oil deposit, and....she still drips, the small one is my fault, a tightening up of the sump plug will fix that, but the larger one leaves me perplexed.[frame][/frame]

Dave
I've spent months chasing an oil leak on my classic car, so sympathise with the undoubted frustration.

Establish now whether it is the main gasket or maybe the perimeter of the sump bolts themselves, that are leaking.

If it is the main sump gasket, did you dress the bolt holes in the sump pan completely flat ?
I assume there were no holes / cracks in the sump itself, when you had it off ?

My set screws had a course thread, so I tried PFTE tape, which helped a bit but didn't entirely cure the problem. I eventually
used Heldite ( MOD approved, tanks, aircraft and like ) which cracked the problem for me.Brilliant stuff.
http://www.heldite.co.uk.

Classic cars are addictive, particularly if you have a " I will not be beaten " attitude !
Best of luck with it,
Bob

oil leak fun !! after 2 sump gaskets and and all the front engine gaskets i finally found the source of the problem on my car to be oil seeping out of the edge of the main bearing cap , if you look carefully the very corner of the cap is exposed and this is the same on the rear cap , i took the caps off [ engine out ] and cleaned them , then i applied a small bead of blue hylomar around the edge of the cap refitted the sump and so far apart from a tiny weep from the rear scroll no other leaks at all , have you got a o ring on the distributor guide into the block ? the oil from this will run along the sump gasket and drip at the rear

did you check the crankshaft bearings?
When there is to much space, the are working like a pump, and pumping the oil between front and rear to the outside....

thanks for your replies guys, Bob I no longer think the problem is the sump gasket. The leaks are now streaming from the gearbox, only tiny drips now come out of the sump.[frame][/frame]

after a short motorway drive to Arundel and back, the oil was leaking from several places under the gearbox, bell housing drain hole, clutch fork bellows and areas to the rear of that,[frame][/frame]

checking the gearbox oil level, it's full, touching the oil it's still got that new green tinge of new oil from the engine. can I reseal my main rear bearing caps without having to resort to engine removal?

Just a thought before you start stripping things, have you checked the engine breather?

Overpressure in the engine is easy to check: let him run, and take the oil filler cap off, with to much pressure he is going high, when its ok, he can lay on his place without moving.

David,
Sorry I've no personal experience of trying it in situ, so I'll bow to someone who has got the T shirt.
Bob

Definately make sure the breather is clear, otherwise crankcase pressure will build up and blow oil out of everywhere, which does look very likely by the amount thats coming out. As above take the oil filler off when running and see what your met with.

I dont think its possible to get to the rear main cap off in situ, it protrudes through a hole in the backplate.

Thats heading for an engine out job, you may then find things are worn like the main bearings which also contribute oil coming out of the rear cap. Have you done a health check of the rings and bores. A bottom end rebuild would then be the best course of action.

Good read this thread of your trials and tribulations.

thanks for all the thoughtful comments gentlemen, I will check over the breather pipe and make sure it's not blocked, but I'm building myself up for another engine out this summer, might as well start accumulating all the parts I will need.[frame][/frame]

my glimpse of todays solar eclipse[frame][/frame]

well she's still working hard for her keep, her place in the garage, when she is not in use, is guaranteed all the time she is this handy. Here she is with myself and my daughters boyfriend Cam removing an old broken down fridge, to the local council recycling centre, that has blighted the outside of their student house for months, the landlady wouldn't shift it, so we did, and with the Help from Alice, it was dead easy.[frame][/frame]

I see Cam is a " little lad " , I bet you struggled to lower the tailgate whilst he lifted the fridge , single handed and put it in the back ?
Just the vehicle for the job !
Bob

you're right there Bob he's a strong chap. You kindly sent me a Magazine article when I stripped down my spare gearbox for inspection and cleaning. (page 89) It's come in very handy, and will continue to be as now it's time for re-assembly. The gearbox will wait for the refit when I renew the front wings at the same time
close inspection of the stripped out gears and parts showed that it's in used but very good condition.[frame][/frame]

the shoulders of the baulk rings look good[frame][/frame]

reverse has slight wear on one or two of the teeth but not enough to worry about.[frame][/frame]

so on with the re-assembly, starting with the laygear and it's thrust washers held in place with a long screwdriver till I can insert the layshaft, the first motion shaft is positioned ready to be tapped forward, using a wood handle.[frame][/frame]

the first motion shaft bearing is just starting to inch into position, I have to tap it through till I can see the clip recess machined into it's edge.[frame][/frame]

a few gentle taps later and the clip could be fitted before the first motion shaft was tapped back again till the clip was against the front surface.[frame][/frame]

The reverse gear rests in it's position as the main gears are lowered into the first motion shaft. looks a bit odd with the reverse gears laying at an angle.[frame][/frame]

then after the reverse gear shaft is located, the layshaft is fitted, this was the hardest one, but with a joggle here and a adjustment there I got it right through the thrust washers either end of the laygear. Now it looks like a clean version of the same view on page 89.[frame][/frame]