Morris Minor Owners Club

Ring spanner is best for the bigends - you do know to keep them matched to the con-rod, and to note which way round they are fitted... A correct size socket (9/16" AF) should also do the job - but the bolt heads are quite thin - and often a nice new ring key is the answer. Open end spanners are completely useless......and certainly GET RID OF that adjustable wrench......it has no place anywhere near an engine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They are quite tight and you will already have found that you will need to brace the engine to stop it from twisting when you try to undo the big end and main nuts. Check that there isn't a lock tab stopping the nut from turning - some engines had these before the invention of the nyloc nut! Also, try to use a longer bar to increase torque when undoing these. If you can get the engine properly braced you should be able to apply enough pressure to shift them. Will be good to see what condition the bearings are actually in when you get it stripped further!

Thanks fellas, my friend has some ring spanners which should do. Brueck, there are locking tabs which I have bent back. There is also some locking wire threaded through bolt heads on other parts of the engine.

BMCE, I know the socket is not designed for this job and I'm not straining it, but it has been very useful so far in removing sump-bolts, so don't knock it!

Yes there have already been some surprises falling out of the engine!

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote:-snip
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I apologise for the lack of close-ups but my camera just will not do them.

WOW! The bores on an 803cc look really tiny compared to those on a 1098cc!

cf a 1275 - or an overbored 1380!

Today we took the big-end caps off so we could have a look at the bearings. It was obvious which one had failed, as No.1 cylinder's con-rod was rattling around quite freely! Before we took the caps off we marked both cap and con-rod with file marks so we can fit them the right way and in the right order again: 1 mark for No.1 cyl, 2 marks for No. 2 cyl and so on.

Here's what's left in the sump (yes, all that sludge is metal):[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

The oil strainer wasn't a pretty sight either, as you can see:[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

The bearing must be well and truly shredded judging by the bits floating around in the sump![frame][/frame]

As I was unscrewing the oil strainer, this fell out from between the bracket and block. It is a tiny brass nut. It's anybody's guess as to how this got in the engine and when, perhaps it fell in during manufacture?[frame][/frame]

After we'd struggled to undo the very tough big end caps, this is what we found:[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

All the other bearings were in very good condition. Here you can compare a good bearing (left) with dead one on the right. The difference in thickness was incredible and it seems to have just melted out.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

The crank at this point looks badly scored and ridged, and I have been quoted £150 for a regrind (if it can be re-ground). I will be sending it away for examination to see what can be done with it or whether it is just scrap.
The plan is to do a full bottom-end rebuild and put new rings in aswell. For an engine approaching 90,000 miles the bores appear to be in excellent condition. Then we will put in all the new gaskets, decoke, grind in the valves, new oil pump etc.

Should I leave the new crank and bearing fitting to the experts? I would do it myself but have never done this before and want to get it spot-on.

Effectively this will be a fully reconditioned engine!

Your hands look way too clean to be working on an engine, need some oily thumbs

Anyway, what about this, it would be quicker to get this complete and you could in theory have the engine rebuilt more quickly than waiting on a regrind.

http://morrisminorspares.co.uk/shop/pro ... f202e16e1d

As for rebuilding, well you were able to take it apart and rebuilding is a straight forward reversal of the process.

Absolutely go for that exchange crank - it's a screaming bargain with the bearings. You will need to flush out all the oil ways in your engine to remove swarf. Remove the relief valve and the filter and the oil pump. And flush them all through with paraffin - and also reverse flush the oil feeds to the main bearings. It may be worth getting the camshaft out and flushing through the oil feeds to the journals - and the feed up to the rocker shaft that comes out in the top block face ---the small hole near the water pump. Also dismantle and clean the oil pump - if it's damaged - fit a new one. You can easily rebuild the crankshaft etc in to the block - but I wonder about that con rod with the badly damaged shell bearing......it may be damaged/stretched out if it has been 'hammering' for some time.