Morris Minor Owners Club

Losing some oil from the side of the engine somewhere. Not serious, but anoying![frame][/frame]

Is there meant to be a big hole in the side of the gearbox? Looks a bit odd.

The journey into town went well though. No issues with the car. Brakes nicely, drives straight, engine is responsive even if it is low geared, no gears jumping out, no clutch slip etc. and lots of smiles and waves from people.

"Which Company gave you insurance for £58 ???"
I did the usual MoneySuperMarket and other comparison websites, but the best came back at £78 and an annual mileage of 2000 miles. I accidentally ended up doing a google search, which took me to ComputerQuoteInsurance.com with £58. Seemed good.
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I hope it is an agreed value policy......

The hole in the side of the gearbox should be filled with a grommet. Available from ESM etc etc

Oil leak on engine probably from side cover. New gasket should help

Andy

You really need a Classic Car insurance policy which is designed to suit the requirements and conditions of a classic car, such as agreed value. You do not want to find that the insurance will only give you a street value for your car if you should be unfortunate enough to have an accident.

I gave the insurance company the value I paid for it. As long as this is repaid, minus my excess is okay with me. The low cost of the insurance probably reflects my age and 21 year NCD. I really just wanted to get the car on the road, but happy to look out for better insurance next time it us due.

What you paid for the car (IMHO a very high dealer price) and what an insurance company will pay out in the event of the car being written off will be two VERY different figures.
Take my advice - cancel you new policy ( you are still in the 14 day cooling off period) and get an agreed value policy with a reputable company specialising in classic car policies.
I pay £80 for an agreed value, unlimited mileage policy with Peter James.

For the sake of a few quid........

Andy

Hi Andy, thanks for the tip with Peter James. FWIW, I didn't pay the advertised price, no where near. I had done a fair bit of homework regarding prices before I jumped in.

Returning to your axle picture, the lack of a rear filler shows it to be an early type. If you want a higher ratio it is best to get a complete 1098 axle. A 1098 diff will fit in an early casing, but then you would have the problem that neither has an oil filler!

that oil leak could just be a tappett chest cover try nipping up the stud only a little one flat may be just enough

Good point ianmack, I'll see what I can find.

Tappet chest cover, if that's one of the two side casing covers, you could be right. It's not coming from the rocker cover on top though as this is dry.
In this photo you can see a side cover with what looks like an orange seal or orange sealant around it. This seems to be where the oil is coming from.
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Tappet chest cover, common source of leaks.
Not sealant, looks to be a new neoprene gasket. Many recommend these, but I've had more success at getting the cork seals to work properly personally.

Might be an easy fix swapping it over to a cork gasket then. Would I need to drain the oil first or is the level likely to be well below?

Another question, I need to source a rear diff as discussed above / complete axle. It has been suggested that i go for a 3.9:1 ratio given that the engine is a 1098cc. I have however just spotted this page here: http://www.mmoc.org.uk/index.php?page=341
It suggests that the correct diff for the 1098cc engine in a saloon is the 4.22:1, ideally the BTA 550 due to it's strength. How should I determine the best advice here? Also, if I find a Morris 1000 axle, it perhaps is foolish to expect it to have the correct ratio as I understand they also had 948cc engines in them?

No need to drain oil.
948 4.55 diffs are easily distinguished by the filler plug in the diff casing. Likewise, later '1098' axles for the 4.22 diff have a filler plug on the back of the casing.
You are in danger of having no filler plug, so you will either have to fill via a removed half shaft or through the breather tube, or weld a threaded section into your existing casing for a filler plug, or source and fit a later axle.
Even with the 4.22, the 1098 is a little ill geared, particularly on long motorway stretches. Fitting a 3.9 leads to more relaxed driving speed and less engine noise at motorway cruising speed. If you lie in a very hilly area, or don't use the car that often, best to stick with an inexpensive (by comparison) 4.22 IMO.

Thanks chesney. It's so flat here, they calibrate spirit level bubbles around here!
Where would someone look for a 3.9 axle in the UK. Do people just wait for them to come up on ebay or is there someone to call about these things?

Also, are they advertised as a 3.9 ratio axle or a Midget axle? Is it best to do some homework to know what they look like and just keep searching the web?

The Midget has a narrower track than the Minor so you would need a diff rather than a complete axle. If on eBay it would be listed as for a Midget or a Wolseley 1500 and you can use the rest of the parts from a Minor axle.

Great, thanks.The search begins.

ive got a 3.9 diff it does bring down the revs on the motorway but you loose a bit of pull going up hills

I guess you can simply drop down to 3rd gear when that happens. My issue is that it is so low geared at the moment, I change into 4th gear at 17mph and could do with a 5th gear to change again at 30mph. I'm just stuck and can't do anything but to drive around at 40mph with the engine screaming. It's so embarrassing. Everyone is overtaking me! I'm talking to someone at the moment who has a 3.9:1 diff and if we can work out a fair price for it, I'll soon have one. Apparently there will be a need to drill the diff casing, thread the hole and fit a filler plug & seal so that it can be filled with oil. This sounds like a job for Mark at MF Classics.

Today I popped over to a trade paint supplier with the car. They used some kind of imaging camera on the bodywork and took a reading of the colour. Then they supplied me with an exact match of the paint so I can do some repairs and touch up the paintwork afterwards. Might even degrease the engine bay and paint the bulkhead and inner wings so it looks nicer.

3.9:1 diff secured and purchased. [frame][/frame]