Morris Minor Owners Club

Just shows how much muddled thinking there is out there....Gearbox drag in neutral is minimal.... And more fool anyone who doesn't check the 'box is in neutral before starting the engine. As for suggesting the 'Police' is a good example of anything - you must be joking.....

I had a transit van, with about a million miles on the clock and in winter there was no way it would start,unless the clutch was held down,it just didn't spin over fast enough to get the comp up, So the no drag from the box theory goes out of MY window. AS far as thrust washer wear,yes they will,probably,in about 50 years,the engine turns over ,in a correctly tuned engine, about 5 to 10 times ,before firing up. So I don't think I'll be losing any sleep worrying about them.
When I was a traffic officer I knew every thing about every thing related to driving,when I was a detective I knew everything about everything relating to criminals,but mainly about drinking in pubs and avoiding doing anything ,about everything. .Now I"m retired I don't even think about anything

I can't argue with that Phil. My point is really that it is going to be sure negligible, and so much less than wear on other components, that it's really not worth getting one's knickers in a twist about. and BMC, I'm talking about class 1 police drivers here, not your run of the mill copper. But I'm sure you could teach them a thing or two - I must apologise for my 'muddled thinking'.

The proof is in the pudding here - the OP's engine turns over slowly when clutch is depressed - and spins faster when it is not... Ergo sum - don't press the clutch! But by all means, in a vehicle with roller bearing clutch, if it spins faster with the clutch down . by all means do it - just don't think about the thrusts.

I've only just seen this past discussion.

It is interesting as I was told by a former boyfriend that you should always depress the clutch before turning the key something to do with it being kinder on the mechanics. I don't know I kind of switched off when he started to talk about the mechanics, but I did pick up on the first bit and so I have always done it since.
I do it in my Mazda MX5 and in my Morris Minors but if you are saying that it is not a good idea in my Morris Minors then I will stop doing it.

To pick up on the point about sitting on the brake at traffic lights, well in our BMW if you don't do exactly that then you do not conserve fuel, as depressing the brake at traffic lights and in standing traffic generally, cuts out the engine so that it is kinder to the environment and saves on fuel. However I have often thought whilst doing this especially in the dark that it is unfair on the person behind as I must be blinding them somewhat, and I was always taught that this was not good practice, so to me this is an ill thought out procedure.
Oh and don't get me started on ratcheting the handbrake! I really cannot bear that! it is so damaging to the handbrake, my husband kept doing it in our Moggy convertible and it snapped! I always depress it with my thumb and then ease it up gently and there is no noise whatsoever ah.... if only everyone were like me

my bmw mini cooper
you have to depress the clutch or it will not start
saves the car going into the back of the garage if I leave it in gear

The reason "modern" cars are recommended to be started with the clutch depressed is due to the thinner oil used. The 20w50 in a minor is much thicker,this is also why starting in the winter adds to draining the battery if its not fully charged, the oil being thicker creates more drag.
The clutch on a modern is lighter reducing the drag through the engine, you also don't get the flywheel effect on a modern as you do in a minor.

Well done - and the whole idea of the engine cutting out when stopped at lights is just another swizz to help get through the emissions... It doesn't save any significant fuel - it does wear out the starter and ring gear! When I am in town - I hear all the engines cranking when the traffic lights change - and then some give it a good old rev before moving away... Oh dear.

Not sure how thinner oil means starting with clutch down.... But roller clutch bearing is certainly easier to turn. It's probably an Elf & Softy idea in case the car is in gear... Surely better just to detect neutral....

bmcecosse wrote:Well done - and the whole idea of the engine cutting out when stopped at lights is just another swizz to help get through the emissions... It doesn't save any significant fuel - it does wear out the starter and ring gear! When I am in town - I hear all the engines cranking when the traffic lights change - and then some give it a good old rev before moving away... Oh dear.

Couldn't agree more

Now I'm confused (doesn't take much) I think what I will do is depress the clutch in my Mazda but not in my Morris Minors. As for our Beamer cutting out at the lights I don't think there is much I can do about it really and sometimes it does it and other times not, it was quite disconcerting when it first happened as I didn't know about it and I thought the engine had died! ha ha!
Breaking down at traffic lights is one of my biggest fears when driving as you just know everyone is extra cheesed off with you as the lights constantly change from red to green and back again and they can't go anywhere. Anyway I digress....

Off track a bit, does "silent 5th or 6th" save fuel?

On a standard Minor, 5th and 6th are always silent. There's just a lot of noise when trying to engage them

They just drive cars now I asked my daughter how many gears in her new car ,she said none its an automatic.
bet she have never heard of a choke

They think it's when your collar is too tight.