Morris Minor Owners Club

A bit of mayonaise is normal on a car that has been used very infrequently over winter.

It's also common when a Minor is used a lot on short journeys in Winter - not helped by the fact that the Minor's radiator is a bit too big and the engine may struggle to warm up properly even on a motorway (unless you partly blank off the radiator).

Only 3 drops?!

Ok, shall we just chalk that up to 'new car mom' panics? I am remembering that cardboard and sometimes biscuit tins under Moggie convertables/minis/MG Magnettes was somthing of a feature of the family garage while I was growing up.

<The loss of power thing/>: Did she stay running the whole time, but just lack power? Or was the engine no longer actually running and you were just being carried by momentum?

I think it was mostly just slowing down and juddering a lot. It reminded me of driving my Mams Volvo 340 while I was contracting in Powys. I had a 340 which took unleaded and just assumed that my Mam's also took unleaded... It kept doing the loosing power and juddering thing quite a lot and sometimes it would just plain cut out. If I left it for 5 minutes it would start up and run just fine. When Gladys started doing what appeared to be the same thing I got defensive and tried at all costs to have her actually stop on the Motorway, just incase it was an entirely different fault to the volvo.

I am pretty sure that Dad did not spring for an unleaded conversion, as he has told me that she just uses the regular 4 star. I have started doing my homework and I am wondering if she is running in such a gutless manner for want of some additive or other?

Do you know what was actually done at the service?

Sadly no. I know that my Dad has been using this garage in Taffs Well since he bought Gladys in 1996 and they were reccomended to him by my Aunt who used them to keep her Dolomite spick and span. I also know that the garage is in the process of being shut down as one of the partners (the mechanical one, not the boddywork one I think) is moving to France. So with Dad in Hospital and the garage guys seemingly unavailable, I really appriciate everyone's imput.

regards

Tilly

A properly serviced Minor 1000 is capable of 70mph + on the motorway for a couple of hours, so your short jaunt should be well within its capabilities when running correctly.

That's what I thought, When I had her running at the top of the speedo briefly (that needle really does swing a lot), she was kind of screeming rather alarmingly, so I quickly dropped her down to the speed that she wanted to go which (acording to to my sweetie, following me in the 306 in fourth gear with hazard lights ablaze) was never above 50mph.

On Sunday. She behaved pretty well, not doing the juddery thing but she really struggled on some of the uphill bits.

regards

tilly

Check the thermostat! Mine was broken, which causes the engine to get cold coolant when it doesn't want it!

I resisted the temptation yesterday to ask how to check the thermostat and went straight to 'the stack of many manuals' that Dad supplied me with the car.

Ok, I'm looking at it as a possibility. But my father, the garage and now myself all live in soft water areas. I am guessing that that would have an influence of the amount of kack that accumulates there. I did notice that the heater seemed to be working pretty well throughout the trip, would this be supporting evidence one way or another of anything?

thanks

Tilly

The advice re "mayo" is all good stuff especially cleaning out the rubber tube between air filter and rocker box.

The type of oil has a big impact on the volume of Mayo in my experience Castrol GTX generates the most, Comma 20/50 the least.

The "running out of breath" could be fuel starvation and that could be related to its history of low mileage and thus old fuel in the system. A couple of tankfuls of regular use and/or a carb clean may help. Check also that carb damper has oil in it.

Other possibilities are ignition condenser or coil assuming the plugs and leads are in reasonable shape.

A bit of hard driving can sometimes work wonders;-)



Good Luck!

Coupla thoughts cos I sort of inherited a car like you and had immediate misfiring too. My case was simply the plugs and ignition leads. New plugs - I use NGK's number BP6ES (£8.99 a set of four from Halford's). You can drive flat out all day on these and they last abut 10,000 miles. For leads, look under the bonnet with the engine running in the dark and blip the throttle. (Use a torch to keep yer hand off the hot exhaust and out of the fan!) If you see any lightning or glow between the leads or from a lead to earth then new leads would be a good thing. Sometimes separating them or routing them away from each other or any metal bits will do the trick at least for as while. (And while you're about it mark the leads at the plug end with a bit of paint or Tippex to number them 1 to 4 front to rear. This will save heartache later!) If you need to replace the leads I'd strongly recommend those with copper wire down the centre and not the modern "carbon string" variety. This can be a bit difficult to find but garden machinery repair places usually have by the metre. just replace length for length - its easy.
Re the noise at high speed. Fear not - you'll get used to it.
Anyway, be of good cheer. I think your Morris likes you. I suspect it wants to teach you some elementary engineering. They just love attention. Like cats, tickle them behind the ears and they're yours for ever. Mike N.

kate wrote: Only 3 drops?!

Ok, shall we just chalk that up to 'new car mom' panics? I am remembering that cardboard and sometimes biscuit tins under Moggie convertables/minis/MG Magnettes was somthing of a feature of the family garage while I was growing up.

Aye, I think I just got used to it, having owned only older vehicles. I kinda presume they (all) leak oil.... The problem with biscuit tins is that then you've got a tin full of old oil! What are you gonna do with that...

kate wrote: <The loss of power thing> Did she stay running the whole time, but just lack power? Or was the engine no longer actually running and you were just being carried by momentum?

I think it was mostly just slowing down and juddering a lot.

I am pretty sure that Dad did not spring for an unleaded conversion, as he has told me that she just uses the regular 4 star. I have started doing my homework and I am wondering if she is running in such a gutless manner for want of some additive or other?

Weeeelll. If he's not been using it much, as has been mentioned it could just be cruddy old petrol (it does go off); just slapping unleaded in a non-converted mog shouldn't give huge problems (if you only do it occasionally, or only do low mileage), I did notice, depending on the garage the petrol was from, sometimes the car would lack power a bit - but it was a constant lack-of-power. At any rate, if she's not been converted, you'll want an additive, unless you're only going to do teeny tiny milages at low speed.

There's a few recommended ones (read: additives which actually work, as opposed to being equivalent to grating mozarella and putting that in as a valve protector) - the favourite seems to be Castrol Valvemaster (Plus) - the Plus variant contains an octane booster, which takes your bog standard unleaded back to proper leaded. The standard stuff just protects your valves (which is what I use, 'cos I'm poor and broke and stuff).

The juddering could be quite a few things.

It could be a fuel problem, fuel pumps on minors are a fairly notorious problem source. If you just start the car and let it idle, you should hear from the area of the glovebox, a ticking noise (it's actually in the engine bay, obviously, but inside the car it sounds like your glovebox is ticking ) - it should be a fairly steady tick........ tick.......... tick - with a gap that I find is just marginally longer than you think it should be. If you're getting: Tick.......................tick tick tick.........tick..................tick tick. Then you want to suspect the fuel pump. Mind you mine works perfectly, nice and even, until it doesn't. But at one year old I'm slightly loath to replace it (it does just need new points I think, but I'm currently at the muttering darkly about the thing stage).

It could be an ignition problem, I'd whip off the distributor cap and check the condition of the rotor-arm and cap; they might just be knackered. If the garage replaced the dizzy cap, they may have managed to fit one of the ones from the dodgy batch - this would give the symptoms you describe, and is notable for: poor/loose fit on the HT (Sparkplug) leads, and the contacts inside being clouted by the rotor arm - so they may have grooves worn in or the rotor arm may be damaged. Otherwise if the contacts are manky white looking or the rotor arm doesn't look in good shape then replace them

Oh, and do the condenser at the same time.

Whip out the spark plugs and check them.

If you're rich (unlike me ;-) - then you could just replace: Distributor cap (there's some dodgy poorly fitting batch out there, watch out for it), Rotor-arm, condeser, HT leads, spark plugs. It'd probably be about 20 quid worth of parts, and eliminates from your fault finding mission everything except the coil.

The Coil could, however, be the cause of all your ailments. Modern (ballast) coils are inappropriate for the minor, the best plan is to get one from a specialist.... Uh, err, if you suspect it....

(70+ mph) That's what I thought, When I had her running at the top of the speedo briefly (that needle really does swing a lot)

This can generally be cured by lubricating the speedo cable & checking for / removing any kinks. But don't get any oil on the back of the speedo or you'll upset it.


I think I'll stop there

HTH.

Hi Tilly,

New mom Car worrying is okay.. I do it all the time with Hebe (and she's been with us now for nearly a year!)

If your dad's car didn't do many miles you may want to check your carburettor. There's a little lifting pin just on the underside of it. If you can't move it up with your finger it may be stuck. I know Hebe has a stuck lifting pin and I've not got around to fixing it yet. When the weather is cold she's a pain to get to run evenly until she's warmed up.

Since our little experience last week on the way to kate's Id certainly recommend you check that the leads all fit snugly on the distributor cap, along with the ends of the leads which fit over the spark plug.

I'm envious that the car only leaks a bit of oil. As you can guess, after 30 + years most of our cars loose oil somewhere along the line. Mine looses oil from her rear axle from time to time. It seems to coincide with the phases of the moon or something. Hmmm... Something else for me to check when I get back to Reading

As for the speedo, if "lubing up" the cable doesn't work it is possible to take the speedo apart and clean it carefully (to make sure there is no grit or oil chunks inside the mechanism) I took Hebe's apart about 7 months ago and she stopped juddering alltogether. Of course, you have to make sure you don't damage the internals, but it's a pretty simple job if you take your time and are careful


Oh, and welcome!!!

Nikki and Hebe (even if she is miles away at the moment...)

P.S. I have decided I like bath. I've seen on average 5 minors a day between Bristol and Bath (and no, that doesn't include Rebecca on Kate's drive... nor does it include Hebe cause she's back home...)

...but do you drive home past Charlie Ware's? There's a weeks worth in a glance!
a

bigginger wrote:...but do you drive home past Charlie Ware's? There's a weeks worth in a glance!
a

Nope! I use the train!

Then you need to look out the window as you come home, it runs parallel to the road with Charlie Wares on.

ere me babbers - i don't know what part of thik brissle planet you bist on - but i bist going in and out every day (in the mog) if tis local and thik times fit in i'd give thee a lift young'un. and thous best start talkin proper like - now thee bist out yer. and them thur bath lot don't talk proper neither - bloomin lot o' posh city folk they be

I did notice that the heater seemed to be working pretty well throughout the trip, would this be supporting evidence one way or another of anything?

Well it might be evidence of overheating - if it's a later car with a fresh air intake heater the normal comment this time of year is BRRRRRRR ;-)
To check the thermostat... After 2 or 3 minutes of engine running there should not be a big flow of hot water through the radiator top hose (if there is a lot of hot water going through it fairly quickly then your thermostat might be stuck open). If the thermostat isn't opening properly then you'll not get enough water into the rad - to check for that at this time of year, block the whole airflow from the radiator using a sheet of cardboard and go for a ~5 mile drive. You should feel a lot of heat from the bottom hose too as the water in the rad won't have been cooled - Just don't go on a long drive as it does need 'some' cooling (If the bottom hose is still cold then the thermostat is very likely to be faulty - If you also had a cold heater, the waterpump should be checked but it sounds like that is already ruled out).

If the loss of power is caused by overheating it is best to find out sooner instead of later as regular overheating does nasty things to the engine. Overheating itself may be caused by a long list of stuff

UTILLY....just a thought re your car losing power temporarily.
If it was a cold day when it happened you should check that the
inlet pipe of the air filter housing is swung round(loosen the central
fixing bolt) so that it is pointing at the exhaust manifold. This stops
the carb from icing up on a fast run in cold weather. If it happens
again then immediately jump out and feel the piston chamber on
the top of the carb. If it is iced up you will certainly tell by the feel.

Multiphonikks wrote: Since our little experience last week on the way to kate's Id certainly recommend you check that the leads all fit snugly on the distributor cap, along with the ends of the leads which fit over the spark plug.

Doh!!!!

Ok, I came home today to give Gladys a bit of attention.
I checked the coolant level in the rediator, the spark plugs, the oil filter, the oil, located the distributer thingy (and decided there wasn't enough light to get it out and give it the once over). I closed the bonnet. and started her up.

I took her up onto the local A road at the top of the lane, and was soon tootleing along at 50mph quite happily until the bonnet flipped up. Luckily it was just by the turning to the next lane, so I managed to turn off safely, but as I slowed to a halt, there was a fairly sickening crash as the bonnet fell to the floor in front of the old girl.

Whahhh!!!! I broke my new toy!

Anyway, the damage is not to major, it didn't fall into the engine or anything horrid, but the two chrome hinges have snapped, the large bit of metal that goes across is a bit bent out of shape and needs a bit of welding, and the bonnet ornament has made a bit of an indent and there are other assorted dings that need attention here and there.

On the plus side, no misfires today, and she seemed to have a bit more oomph with the new petrol and additive.

Is this the most embarasing minor rookie mistake that you have heard of?

regards

Tilly

I bet you said some not very nice things... I would... Shouldn't there be a safety catch on the bonnet???

utilly wrote: the large bit of metal that goes across
Tilly

Don't know about embarrassing - flipping scary, I reckon. Glad you're OK, coulld've been nasty. BTW, isn't the large bit of metal called the Anti Drum bar, or something similar? Best name ever for a part - but I might be remembering wrong...

bigginger wrote: flipping scary, I reckon. Glad you're OK, coulld've been nasty.

Ohhh, yessss, It was scary and could have been nasty. I think it was the gin and adrenaline talking in the last post.

Also, My dad just came out of hospital today after a major heart attack and had a pretty rough day as his flat suffered another sewage flood comming up through his shower ("If the warden hadn't cleared it up I swear I would have dropped dead").... He is also pretty bewildered by his care arrangements from social services (not helped by snow and massive staff absences in his neck of the woods.

The last thing I wanted to tell him when he was requesting pictures of me (3/4 view with good background with you in the picture) and 'Glad' was that I managed to trash the bonnet of car, by failing to triple check that the b******y thing was closed in such a way that it wouldn't open again at speeds.... so I didn't, which means I have to get it fixed really quickly, or vastly improve my photoshop skills.

BTW, isn't the large bit of metal called the Anti Drum bar, or something similar? Best name ever for a part - but I might be remembering wrong...

That is a truly great name for a strip of metal. I am in awe.

I am also in the mechanical thread, but under the circumstances, I hope no one minds if I ask a swift bodywork question.

What are the bonnet hinges called, and where would be the best place to pick a new pair up?

regards

Tilly

Bonnet hinges, I think, and if you're after them in a hurry, try ESM Minors http://www.morrisminorspares.co.uk/ - you can order online, and if you do it by 3.30, you gettem next day. Sorry to eulogise, I've been using them a lot lately and they've been fantastic.
LATER Ouch - £42.50 a pair!
EVEN LATER 'Doh - 1951 on, 24.50...

utilly wrote:
Is this the most embarasing minor rookie mistake that you have heard of?

Oh, I dunno...

I think not knowing the car has a starting handle when you want to sell it is a pretty big one (As once happened to some poor schum when I went to look at the Traveller he had for sale!)

guydenning wrote: ere me babbers - i don't know what part of thik brissle planet you bist on - but i bist going in and out every day (in the mog) if tis local and thik times fit in i'd give thee a lift young'un. and thous best start talkin proper like - now thee bist out yer. and them thur bath lot don't talk proper neither - bloomin lot o' posh city folk they be

I bist on Stoke Gifford...

Mog?

Lift?

*Smile*