Morris Minor Owners Club

Don't know if you will use peage but I just got back at the weekend and some are now camera control, you just drive through, no booth, no stopping, then go online and pay. Similar to Dartford crossing.

Thank you. I didn’t know that! Not planning to use motorways but might have to

Stephen

Dazzler revenge activation Enjoy the trip

Those are certainly very bright!

Oh joy. Yet more issues before the trip........will we ever get to France!!!!

Went to start the car, starter motor spins fast but not engaging with flywheel.....

I will check all electrical connections first but if still no joy I will have to take the starter motor off. It sounds as if the Bendix gear is not throwing.

Fortunately, I have a Bendix spring compressor, a new Bendix gear complete and an old but functional when taken off starter motor. One way or the other we'll get this sorted.

Stephen

Fixed. Not electrical but mechanical.

Battery fully charged, contacts good, solenoid end of starter cable fine, motor end of cable good, tight, clean connection. Motor spins but pinion does not engage flywheel.

Starter off, Bendix pinion lightly stuck with black clutch dust. No real effort required to free the pinion. Really not a lot of dust I thought but all cleaned up with carburettor cleaner (good degreaser) and then dry PTFE lubricant. Dust will stick and jam the Bendix gear if there is any trace of oil or grease. PTFE lubricant dries completely and leaves a very thin film of slippery PTFE. Interestingly, the Lucas workshop manual says that if the pinion sticks it should be lubricated with light machine oil despite the fact that this is just asking for trouble. https://www.lrsoc.com/forum/forum_files ... al%20C.pdf

Tested and car starts perfectly. Annoying but better than this happening in France and it would have done for sure. Lucky escape really. Almost certainly it would have happened somewhere embarrassing like the queue for the ferry. There's always the starting handle but a whole holiday of using the starting handle every time? Not much fun.....

Note to self: get that old starter motor rebuilt to have as a drop-in spare......

Stephen

We made it to France and we are now in Le Mans.

Twice the car has jumped out of first gear whilst doing a hill start on a steep hill. Alarming. At all other times 1st gear has functioned entirely normally.

We seem to be running a bit hot. I don’t have a temperature gauge and we haven’t boiled but things seem rather hotter under the bonnet than normal. I checked 2x spark plugs and I think they indicate just a shade lean so I have enriched 1 flat and will check again after the next route stage.