Morris Minor Owners Club

Depends if it was run for any significant time with the gasket blown. It can scour the block - or indeed create a crack . A scour could be machined out with a skim (but if significant the pistons may also need skimming down) - a crack = scrapped block....

unfortunatly it looked cracked between cylinders...not sure it the other parts would be worth saving like the crankshaft, cam shaft pistons conrods, head, ect.
Regards,
John

Yes - if the price is right. The cam is an excellent upgrade for a 948 engine - the head also (assuming 202) but will need 60 thou skim for use on a 948. With both in place a 948 will generate same power as a 1098 - but at 10% higher revs of course!

just been having a look at new oil pumps and have seen that they are described as pattern parts modified to fit. this dosent strike me as high quality for such a critical engine part. any thoughts?
Regards,
John

Dunno where you are seeing 'modified to fit' oil pumps.... You said earlier an MG Metro cam - so this is the pump you need.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-OIL-PUMP ... 2a0094f364

the modified oil pumps are one one of the well known supplier's websites, it was a pump for the standard camshaft.
how do I open up the original to chack for wear? is it just the one flat head screw?

Regards,
John

Yes indeed. So - no MG Metro cam now?? This pump then... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Morris ... 27ce8db030

not sure on the cam yet... might get an mg one if it comes at the right price.
would I need to replace the cam followers if I used a cam with wider lobes?
Regards,
John

If you change cam you should considerr new followers anyway. What do the followers in your negine look like right now? And you didn't show us a picture of the metal rod you found?

I took the camshaft back out and it was the pin drive for the pump. lucky it fell out through one of the holes for the cam followers or I would have never known...until I started the engine. could have been expensive. looks like a bit of poor design to me. nothing to stop the pin falling out when the oil pump is removed.
Regards,
John

It should be peened in there - not able to fall out. And it doesn't have 'flats' on it... When the cam is in place it can't escape becuase of the bearing - but equally it should not be able to slide side to side and rub on the bearing either. You need to fix this properly....

looked like it had never been peened in originally. guess it has either been replaced or missed when new

Certainly not right - get it fixed properly - the consequences of a failure would be disaster for the engine.

I imagine you have put the camshaft in now but in case it's still on the bench, you need to put a centre punch mark near the end of the pin, that will make it tighter when tapped in place.

I will take the cam back out and sort the pin out as required.
does anyone know where I can get a new locking tab for the oil pump? hine has sheared off and can't be reused.
Regards,
John

I always use split washers under the bolt heads. BTW - make sure you don't do what an idiot on a Mini forum did recently....and shear the bolt off in the block....

what is the right torque for the pump bolts? dont fancy shearing off the bolts worse would be stripping the threads though. helicoils are not that cheap!
Regards,
John

8 ft lbf I believe - but honestly - common sense tells you - torque wrenches are not much use at such low settings - unless of course you buy a miniature one..... On the cam pin - I can say that I have really struggled to remove one of these pins in the past - so it really must be SECURE in the end of the cam, and not able to slide out at all. I rather think the pin you describe at 20mm long with two flats - is not the correct/original pin....

Some more bits have arived for the engine!
got a crankshaft damper and a 1275 rocker assmebly.
standard pushrods will fit the 1275 rockers wont they?
Regards,
John

Yes!