Morris Minor Owners Club

Hey guys, wonderin if you could give me a hand! Im okay at doin almost anything to my car myself (xcept for lack of tools!) but Im often unsure when it comes to diagnosing problems! over the last couple of days Ive had a loud clunking noise materialise whenever Im in 1st gear and as yet havent had time to investigate so thought Id ask some more experienced people who mite find this familiar and point me to the problem and hopefully a cure! your help will be very much appreciated as my moggy is my daily driver! oh and one more thing, when Im sat in still traffic for a few minutes it starts chugging, sometimes misfiring, and in general a lack of power, as well as the battery seeming to run down (though the battery problem doesnt seem to happen since Ive fitted an alternator but maybe thats coz it recharges quicker) this can be unnerving, especially as i live in london which isnt the most freeflowing traffic in the world! again your thoughts will be appreciated!
many thanx
George

when Im sat in still traffic for a few minutes it starts chugging, sometimes misfiring,

How many minutes?? There's a well known problem that you'll get after maybe 10 or fifteen minutes in a queue. It's caused by heat from the exhaust warming up the petrol in the fuel pipe until when it is rather hot it is more bubbles than petrol and the pump doesn't push it through. The missfire is then caused by lack of petrol in the carb and will often take a few minutes driving on a clear road until everything is back to normal.

Ive had a loud clunking noise materialise whenever Im in 1st gear

When changing to first gear? When pulling away in 1st gear? What sort of clunking - banging from the body or rattling from the gearbox? More info needed to pinpoint the problem without going round the houses as I can think of plenty of possibilities.

whenever its in 1st gear and moving (accelerating) it sounds like its corresponding with the rotation of the cogs in the box getting faster as the car does (i have a feelin its gonna cost me!) Its quite a solid clunk as i can feel it through the floor/clutch pedal
Re: the exhaust heat thingy , I was kind expectin that and was thinkin of purchasing a heat shield from 'mr grumpy's', so I think youve confirmed that for me, it starts after between 5 and 10 mins, and yes clears after givin it a blast down clear road!
many thanks ray, been able to pick brains like yours can be priceless, as Im definately still learnin (Im still only 19) and its bin a while since my dad owned a moggy! and that was in the country so the probs didnt materialise in slow traffic as there wasnt any!!

Hmm, maybe the bearing at one end of the layshaft has started to break up. Does the car kangaroo very slightly in time with the noise??

I had this on a mini, and eventually both ends broke up and broke the aluminium mountings and started flaying around causing the clutch to start slipping and smelling, and a nice grinding / graunching sound as I was going along.

Best bet is probably to get a 2nd hand gearbox. It will work out cheaper than having yours repaired.