Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi All,

have just renewed a leaking water pump on my Minor 1000 with 1275 cc engine. The problem is that the stud that comes from the cylinder head to connect to the bypass hose is broken. The stud is split so badly that any attempt to tighten the hose onto said stud just crushes it more. Obviously this will not only restrict coolant flow, but it leaks as fast as your pour the it in!
I have found a couple of places that appear to sell this stud as a screw in replacement, does this sound like the part I am after?
Has anyone else had this problem?

Many thanks for any help!

edjones

It sounds like you have found the right part ,it is a sleeve with a thread on it about an inch long . Your main problem is going to be getting the old one out , especially if it is as corroded as you say. You may have to take the head off , drill the remains out carefully and clean up the threads.

I second that, you will DEFINITELY have to remove the head and
even then you will have a terrible job trying to extract the old
threaded remains. Whats left of the old pipe is probably not
strong enough to grip and turn, if it breaks off then you will
have to try to 'collapse' the walls of the thread towards the
middle with judicious use of a flat ended(not pointed) punch.
Otherwise try any engine/head specialists.

Thanks for the replies. I removed the radiator, front panel etc to gain access to the stud but it would appear that the head will indeed have to be removed. I attempted to grip what remained of the pipe but it just broke as expected!

Hey ho, methinks an unleaded conversion may be on the cards......

Well....check the 'reconditioned' head very carefully. I ordered
one from the club magazine ads which was "completely reconned
with all new parts" etc etc. when it came the by pass hose tube
was,like yours, paper thin, so I had to return it.

Thanks for the tip Willie - still undecided about what to do when we get the head off. Am still hoping we can get the stud out ourselves. We have disconnected everything including the manifold easily enough but have to check the manual before we go any further - it has been a while since we took the head off a motor!

Any tips?

Not really, as long as you have a manual you should be OK,But,I
would advise you not to use the concertina type by pass hose
when you reassemble. I would use the much thicker straight
rubber hose which is readily available. It will last for a very long
time unlike the thin original type.

Ed,

I've just done a de-coke, and replaced the head for an unleaded one, on my Morris. Quite an easy job, and very satisfying. Takes about 2-3 hours to replace the head etc.

Quick tip... When you come to replace the head, use gasket goo on the new cylinder head gasket - the 'blue' type that doesn't set. Don't rely on a dry joint. You may find problems with water/oil leaks... I speak from bitter experience!

I concur with Willie... use a straight piece of pipe for your bypass hoze. Makes a much better job.

Jimbob.

Thanks Willie, have such a hose ready.

Hi Jimbob! Where did you get your unleaded head from? (And how much, if you don't mind me asking?!). And presumably you put the goo on both sides on the gasket, do you?
Did you have much trouble getting the old head off?
Is your car OK now and did you go to Capesthorne last weekend? We went - as paying visitors - very disappointed not to go in the Moggie.
Next classic car show is Tatton Park next weekend - you going?
Cheers,
Ed

Hi Ed,

I bought it from the Minor Millennium Company in Chorlton (Manchester). Not my first choice, I normally deal with Bill at MGM Spares in Wigan (www.mgm-spares.co.uk) but he was unable to supply one quickly. I paid 138 UKP, plus VAT. Whatever you do don't have one mailed to you - it will cost you a small fortune!

Yes... use goo on both sides of the gasket.

No problem getting the head off. Two ways I know of doing it, once you've removed all the head bolts and studs...

1) 'Pop' the head... just turn the engine over on the starting handle, and if you're lucky it will just 'pop' off.

2) Use a piece of wood and a hammer to gently tap the head off sideways.

Flip, I didn't realise it was Tatton so soon. I think I'll have to go to the later event this year. I will however be at Hoghton Tower (Preston) which, again, is a fantastic event in lovely surroundings. So may see you there, if not at the National.

Cheers,

Jimbob.

You should never need to use gasket goo on a NEW head gasket.
If there are problems it is usually because the block and head
faces were not properly cleaned off,or one or both are warped
and should have been machined flat in the first place.

I'll second that Willie, remember the ditty:

if you need goo,
then the mating surfaces aint true.

I think the shiny- film surface on most head gaskets does the job of sealing, I too thought using goo was a no no.

Thanks Jimbob, Wille, Daddsie and Les. Update in due course one way or another!

I have always used a smear of grease over both faces of the gasket to help it seat itself while tightening the head studs, and have never had a leak of water/oil even when using 13:1 compression ratio on my racer.

Sorry to hi-jack your post here Ed, but hang on a sec. what harm does it do? Better to be safe than sorry, I say. In any case... if we shouldn't use it... why do they make it?

Some folks on this site run these cars as cheap transport, and may not be able to afford to have the head/block skimmed. A £3.50 tube of blue goo does the job.

Ideally there should be no need for goo, but lets face it were dealing with 30+ year old cars here, not Bavarian chunks of precision engineering. If you get my drift...


Jimbob.

I would think the goo would help fill scratches and pitting which the gasket wouldn't seal properly. However if either surface was warped it probably couldn't compensate. I'm sure Ed will let us know either way.

I must admit that I use the blue goo on pretty much every type of gasket seal, but I would never use it on a head gasket due to the temperatures / pressures felt by the head gasket.

I don't think that the blue goo is made for these extremes and may burn up / break down leaving a gap, which can cause 'head gasket' failure type problems.

This is what I have always assumed to be the case, but other opinions are always useful.

I unly use goo on gaskets where the surfaces are not good. One example is the cam chain cover - the cover is usually distorted and will get worse on re-assembly, hence they normally leak - A good candidate for gasket goo.
As for blue/red etc.. If you use a hardening type sealer, there is a risk that some of it will end upo in your engine and could potentially cause a blocked oilway. I've known people wreck motorbike engines by using it.
If you use the non hardening type that should be safer.
Sealer on its own is not a bad thing if it's applied with care - It is used in the automotive industry instead of gaskets, but they put it on with an automated process to make sure it is done right and that they get the right amount - too much and it is squidged out where you don't want it to go and too little it may not work.

As for the head gasket - If you don't check the surfaces for flatness, there is a risk that the new gasket won't last long. That's life.
If it's warped, you should get it fixed.
If it's not warped, then additional sealer should not be neccessary (I've never used any on my 7 rebuilds and never had a problem)

Hi Everyone.
Have been reading the posts regarding gasket goo with great interest. My thinking has been that if the surfaces are completely flat and completely clean then there should be no need for any sealant. However, I prefer to err on the side of caution and do tend to use the blue stuff for some gaskets at least.

Regarding the head gasket I assumed the same practice was feasible. As a matter of interest I bought some more sealant today. The blurb on the packet states that it is resistant to pretty much everything, and will withstand temperatures up to 350 degrees celsius. But this is the stuff that drys hard, I believe the blue does not set in the same way.
I have no reason to believe that the head/block mating surfaces are not true in my case, but want to get the best seal possible. Hmmmm..... which to use, if either?!