Morris Minor Owners Club

My daughters 71 minor has developed a howling heater.
Typical when I am a way working at the moment.
What do I need to look for when I get back next week, great time to start stripping the car down!.
can I get at the motor easily and is it repairable etc.
or should I look for a mini type on *bay before I get home and fit that.
the car is negative earth, the heater output seemed fine prior to the howling starting today.

Most likely one of the motor bearings has gone dry, this was quite common on the mini heater motors as well. Access is ok after you remove the parcel shelf. Sometimes a dose of spray grease into the bearing cures it, if not new motor or heater. IIRC the heaters are now discontinued, so you will need to source an old unit with a good motor.
The cores are still available though. Remember to drain the coolant before removing the heater hoses.

My heater starts up with a dreadful shriek every tiime but settles down
very quickly. It is offensive to the ear but still works ok. It is quite an
involved job to get at the motor though.

Squirt it with WD 40 once a month. It'll be reet.

RogerRust wrote:Squirt it with WD 40 once a month. It'll be reet.

As long as you don't mind the smell of rocket fuel for a day or so

Copper grease spray is much less pongy & longer lasting

Orkney wrote:Copper grease spray is much less pongy & longer lasting

I didn't know you could get that in a spray.

Dear Santa, I ve been a good boy please can I have some.....

Yes you can Rog, in fact i'm on the dregs of it now so will have to find some more.
Its obviously much thinner - but a must have for brakes jobs etc - makes a fine removable anti corrosion spray too if theres something you dont want to paint.

Santa says your on the naughty list

A Mini heater is the same size of core - but has a bigger and better fan and motor! And you can easily fit the Minor front cover and lever assembly so no-one will know. Easy swap over - better than trying to repair the old motor in this weather.

I didn't know you could get that in a spray.

http://www.oilybits.com/index.php?act=v ... ductId=176

thanks for the suggestions, I think long term the Mini heater looks the best option, the car is used everyday.
as a temp fix until I locate a mini heater how do I get the spray lube into the fan motor, is it still a strip out. job.
I am writing this from Trinidad, (work not pleasure )and this will be top of my to do list when I get back next week.
If I can't get hold of a mini heater is it possible to strip the motor and replace the bearings?, I guess they will be very small rollers or bronze bushes, though it's only a guess.

You can spray into the motor section of the heater by removing the air inlet hose but, i have just done this as I don't have an air hose and it has had no effect whatsoever. This has not surprised me as I expected the motor bearings to be inaccessible by spraying. I sprayed with WD40 as suggested above since i was born on the planet Zonga and do not object to the smell of rocket fuel but it was a waste of time.

i was born on the planet Zonga and do not object to the smell of rocket fuel

So your the one who bought teh drinks all night in the pub the other week and when presented with the bill asked if they had change of a Zonk

Guessing here you need to strip the thing to be able to get lubricant onto the bearing itself - spraing it in teh inlet is just going to cover the fan blades surely? although a miniscule amount might get to the bearing of the fan motor most will be blown through and leave you with Eau De WD for some time.

I think it will be a whole lot easier to get a Mini heater than to strip down the old motor!! Any Minis in Trinidad? It would be cool to bring a heater back from there!

Fun getting it through security too

Orkney, be very careful earthling!

looks like I have a mini heater, had a response while I was away to a wanted advert in our local ad mag, only I forgot to tell the wife I had placed the add over the internet!
I got back into the UK this morning, just waiting for the guy to call me back.
I have only seen one mini in Trinidad, but a minor traveller in Barbados,
yellow body, black wings, looked like big bee.
There are loads of rear wheel toyota corollas in Trini, so that means loads of 5 speed gearboxes!, it crossed my mind but if the job I am doing is anything to go by then shipping and customs would be a nightmare.
plus by the time trini guys have finished hammering the cars, I don't think the boxes would be up to much.
a common sight is to overtake on the inside lane, speeding, yapping on a mobile phone, if you don't do this your are the odd one out.
dowside is I've gone from +30 to -2 brrrr.

" a common sight is to overtake on the inside lane, speeding, yapping on a mobile phone, if you don't do this your are the odd one out. "
Ah - so much the same driving as UK then ! And - it's -7 up here!

Mini heater fitted today, I swapped all of the front parts around as my daughter didn't like the look of the std mini item. fussy eh!
made some adaptors for the 5/8'' to 1/2" back flushed etc.
all back together nicely, TIP!, pull the matix out and check prior to fitting.
I wish I had, it leaked!.
stripped out again and found the matrix like a tea bag, couldn't get a mini matrix this side of Xmas, so I fitted the minor matrix in the mini box and all is well.
does the mini heater matrix make that much difference, if so I'll wait until the summer and swap around. ( no nice garage to work in).

Yep it sure does.................I have a very late mini heater all in plastic so it looks good too, far more heat!!