Morris Minor Owners Club

I'm trying to renew a leaky oil seal from behind the crankshaft pulley. Sounds easy. The manual says, remove nut or starting handle dog and remove pulley. Problem is, how do I stop the engine turning?

I seem to remember my Dad jaming the ring-gear with a screwdriver through the starter motor hole. Is there another way? I presume it unscrews anti-clockwise?

Any advice would be most welcome.

Richard.

If you keep everything connected ie; dynano, fan belt etc and plugs in, the engine compression will give you some resistance, then put in 1st gear and with a good fitting ring spanner give it some sharp taps anti clockwise. Jam starter gear as last resort. ps; unbend the tab washer.

Thanks Les, I had taken the fan belt off so will refit and try it.

Or, if you have a ring spanner or socket long enough, place it across the gap resting on a bit of wood on top of the chassis rail and turn the engine over on the starter - I'd take the HT leads of the plus first
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knock the the lock washer back 1st... assuming the front panel is off I get a box spanner (a very deep socket) put a bar through it and give it a good whack with a lump hammer. Normally comes off easily enough

It can be VERY tight - best will be a long socket and a hammer action pneumatic gun - otherwise the starter method is most likely to succeed. Failing that some kind of shock treatment. I wouldn't use the gearbox to resist this - you may break something, and there is too much 'wind-up' in the system anyway!

Bigginger, thanks very much. One quick turn of the key and it undid a treat! Amazing how just the right size lump of wood had been sitting on my bench for months. Now I know why.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Richard.

It's a joy when you discover it, that one
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Anyone got any ideas about loosening the starting handle dog whilst the engine is out of the car, sitting on a bench?

I need to replace a broken timing chain so it needs to come off.
The head and most other bits are off the block.

Mick

You'll have to stop the engine turning. If he sumps off, wedge it with a block of wood,if it's still on then fit a socket wrench to one of the flywheel or clutch bolts and try holding it to stop the thing turning. I've also had some success with using a long cold chisel across the flywheel, wedged between two slightly undone clutch bolts.
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Thank you, the sump needs to come off anyway so I think I'll try that method.

Got any idea what size socket I'll need for the starter dog?

3/4 Whitworth
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I will admit that because it's so long I just use my large adjustable wrench on that one. But specialist sockets are certainly available. Most unusual to break the timing chain - but the second reported on here in recent times.

Think to yourself "is it hardest for the engine to move the car when it is in first gear or when it is in fourth gear?" and use this as the basis for which gear to select when you are trying to remove the starter dog.

Don't advise that at all!! You may break the gearbox. Just rely on inertia - or the starter motor!

Has anybody ever broken a gearbox by trying to remove the starter dog with the car in gear?

I have done it many times by this method with no ill effects on the gearbox.

newagetraveller wrote:Has anybody ever broken a gearbox by trying to remove the starter dog with the car in gear?

I have done it many times by this method with no ill effects on the gearbox.

Never heard of it on a Moggy, but I know of a few starter rings on flywheels that have lost a tooth doing the screwdriver jam it thing.
Gearbox and diff internals are designed to withstand the max torque an engine can produce and then some, so it's unlikely you could break a cog unless you really went to town with maybe a sledge hammer on the socket extension.

Of course if a gearbox was old and worn and the gears/laygear were ready to shatter, it's possible. The last gearbox I changed had lost four teeth from 2nd on the laygear assembly, and they made a horrible mess of several other gears into the bargain

It may not fail right away! Remember the gearbox normally handles the loads when rotating - but in this case (and yes - heavy hammer (perhaps not a sledge!) swung with force) the box is not rotating and all the load goes into a very few parts with small surface areas. The whole system 'winds up' horribly when doing this - I've tried and failed with that method. If the engine is in the car the starter motor method is by far the best.
On a Mini engine - I actually sheared off the bolt that does the job there - it was that tight. Fortunately as it happened I was changing the crank anyway so the broken part was left in and exchanged.

I use a long ring spanner on the starter dog but I hit it with a six foot fencing post.

but I hit it with a six foot fencing post.

I hope you took the panel off first