Morris Minor Owners Club

i had a look at a friends morry today because she said it was stalling sometimes. Fixed that.

Anyway i took it for a spin and i could hardly hear myself think over the greabox whine. someone had done something to the box which involved draining the fluid and she said she doesnt remember it being filled again.

it hasnt been driven much since that but it sure is loud.

gearbox stuffed???

also the clutch is slipping. plentnty of meat on the clutch plate but im thinking the pressure plate is fatigued. i suspect the gearbox needs dropped out and replaced as well as the pressure plate.

I'd just try filling it up first and seeing how it feels/sounds. I'm guessing that gearboxes for the A-series aren't that common down your way.

And I assume you've checked for the correct free play at the clutch pedal?

i have checked the free play, theres about a metre of it!!! the clutch isnt going right down which is an issue but its definetely going right up.

ive told the lady to fill it up, unfortunately i dont have time to do it so she is getting her garage to do all the work which will cost her a bit but that isnt really my problem.

Gearboxes are dime-a-dozen. have about 4 spares here of unknown condition and theres other people in the club with containers full of parts so that wont be a problem.

just another question, why would the car be gutless? throttle is opening fully but it just doesnt have any balls. its a 948cc, my 1098cc is like twice as fast but i didnt think they were meant to be that much faster than the 948cc. this thing you have to drive it foot flat to actually do anything. the brakes dont feel like they are dragging or anything like that.

Hmm, could be oil on the clutch plate I suppose. If she's paying labour then I'd recommend replacing all three clutch bits just in case, but if it's oily that'll need sorting first.

If it's leaking oil and the engine's gutless then I'd be doing a compression test on the cylinders next.

Gearboxes will whine like crazy when they're dry - so will the rear diff. It is not terminal unless it's driven many miles like that, as it accellerates the wear. If the gearbox is whining very loud with oil in it, it's likely to be a bearing (or more than one) and not impossile to repair. A worn out bearing can allow the shafts slightly out of alignment and the teeth start to complain noisily.

If clutch is slipping then it probably needs replacing - oil on the clutch usually makes them sticky* rather than slippy (when using a standard Minor engine)

*Sticky as in they don't want to release after parking overnight due to sticky burnt oil residue, and also they will not be easy to feather - they will be rather 'grabby'

948 engine Minor should be nippy enough - so a complete engine check is required - starting as Stig suggests with compression test, although it could be just a completely clogged air filter! Try it with the filter removed before getting into anything drastic.
The gearbox must be filled up with engine oil - not EP90 axle oil. Have a look inside the clutch bellhousing (through the removeable rubber bungs) and see if the clutch is obviously oil covered. But I suggest adjusting it up first - and see if it settles down. Why would the gearbox oil be drained - and then not refilled ?

If the car is sluggish then it could be something simple like the ignition timing needs adjusting. For approximate timing rotate the distributor to get the fastest tickover and then fine tune it on the adjuster knob to get max. advance without the engine pinking under load, ie climbing a steep hill in a high gear.
Trouble is the extra power will make the clutch slip worse.

Check that the vacuum advance is fitted and working too.
Gutless is a good description of how the engine will feel without it.