Morris Minor Owners Club

Here is an idea for a new thread.

I've just had one of those moments when your blood runs cold. The back brake bleed nipples were only finger tight! In fact I undid one with out a spanner! And I've driven the car for several thousand miles.

Has anyone else ever made a similar discovery??

well actually yes

the rear horse she shaped washer was missing from the torsion bar, and have had the car a year

Yes definately.
The lower swivel on the MM collapsed just as I was turning into the hotel for an MMOC meeting. I had just been doing 60mph up the M1!
Unfortunately all the MMOC committee were there to witness the event.
On examining the swivel it appeared that although I had greased it, old grease had dried on the threads and the fresh stuff was not getting up the swivel. The journey home on the low loader was quicker than the journey up and I saved on the petrol.

The lower swivel on the MM collapsed

Had that once myself - in a multi story carpark. I was parking up after having done 70+ on the A38, A446 and M42...

On another Minor (much more recently) I went for a first outing after the MOT. I found the car would change lanes on the motorway by accellerating or deccellerating with the throttle pedal... That was from an unlocated rear axle / leaf spring. The wear in the parts showed it had been used like that for ages beore I got the car!!

In a Talbot Samba (peugeot 104) car as a teenager I had some bad wheel vibration. On returning home I found my dad had forgotten to tighten the wheel nuts. Scarily enough there were only 3 nuts to start with! Needless to say I've managed that myself but recongnised the noise and feeling from 2 decades earlier... I'd only got 5 miles on a 100 mile journey giving a friend a lift, so I limped home and tightened them up before setting off the 2nd time.

Don't worry - the king pin swivels can only fall out when the wheel is lightly loaded - often when turning in at low speed. Fit front tele dampers and/or W front brakes - and they CAN'T fall out, no matter how loose they are! I had one fall out many moons ago - when enroute to uni to sit important exam. Jacked the car up - stuffed the swivel back on the thread - lowered the car, and then lashed tow rope around the assembly so it could not fall out - continued to Uni, sat exam, drove home !

Many years ago, before I knew about doing my own servicing, I took the car to the garage for an MOT. Failed on rear brakes. The garage said they'd get a cylinder in and fix later that day. I went off to do some shopping, came back, and agreed with the garage owner that I'd take the car away for a few hours and come back to have the cylinder swapped. Neither of us knew that the mechanic had already started work by clamping the rear flexible hose and disconnecting the copper pipe from the cylinder. I drove for about 60 miles with only a clamp holding the pressure.

I couldn't fit teles or W. brakes to the MM. I'm informed that the trunnions only fall out at slow speed turns but I can't help thinking there is always a first time.

I seem to remember (and another board member will back me up on this one) that Albert had a shortage of wheelnuts for a few miles.
And had passed the MOT without them too.
It was a bit wobbly when we found out.

At Retro Rides last year some of us popped up to Santa Pod - luckily one of the party, looking at my front suspension noticed the upper link nut was missing before I would have been blasting up the quarter mile.

Hardy har har

When I had my first car - a 1975 Opel Kadett, I had been working on it at my Uncles house, drove home and had been going a few miles when I remembered I had not tightened the wheel nuts - a quick stop was made and all were tightened.

Neither of us knew that the mechanic had already started work by clamping the rear flexible hose and disconnecting the copper pipe from the cylinder. I drove for about 60 miles with only a clamp holding the pressure.

Simon I had the same thing happen on a Riley 1.5 but it was a few days before I went back to have it fitted

I had the same as Ray (loose wheel nuts) on my '79 Mini. I got about 5 miles or so before the knocking got so bad that I had to stop.

I had just replaced the front wheel bearings, so I presumed (at the time being fairly inexperienced) it was the bearings. I managed to get home by tightening them up every mile. It mashed the stud threads and ruined the wide 10" weller 8 spoke wheel.

A few years ago I had driven my MM back from Stirling to Nairn, bearing in mind the last 35miles is across country & small twisty roads, parked up all was fine and congratulated myself on having a well maintained MM as the car had run perfectly. Got up next day to go to work early and about 1 mile down the road a real bad clonking noise started in the front nearside. Turned round and went home, took off hub caps and 3 wheel nuts were rattling round inside the hubcap the other wheel nut was still tight - Doh!! That shook me a bit as I'm the only one who has the wheels off and even if I am getting tyres fitted I always ask too tighten the nuts myself - so only me to blame!! Although I did accuse the missus of trying to bump me off!!
Now I make a point of only tightening the wheel nuts when the car is on the ground and leave the wheel brace outside the car until I have gone round the wheels.

Jefftav wrote:Now I make a point of only tightening the wheel nuts when the car is on the ground and leave the wheel brace outside the car until I have gone round the wheels.

Same here! Makes you paranoid doesn't it?

Very paranoid as when you think of what the consequences could have been. A while after that after checking the oil etc I forgot to close the bonnet down properly which a passer by alerted me to as I was driving off one am. Now I have complete OCD about these things on my modern as well as the morris.

when i got myrtle from cw i opened the bonnet to turn off the heater valve.i drove home 120 miles on the m4 and m25 with the bonnet not latched down,hows that for lucky

Many years ago I had a MGB roadster. A bracket broken off the rear axle and needed welding. I put the car on stands and crawled under with arc welder gun/rod in hand....by accident I touched the handbrake cable with the rod and it burnt through immediately I then realised what could have happened if I'd touched the fuel tank 2 inches away!....

Bit of a late reply but this happened to me at the weekend.
I bought a mk4 escort estate as a daily hack last week and swapped a new engine into it over the weekend from my previous escort.
To make life easier I took the box, shafts and hubs with it and dumped it out the bottom in one.

On its maiden drive (from Portland to Bristol no less) I kept noticing a knocking.
I ignored it (as you do).
Next day I made the same trip and noticed it knocking heavily under breaking.
I stopped ignoring it and pulled over. The passenger side calliper bolts were only finger tight and had wound out a few mm from their location. The cali was wobbling!
Teach me to double check everything in future!!