Morris Minor Owners Club

This evening on a little trip, i start to get a rapid pumping noise as i hit the throttle to anything above 40 - to my untrained ears sounds like the same sort of desperate keeping up beating my heart makes when i am running too much. Basically it gets faster the more i press on the throttle. Decide this isn't good and head for home.

Then i start to lose power trying to pull away from a slowing position, with the engine dying on occassion and the ignition light kicking in.

In the end the only way i can keep her going is with the choke out when slowing or idling and not accelerating too hard.

Do we think petrol pump? Or timing? I'm hoping not the latter as that looks really complicated; but it might explain the odd bit of overrunning we get. I was told before that the petrol pump might have dirt in it as it has clogged once, stopping the engine altogether. if it is that - how difficult is the cleaning and re-assembling of said pump (particularly bearing in mind i felt as if i'd achieved when changing the battery!!)

Sorry to be such a pain.....

Lots of possibilities, some good, some bad. Start by having a look at the carb and manifold. Is everything secure, or are there any loose nuts or bolts? Do you have access to a compressions tester? Remove the plugs and check readings on each cylinder and report back. Timing is NOT difficult, but check my first two suggestions before worrying about that.

Hmmmm. Do a compression check to see if head gasket has gone.

Aye - sounds like head gasket - or possibly engine seizing up! Very simple compression check is to turn it over on the handle - with ign off - should have 4 'even' pulls. Obviously - if one or more is weak ....

and for a virtually totally incompetent individual, this means a garage doesn't it?

so easy stuff first - check carb is clean and secure, check manifold, check spark plugs (what's a compression kit?) and then sort out replacement head gasket?

oh and then hope engine ISN'T seizing up!!

whats you location i`m sure someone on here can help
Tony

Surely you can turn the engine with the handle - aand report back?

she is struggling to start off the ignition now - needs virtually full choke which means she is kicking out lots of smoke and crap out of the exhaust.

i have checked the carb - apart from one loose connection that was all good - i haven't even figured out how to get the spark plugs out yet, but on the sticky out end (that's how technical i am!!) one of them has some browny deposits on the white bit, though the rest are clean.

i am now going to try the handle and see if i can find four even pulls....i'm in surbiton btw....

tried the handle - getting nothing at all, but i've never really mastered that.

What do you mean - nothing at all ? Does it just spin over without any great effort - or is it really hard to turn ALL the time ?

hard to turn all the time, getting bite back at a three quarter turn, but no life from the engine - so it appears to be biting and it did that every time.

i'm starting to think she deserves a beter owner than me to be honest!!

The idea was to turn it with the ignition OFF - to simply feel the resistance - you should feel 4 'even' compressions. If it's tight all the time - could be partially seized. Your 'bite' could be it kicking back at you because it's a wee bit too advanced - but it should do that for all 4 cylinders - not just one ! If you can't get a proper compression test - then it does sound like you may as well take the head off and have a look at the gasket. On idea though - take the spark plugs out - then churn it on the handle - it should whizz round easily! If it's not seized.

i'm going to buy a kit tomorrow - what am i looking out for exactly?

Kit? For what ?

Compression tester I guess....?

It's hardly a Kit! Better to just pull the head I think - a head gasket 'kit' will be more useful.

I would think so although for a novice it would be a good learning point to see what kind of readings you get when an HG is blown which can then be referenced for any future fault finding.
To answer the question - if it was indeed for a compression tester - just go along to your local motor factors and ask for one - I would "hope" they would know what you were talking about