Morris Minor Owners Club

I changed the oil in my Saloon today, not the most time consuming job. While I had the bonnet up I thought I’d torque the head down as the new gasket has had time to bed itself in. The last stud to get tightened up snapped, and it was one of the small ones that holds the rocker cover down….

So this weekend coming I now have to take the head off again to remove the remains of the stud and fit a new one….

This asks the question… Should I torque up the small head bolts or just leave it at the large ones?

The rocker cover should really only be nipped up its only the 9 head studs that need torqueing down what torque did you use.

40, as it states in the AutoData Car Repair Manual for the Minor 1000.

So I should have only torqued the big nuts, weill that would be why it sheered then.. silly me... shouldn't take more than about an hour to put right, it's a shame I can't do it in the evenings....

The big nuts should be 40 lb/ft (I've heard 44 lb/ft recommended though) and the little ones (rocker shaft) 25 lb/ft

Something like 7 lb/ft for the cover nuts

MarkyB wrote:Something like 7 lb/ft for the cover nuts

Rocker cover - yes..... but not the rocker shaft (pillars)......

Hello Peter,

it should be possible to replace the stud without removing the head, just the rocker shaft assembly. They aren't normally that tight in the head.

Alec

Aye - but to get at it will mean removing th rocker shaft - which will mean slackening ALL the head nuts. Drain the water first! You 'may' get away with just bolting it down again - take the head nuts to 44 ft lbf - BUT NOT as others have pointed out - NOT the 4 small rocker shaft studs! These last 4 should only be nipped up at first - and finally torqued to 20 ft lbf AFTER the head nuts have all been fully tighten. Then - re-set the valve gaps!

Where does it say that in the AutoData Car Repair Manual..???????

20 for the small ones, and I'll hope that the shaft has snapped high enough to be removed without a head removal....

Hello BMCE,

why slacken all the head nuts, it is not necessary?

I've never had a problem doing that with 'A' or 'B' series engines.

Alec

If you only slacken the 4 holding down the rocker shaft - you are heading for touble. Should slacken all 9 - and then re-torque them in the correct order. I suggest the slightly higher 44 ftlbf torque to ensure the gasket gets a new 'nip'. Water to be drained off first though!

pfgiz wrote:Where does it say that in the AutoData Car Repair Manual..???????

Is that like the Haynes manual ?

The correct manual actually states 25 for the pillars but I guess 20 is erring on the safe side.....

Never heard of 'Autodata' - but if it tells you to torque them to 40 - best throw it away!

bmcecosse wrote:Never heard of 'Autodata' - but if it tells you to torque them to 40 - best throw it away!

I'm not sure Jack Hay, the editor who signed the introduction on the second page, would appreciate that.

Autocar said “. . . the text has been written very much for the ordinary man, rather than for the trained mechanic.”
Car Mechanics said “A very good example of a manual adapted to suit the needs of the DIY man.”

I’ve heard of Autocar, is Car Mechanics another publication or just a collection of guys who work on cars..?????

Either way the book is now consigned to the shelf of shame and will never be used in anger again……

Not heard of Jack Hay either! Not mocking the book - I don't know it at all. The detail re rocker studs is likely in there somewhere - maybe just not obvious. Car Mechanics was just a monthly mag - bit like our Pratical Classics at the moment - and to the same woeful standard!

OK problem now sorted but, as always, not as straight forward as it should have been....

Drained the water, loosened the head and removed the rocker… I was able to drill the remains of the stud and get an easy-out on the job and removed it. It was then I noticed that number 5 con-rod was sitting very high compared to the rest. After a little investigation I discovered that the tappet for it had come out and needed re-seating. So off with the exhaust, the cover plate and fix that problem.

It’s all back together now and working well…… Head is torqued up to 45 and the rocker bolts are ‘pinched tight’.

Thanks for all of your help…

A useful tip for removing push rods is to lift them about 1/4 inch and pause a bit before you pull them out.
Once you've done a few you can tell by the weight if the follower is stuck to the end.
Often a little spin with you finger will release it.

Thanks Marky, I've never had a problem with them before now but will remember to do the above in the future.

A wee shoogle of the push-rod drops off the cam followers - amazing if your car had a #5 con-rod!

Surely it's got 8? so the 5th one from the front is number one? or have I got the numbering wrong?