Morris Minor Owners Club

If I take the engine out without the gearbox will the car still be mobile or does the gearbox need supporting? I know when i took the engine out of my old Ford Pop the gearbox required support and the manual says the same for the Midget (not done it myself) but there is nothing in Haynes about supporting the gearbox if I take the engine out of the Traveller. I'm hoping to lift it out and push the car back out of the way. I have an engine hoist but due to logistics I'll be doing this on slightly uneven ground and the hoist doesn't travel well on it's little wheels so the plan is to hoist, push car out of the way and lower engine onto a pallet.

ideally the gearbox should be supported throughout the time the engine is out, but it is possible to move the car about without having the gearbox supported, it just puts abit of stress on the mounts, not alot, but if they are in naff condition it might break them up.
However, my austin was 20 years without an engine and the gearbox wasnt supported and it hasnt done it any harm

I tied a bit of rope to the front damper bodies and slung that underneath the bellhousing to support it. Lift it a bit with a trolley jack first then tie it up and lower the jack so the rope takes the strain. I might have use a length of wood resting on the dampers rather than tying to them directly, can't remember exactly but I'm sure you get the idea.

OK, thanks.

I kept a trolley jack supporting mine when I took the engine out.its also handy when refitting the engine

I second the trolley jack method as that is how I done it when I changed the engine in the old car.

When I refitted my engine,I also put a trolley jack with a piece of 3x3 timber under the sump(so as not to damage the sump)and lifted each jack in turn until the gearbox and engine mated with each other.

The rope trick works fine - DO NOT let the gearbox hang down usupported!

oops, I never supported mine.

What damage can be done?

Irreversible damage to the clutch and prop shaft.

Just kidding - but it's obviously better to keep it held up - to prevent anything being strained in the clutch linkage - or the gearbox mounts - or the prop shaft joints. Especially so if you need to move the car around.

If the gearbox mounts are marginal they could be torn. If they are in good order and the box was not hanging for weeks on them they should be OK - Worst case senario is new gearbox mounts so no biggy really....

PSL184 wrote:If the gearbox mounts are marginal they could be torn. If they are in good order and the box was not hanging for weeks on them they should be OK - Worst case senario is new gearbox mounts so no biggy really....

Frankly, the way I'd view it is that if the mounts tear away under that sort of situation, they weren't long for this world anyway, and you have saved another annoyance in the future! Let it hang loose!

linearaudio wrote: Frankly, the way I'd view it is that if the mounts tear away under that sort of situation, they weren't long for this world anyway, and you have saved another annoyance in the future! Let it hang loose!

I'd agree with that - I always change engine and gearbox mounts as part of the first service I do with any "new" Minor I buy anyway - Everone I've changed so far has been desparate for them....

I'll bear that in mind... Thanks.