Morris Minor Owners Club

hello there
my car has been at my mechanics for a few days now awaiting a new fuel pump which i ordered and gave to him. This was due to it suddenly making a sort of whooshing noise..like something had come loose and was flapping around..then suddenly breaking down. it would start ok..but as soon as i started rolling it would start the noise again and come to a halt. sometimes on tick over it would stop too. i had to call out the rac who couldn't find anything obvious..and my mechanic diagnosed fuel pump as the contacts were gone he said. ( think that what he said)/. i picked it up tonight...drove down the road. Same noise. i got her home but obvoiusly after last time i don't trust her and will have to take her back up tomorrw. Has anyone any idea what this can be?
with thanks
Lucy
owner of much loved Doris on the Isle of Wight.

Does not sound like fuel pump to me. Fuel pumps go tick, tick, tick. You either have petrol coming out of the pipe to the carb or you do not. Keep the old pump, it looks like you have a spare, if the contacts are gone then they can be replaced.
Can't think of anything on a Minor that goes woosh, I am used to rattles and bangs when it goes over road humps

Wooshing would suggest air movement of some sort. I would be checking the air filter - perhaps it has come loose from the carby inlet, although hard to say why this would cause the car to stop.

thanks for your thoughts
i think it's more of a flapping noise. definletly like something come loose and making the noise. its from under the bonnet somewhere...maybe the left side? frustrating!

You really need to get that checked - it could be quite serious. I would not be going back to the same garage though! Is there someone in your area who is experienced in classic cars?

well i have always used Geoff. old boy with old cars of his own. very slow! thought thorough but quite often he 'fixes' it and off i go only to have the problem reappear which is frustrating. 'try it out' is his motto. he gets there in the end but it can be quite stressful. he was convinced this was the fuel pump even though i reiterated several times it was making this 'noise!'. oh dear....i'm anxious about it.

So, do I understand correctly that it is now making the whooshing noise but is no longer breaking down?

First thing, don't trust that mechanic again. If the fuel pump points had "gone" then they could have been replaced for a fraction of the cost of a new pump. On the plus side, you if the pump is very old and not recently used, then the diaphragm might have stiffened, so a new pump can't hurt; and the old one should be a good spare.

The engine stopping does suggest that it could be a fuel problem, but the test is quite easy: When the car stops, open the bonnet and tap the fuel pump (quite hard on the side of the metal body). If the pump makes a sudden rapid ticking sound then it is suspect. Might still be worth trying this with the new pump in case there is a separate fuel problem.

If this is a 1098cc car then the whooshing could easily come from the air filter - there should be a metal tube coming from the base. It acts as a silencer, and if it's half off then could flap on a bit of metal acting like a hinge, and could produce a whoosh. The difficulty with noises is that they sound different to different people.

I would also look at the exhaust pipe - is it or the manifold loose? A loose manifold would affect air intake and easily stop the engine. All fuel and exhaust bits are on the left!

On the positive side, when looked after, the Minor is utterly reliable. We use ours every day, and in the recent snow they have out-performed many modern cars. You also have a very good local branch on the IOW. If you've joined the MMOC then you will get full details of local contacts.

Another good idea is to get a copy of one of the workshop manuals - it will help you to identify bits and look after the car. I'm confident that we'll get you sorted out and that you will enjoy the car for many years.

thanks for that information. i will check all those things out. Since my first profile when i had just bought a traveller from an old lady in the village for a hundred pounds i have moved onto a saloon in better condition as i love it so much..so i'm not giving up on them...definetly not! this just sounds a bit serious.... i think i will change my mechanic. too much grasping at straws i think! thanks again..Lucy

Sounds like avaccum leak .What year is it ?
Does it have a pcv thats bad?

1970
not sure what pvc is..sorry!
phoned my mechanic this morning to tell him about the noise...he hadn't even driven it.
oh my god. time to move on once this job is done...i will run through everyones ideas with him.
thanks everyone.

Don't worry about the PCV or emission control valve, it is only fitted on American export cars (and on my Traveller).

exhaust blocked

I'm guessing at a brake shoe rubbing on the drum

Here's an "off the wall" idea. Could the sound be the starter motor running free at whatever speed it can attain with no load on it? This could be caused by a stuck starter switch/starter solenoid or a short circuit at the ignition switch causing the solenoid to energize the starter. Whooshing is not the word I would use to describe the sound but then I don't know how I would describe it.

Is it the supercharger?