Morris Minor Owners Club

From reading other posts it seems like there are millions of things to check, but just thought I'd ask what to check first. The 1000 has got an odd noise over about 50-55 miles an hour, it is a sort of rattle that changes after a couple of miles an hour to a deep resonant hum / drone that hurts you 'in' your head! Horrible!! anyway, this only happens when accelerating or keeping the pressure on to maintain speed, when you pull off the accelerator a little it stops.

What to check FIRST? Could it be the prop shaft?

Has the noise just started? Is the noise coming from any particular area (front, rear)

Check the Crankshaft pulley condition and tightness, road wheels nuts are tight, nothing trapped under the car??

Crankshaft pulley, is that where the fan belt goes? Will do, road wheels all fine, though haven't had the tracking done after new track rod ends were fitted... possible culprit ?

Crankshaft pulley is at the bottom of the fanbelt run, use a torch and inspect it from above and below as it can crack & break up. If TR ends have been done by a garagethen they should have checked the tracking so it is worth asking them to do this and also to check the wheel balance as out of balance wheels can give a vibration at certain speeds?

Right ill get that stuff checked out first

oh, and the noise maybe has always been there but have only just started going out of time and going at any speed!

Not just exhaust resonance? Maybe only now because driving with windows closed?

how do you check if it's exhaust noise?

Jane, most likely the prop shaft , Ujoints or balance. Try to borrow someones propshaft and try it. good luck.

Check the exhaust mountings - shake the silencer - very common for the internal baffles to come loose - and have a listen with a window open!

Doesn't seem to be the exhaust, all the mountings are flexible and all nuts and bolts tight. Revved the engine while stationary and all was okay too, slight vibration obviously throughout the car at high revs but every morris ive sat in seem a bit like that. the crank pulley also seems fine and all panels are tight as are the road wheels. tomorrow ill look at the prop shaft properly... but if it was the proper shaft wouldnt it cause the vibration even with the clutch in / in neutral at speed??

Not necessarily - worth checking. Is the engine steady bar ok??

Did you try the wheel balance?
The exhaust can sometimes vibrate off the body as it goes out through the engine bay

You may only get the vibration in the prop shaft when driving rather than when stationary as it might not be spinning fast enough when in neutral & stationary. I have heard of using a banjo clamp round the propshaft to alter the balance and reduce vibration but I have never tried this myself. The only other way would be to swap with another propshaft or take your propshaft to be balanced.

Clutching at straws now - but the anti rattle spring in the gearbox at the bottom of the gearstick can fall into the gearbox and cause quite a disturbing noise but you can stop this by holding the gearstick

Could, of course, be the mother in law who starts to drone when you get past 50 sorry - couldn't resist

I have access to another prop shaft which I know is good, so ill try that. as for the engine steady, how do I check that>? It IS there and feels solid?

Only one bolt holding it to the engine bay though

If it's too tight - it can cause vibes......

changed the prop shaft, and it was just as bad if not worse, so decided to change the differential whilst 'down there', only to find that the driver's side wheel hub actually moves in and out

The hub does not wobble, but can slide in and out by about 2 mm, the other side does not - these are new bearings, so what is the problem? Nut with its locking washer NOT tight enough do you think? Which way do you turn to tighten it?

Do you think this bearing could be causing it?

Certainly check the nut! LH threaded on the nearside. Who fitted the bearings...... and where did they come from?

This is on the driver's side, so does that mean I should be trying to tighten it clockwise then?

The bearings were from bull motif or Esm, I can't remember which. Is it right though that I can see the actual ball bearings at the side of the lock washer?