Morris Minor Owners Club

My 62 4 door is coming back together nicely (now painted bright blue). Just got the engine back in the car. I've run into trouble though. Here's a summary:

*Changed the engine oil. No leaks after sitting for a couple of days and a couple of starts and short runs (trying to get the exhaust to seal!).

*Got enough back together today to do a little test drive. I warmed it up with about 10 minutes idling just to check... but once it got warm, I discovered a steady drip-drip-drip of oil from the back end of the engine somewhere, enough to make a little puddle after 5 minutes. It looked very black and sludgy which was odd since I'd changed the oil and fitted a new filter.

*Went for a drive. It ran well but the gearbox is a bit scary. When idling in neutral, it makes a soft rumbling/roaring like a skateboard bearing - sounds like bearing noise to me! This stops when the clutch is pressed.

*First gear makes a lot of whining, and some roaring noises and the odd clunk. Doesn't sound healthy! Higher gears seem OK.

*When I changed the gearbox oil I found a lot of metal on the sump plug - gritty stuff the texture of coarse sand.

So: An oil leak when running and warm: could this be anything other than the bearing and/or seal at the back of the crankshaft? Am I going to have to strip the engine?

Gearbox noise / metal - Is that normal? Should I be able to hear it when idling? (bear in mind the floorpan / gearbox cover is not in place so there's nothing to block out noises).

The engine seemed to run well when I bought the car, so I was hoping it would be OK and I could just stick it back in... It may have been leaking oil then, though, as there wasn't much in it and I didn't drive it far before wheeling it into the shed. I remember the gears being noisy though!

It's a 948cc engine with a smooth case gearbox. I don't think it's original for the car.

Noisy (ie whining) first gear is pretty standard. In any case you can start off in second most of the time in 948cc car as 1st is so low. Other clunks when driving or noise when idling would indicate something is wrong. Are you sure your clutch is adjusted correctly? Note clutch pedal free travel is different between 948cc & 1098cc cars.
Even if your gearbox is badly worn, you could probably put up with driving it for quite a while. Jumping out of gear would be a more serious problem.
I have less experience of engine oil leaks but it could relate to a blocked breather pipe - do a search for oil leaks and breathers on this forum.
Good luck with your car.

Have you ad the sump off? if so it could be the gasket is not seated properly.

Steve_S wrote:Noisy (ie whining) first gear is pretty standard. In any case you can start off in second most of the time in 948cc car as 1st is so low. Other clunks when driving or noise when idling would indicate something is wrong. Are you sure your clutch is adjusted correctly? Note clutch pedal free travel is different between 948cc & 1098cc cars.
Even if your gearbox is badly worn, you could probably put up with driving it for quite a while. Jumping out of gear would be a more serious problem.
I have less experience of engine oil leaks but it could relate to a blocked breather pipe - do a search for oil leaks and breathers on this forum.
Good luck with your car.

Thanks for the suggestions! Good point about the breather pipe - I didn't look at it closely.

Regarding the gearbox, it actually seems to work fine and doesn't jump out of gear - so maybe I shouldn't worry about it!

I haven't had the sump off, but that doesn't mean it isn't leaking!

there is no seal on the back of the engine it relies on a scroll seal inside on the end of the crankshaft to throw the oil back into the engine,the main cause of oil from there is excessive crankcase pressure due to a blocked breather/worn rings and bore, or a badly worn rear main bearing which throws too much oil out at the scroll seal and it can't cope with the volume,do a search been discussed MANY times. They all drip a bit from the rear because its a poor system. If the oil is black and old looking more likely to be coming from the gear box ,you would have changed the engine oil as a mater of course so that would be clean and fresh:( . The noise you hear is more than likely to be the primary drive shaft bearing, its at the front of the gearbox and the classic test is ,does it go off when the clutch is depressed.The clutch holds the drive steady and stops it wobbling about in the bearing.it will eventually get to the point where it will throw the gears,when mine went it was top gear that would not hold. Its a gear box strip down to replace,I just put another gearbox in.If you do take the engine out ,get hold of the end of the shaft by the splines and push it about side to side,a good one will move but only very slightly,hardly noticable a bad one will be obvious,you can't test it via the side gearbox plate because its held by the clutchplate.Thats what the noise was on mine,it ran for about 6 months before it eventually threw top gear.The bearing also acts as an oil control to help stop oil getting out of the front of the gearbox.although again a poor system so slight drips are common

Thanks heaps for detailed info, kennatt.

So, I went out this morning to have another look and try to see where the oil was coming from. However, there were NO LEAKS or dripping oil to be seen, even after a warm up and a short drive.

The breather pipe goes on to the carb, and it seems to be clear.

However, I'd managed to overfill the oil and it was well above the full mark!

Another possibility: I'd jacked the rear of the car up and put it on stands while putting the prop shaft in, so some oil from the gearbox might have run forward and pooled somewhere, then dripped out after I let it back down and started it up.

Thanks for comments re: the gearbox. I drove it some more today and was alarmed by the noises, including the whine in 3rd (loud enough to drown out the engine when going uphill). Might look for a better one...