Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi, I have a '68 Traveller all original spec. I've had the car for nearly 16 years but this is a new one on me - a new and bad sounding high-pitched whine has suddenly developed, it's hardly audible when the car is cold or just ticking over but gets worse as it warms up & sometimes is accompanied by a distinct rattling noise. It's particularly noticeable on the overrun when changing gear, my initial thought was gearbox (I had a new one fitted about a year & a half ago) but I can still hear it if I pop the car out of gear & rev the engine so I'm guessing it can't be (although I'm a not terribly techy female so my logic might be flawed). The car was serviced in October & fluid levels all good with no mayo on the underside of the oil filler cap. Car is otherwise running well, starts beautifully although I think she may be a little down on power. I only noticed the problem on Friday so I've not been ignoring it & do intend to seek help but my trusted mechanic is really quite deaf! Plus I know the car so well that I can distinguish a new whine/rattle instantly amongst all the usual whines & rattles (although my notdeaf friend last night could hear it so it's not just my imagination!).

Any thoughts/suggestions/theories/educated guesses would be gratefully received, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's something easy to deal with but I know my luck too well & it's probably something that will cost £ to sort

does braking alter the noise at all? Which direction does it come from? , does opening windows help to locate it? any vibration?

lambrettalad wrote:does braking alter the noise at all? Which direction does it come from? , does opening windows help to locate it? any vibration?

Thanks for the reply! Nope, braking doesn't make any difference, I can hear the noise when the car is at a standstill if I rev it. The whine is most noticeable when the revs are up. It's similar to one of the many noises the old gearbox made before it self-destructed but the fact that it occurs in all gears (including neutral) presumably means it can't be that. There is no vibration and it does definitely seem to come from the front end - engine/gearbox. The rattle is most noticeable when the car is engine braking going downhill, although that might just be because the car is idling & the engine noise doesn't drown it out so much.

Hope that helps!

has the return spring for the clutch snapped meaning the thrust bearing is resting on the pressure plate?
Regards,
John

Loose fan belt/generator bearings/water pump - test by removing the fan belt - is the noise still there?

Oooh now I like the sound of both those suggestions! I'll have a play when I can get the car out the garage (its snowed in currently). I would hope it's not the clutch because it was all checked out & bits replaced as necessary when the gearbox was swapped out but that's no guarantee of anything. Thanks for the suggestions!

I think the problem has been diagnosed - I took the car for a run so fully warmed up & making the noise (which has become a sort of whirring noise now), took it to my mechanic & he could hear exactly where it was coming from. He then nearly suffered full thickness burns when he touched the dynamo . So my first job for tomorrow is to order a new one - and in the grand scheme of Moggy repairs this one is definitely at the more affordable end so I'm a very relieved owner!! Sadly the same can't be said for the rotten bits of timber but that's life

result

Nice one. Be sure to keep the old as a spare and take it apart to see what's wrong, sounds like the pulley bearing or something? They are pretty simple and useful as a spare. Read the manual first!

Thanks, I'll attempt some DIY dissection after consulting the workshop manual - although the biggest challenge for me will probably be trying not to self-harm in the process!

If buying new you should upgrade to an alternator.

I did consider an alternator but the dynamo on this car has served me well for 16 years so I'm going to stick with the devil I know Thanks for the suggestion though

Well, a dynamo kept the car going for 45 years, so why risk breaking down with an alternator failure?

rayofleamington wrote:Well, a dynamo kept the car going for 45 years, so why risk breaking down with an alternator failure?

just like an dynamo failure

to quote the "quo" "what ever you want ......"

Original Lucas alt. still going strong after 37 years service.

While I agree with the dynamo as long as it's working, I do think an alternator is a better idea in today's motoring conditions, and so a failed dynamo is an opportunity to upgrade at no extra expense. In fact - could be less expensive if the dynamo AND the control box need to be replaced - as often seems to be the case these days......

its the regulators that give the problems normally. have seen some electronic ones before.

Not in my experience -although many seem to be persuaded to buy a new regulator....and then when it still doesn't work, a new dynamo as well. When mostly a new set of brushes will see it all good for another 10 years !! I haven't heard of electronic regulators for dynamo use - do you have a link ??

I never realised that dynamo vs alternator was such a controversy! If I've made a crap decision it's not the first & it certainly won't be my last but if the dynamo only lasts 16 years instead of 34 I think I can cope with the humiliation

just out of interest ,just been chatting to a bloke,who is a 65 year old mechanic who said he seems to remember a late moggie back in the middle 70's having an alternator , however he may have had his beer brain engaged