Morris Minor Owners Club

I don't seem to have oil coming up to the rocker cover - they are running dry!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is there a way of cleaning the oilways without taking the head off?

DO NOT run the engine ! Remove plugs and crank it on the starter ONLY. Do you have any oil pressure? Has the cylinder head been disturbed in any way - and have the rockers/rocker shaft/pedestals been disturbed in ANY way?

one possibility is that the rocker shaft mounting posts have been put in the wrong place.
One of them should have an oilway that lines up with the oilway through the head - if it's been put in the wrong place, there's be no oil flow to the rocker shaft.

The oil flow is up through the post and along the inside of the rocker shaft - then it lubricated the rocker pain bearings through holes drilled in the shaft.
The oil that leaks past this interface then lubricates the valve stems.

This photo should point you in the right direction for the rocker shaft oil gallery. One of the rocker shaft turrets has a fixing screw between the two fixing nuts. This helps identify it as the one that should be over the oil gallery - generally the one nearest the front of the car.

I assume your oil pressure warning light has been going out? If so then you should have been getting oil to the bottom end. The problem will then point to the head gasket or rocker turrets as mentioned in other posts.

If you do need to remove the rocker shaft, undo the fixing nuts evenly to avoid snapping the shaft![frame][/frame]

No reply from the OP - so no answer to the questions re anything been disturbed...... The pillars could only be wrong if the rockers have been dismantled.....

Apologies for not replying before but funeral events overtook me. However, I completed a trip to Ireland in my moggie (1763 miles with no problem).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlU6GNQByDo

Question: if you have compressed a new cylinder head gasket and not gone through a heat cycle - can you use it again?
I made a schoolboy error and had to undo it.

I certainly would....wipe of grease on both faces - and retorque to 44 ft lbf - and again after the first heat cycle.

Many thanks and happy hogmanay

I've been unable to use the Forum or my Morris (that is still in the same state it was before Christmas) so I beg your indulgence to answer the same old question
When I turn the crank handle with the head off - no oil comes up the oil way to the head gasket.
I've blown compressed air down it - and dribbled oil down it but nothing comes up when I turn it over.
Does this mean the oil pump is broken or are there some other things I should check before having the engine OUT AGAIN.
A couple of old Morris mechanics said they could never remember an oil pump going?
Desperate to be on the road.

PS there is oil in the sump

It could be as simple as the pickup pipe being blocked (?).

Crank handle will struggle to get oil through - spin it up on the starter motor for a few minutes to see what happens !

As recommended I used the starter motor but nothing happened at the oil feed hole to the cylinder head.
However, I filled the hole up with a little oil and there was evidence of some pumping action (bubbles) on spin over so I am ruling out the oil pump at this stage.
Before I take the sump off - would the metal wearing's from a worn rocker bearing be sufficient to clog up the oil pick-up strainer (is it a very fine sieve?) and would anyone recommend a flushing method to try to clean it clean it out prior to dismantling?
Lastly, does the oil filter function as a supply filter or is it in use as the oil returns to the sump?
Many thanks
MCP

It's on the supply gallery. You should maybe try priming the pump (it won't have failed) - there is a hex plug near the drain tap on the rear nearside of the block. Undo the hex and pump in some oil - replace the hex and crank it. It's very unlikely the sump intake mesh is blocked - but it's not a difficult job to drop the sump and clean it.

Thanks for that - if some idiot had overfilled the oil by 1.5 inches could that make a difference to the overall throughput of oil; to the head?

Only to the good !

AM I Being DUMB (ER)?

I've looked for the oil pump prime hex nut and there is not one on my MOWAG block.
I've cleaned everything in the sump prior to reassembly and I've noticed something that appears strange.
On the oil filter mounting space there is on the passenger side of the engine a blanking plate that covers a 1'' hole.
On the other side where the oil-filter is - there is no corresponding hole - just studs - I can't work out how the oil gets back into the sump from the filter - are there secret holes that feed the oil back in or should there be an hole that you could put your pinky in (similar to the other side) - I've had a look with a mirror and can't see one.

I don't want to break the gasket seal on the engine block/oil filter mount if I don't need to - Am I missing the blindingly obvious? The old filter case was full of oil.

From bear with small brain

The oil pump priming plug is item No: 22 on the attached illustration and is located below the rear cam follower cover.
The blanking plate is where a mechanical fuel pump could be fitted as in Austin/MG derivatives.
The oil filter is a full flow type and oil from the oil filter is fed to the main oil gallery before being distributed around the engine by various drillings and galleries - so no hole in the side of the block where the filter is attached.
The oil feed to the oil filter is direct from the oil pump past (but not through the oil pressure relief valve) to the oil filter and is carried through the external pipe on the R/H side of the engine by the distributer.[frame][/frame]

Many thanks for that clear explanation - unfortunately I don't have the pump priming plug - But I'm reassembling and will report back.

Indeed - the later engines did without the priming plug (saved 50p for BMC...) - in which case you need to prime it by removing the pipe to the oil filter - and flowing oil in the hole so exposed, while turning the engine backwards. But if the engine has been run in recent times - there really should be no need to prime anything. If there is still no flow when you try again you will need to withdraw the camshaft and inspect the bush in case it has been installed incorrectly - or indeed has somehow turned within the housing...

1) Back on the road
2) What is the technical term for gobbets of phosphor bronze and mild steel dust that combine with oil to block up...?
a) The oil way from the pump to the block
b) The inaccessible corner of the oil way on the cylinder head

Cure - Pluzgaz, wire and compressed air shots - after eight attempts - blew them right away

Good news was that I changed the valve guides, springs and valves as well as fitting a recon- rocker unit.

Moral is that you live and learn but hopefully never to have the same thing happen again.