Morris Minor Owners Club

HI All,

I am driving my series ii 1954 MM, so far so good, however sometimes she won't go into 3rd gear no mater how gentle i am, its not all the time but when it happens its annoying. Any ideas?

Mike

Have you tried changing the oil ? Engine oil - not EP oil....

Change the engine oil?

or gearbox oils?

Change the oil in the gearbox, it uses engine oil.

Hi

I thought the recommended gear oil was different from the engine oil?

I put 20/50 in the engine .

You thought wrongly then - 20W50 will be fine.

could be the answer to my problem

I doubt it - but for all it costs -worth a try! You need to tell us about what's going on - does it 'baulk' as you try to select, or is the problem that the lever is very 'loose' and perhaps just not able to push the selector far enough?

its fine in 1st & 2nd but when you try to select 3rd it just won't find the slot. although it does sometimes , also when is does happen (that is it won't go in gear) it won't go in 4th either . but then all of a sudden it is fine and works perfectly.

Mike

did you mean 20/50 would be ok or 29/50 as you put?

Never driven a Series MM , but third gear was always a bit woolly on our Series II, it was "all in the wrist action" - a sharp flick to the right usually did the trick.

Bernard

sorry meant series ii. the MM was morris minor

Maybe thats the answer then a quick flick

Mike

The Series II gear sticks aren't known as "pudding stirrers" for nothing.

Bernard

If you can find 29W50 then use it. I suspect you know perfectly well that was a slip of the finger...now corrected. I'll not bother following your threads any more.... Good luck with it.

Bit harsh, Roy...? Some folks wouldn't know engine oil from cooking oil.

Bernard

I would love to put your anger at my innocence to one side and draw on your vast knowledge……….please accept this apology and lead me through the challenge.

Mike

Hi

If I wave a white flag would yiu give me some advice please.

The gearbox was empty of oil. I filled it up but the problem is still there. It goes in third about 50% of the time the rest of the time it is just pushing against a dead stop.

To get it to work I need to put it back into 2nd and then try again, although this does not work all the time either.

Mike

Does the problem happen when the gearbox oil would be cold or warm? Does it improve after a good run?

Hi,

The problem does not go away when the car is warm.

Mike