Morris Minor Owners Club

Yesterday, going back home i stopped for a traffic light. Green, i clutch and suprised i hear suddenly a big noise. I stopped directly the engine and some minits after i tried to turn it on. The engine turn perfectly but impossible o drive. No gear works and when i try it seem the car try to move but it fails directly I hear a strange noise when the gear is "engaged".

What would it be? The clutch would be broken? I'm askin in place of look because i've now exams so notime for it but i'm stressed...

Sounds more like you may have broken a half shaft in the axle so that you have no drive to the wheels.

Hmm, sounds more likely the clutch to me if you get a noise when engaging a gear, or do you mean the noise happens when you life the clutch pedal?

Hi. Oh dear!!

Same question as Stig - When does the noise come?
a) when you try to go into gear with the clutch pressed or
b) when you are in gear and release the clutch pedal.

(a = maybe a clutch problem, b = maybe a broken shaft in the axle)

ps - good luck with the exams

it's the second solution. It's noisy when i release the pedal

Questions....
a) Does the car move at all when the noise occurs? If yes, could be stripped teeth on one or more gears - I once limped three miles with the car lurching forward, slowing, lurching, slowing, etc with horrible noise.
b) If car not moving, can an assistant check whether thr prop shaft is turning. If yes, then half shaft likely to be broken, or (very unlikely) diff b*ggered.
c) With engine OFFand box in neutral, Jack up each rear wheel in turn. Rotate by hand. If prop shaft turns then half shaft & Diff OK, but might still hear noise in gearbox.
d) Leaving box in neutral, with engine running, does noice still occur with cluth pedal down, or only when actually in a gear? If latter, does it occur in ALL gears or only some?
Ditto good luck in exams.

a. the car doesn't move anymore
d. the noise doesn't occur in neutral and it occurs in all gears.

For the B and C, i'look at home (i'm at the university now)

the half shaft is the parts between the end of the gearbox and the begin of the axle? if yes, they don't seem to be broken. If not, could you show me a picture of the half shaft?

The half shafts are inside the back axle:


If the propshaft goes round (between gearbox and axle) but the car does not move then it is going to be a broken halfshaft.

There are some for sale on e-bay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... RK:MEWA:IT

...and seeing where the seller is, feel free to make bad puns ad nauseum.
a

bigginger wrote:...and seeing where the seller is, feel free to make bad puns ad nauseum.
a

It writes itself doesn't it??

Reminds of the old joke which ends "certainly did Miss, blew them to pieces!'

a

the propshaft doesn't turn but it vibrates a lot

So, halfshaft or not?

the propshaft doesn't turn but it vibrates a lot

Do mean with the engine running and the car in gear
Have you tried simmitc`s `C` check yet.

well according to the B) test it seems more liklely to be the gearbox, not the halfshaft!

If you have to change the gearbox - the existing gearbox has a special front seal (not cheap) so it is worth to keep that (it comes with the gearbox front plate inside the bellhousing)

thanks for the tip ray!
I'll tell you what was the problem when i'll better look ;)

Hi Gluck, it is sounding more like the gearbox, but just to be clear, when you say that prop shaft not turning, is this with using the engine test or the turn-rear-wheel-by-hand test?. If the former, then defintielt box / clutch; if the latter then half shaft. When doing the rear wheel test, it is essential that one wheel remains on the ground, otherwise the diff will just spin freely.

Be assured that whatever the problem, it is fixable, plenty of advice on here. Do you have access to tools and/or workshop manual. Also, not being funny, but as you asked about half shafts, just to confirm that the prop shaft runs along centre of car from the gear box to back axle. Sorry if that sounds too obvious !

Just to prepare you for what might be ahead.... If it is the clutch, then that can be changed by removing the engine or the gearbox. If it's the box, then that has to come out anyway. Engine removal will need a hoist. Gearbox you can just about get away with assistants lifting. You can of course take engine and box out together, again with a hoist. It's all a matter of choice, and what's been done before to make it easy - 40 year old bolts can be difficult to remove!

Assuming that you decide to take the box out, start by removing prop shaft, both front seats, and gearbox cover in the floor - lots of brass crosshead screws. You'll also need the car up on ramps to get some room underneath. They'll be loads more advice from everyone as you need it.

You'll probably need a replacement box, either secondhand or recon, depending on funds. Good luck. Of course, it could still be

If you have to change the gearbox - the existing gearbox has a special front seal (not cheap) so it is worth to keep that (it comes with the gearbox front plate inside the bellhousing)

OK, Ray, I give up, how on earth can you tell that without seeing the box. If you're that good perhaps the rest of us had better be quiet I'm assuming that you're referring to one of the rubber oil seals that are sold as mods?

Just one thought, if the box is that bad, the seal may be wrecked anyway.

'cause Ray put it there on that car!

i'm removing the gearbox to look if the clutch or gearbox is faulting. So i need to remove the propshaft. i removed the parts on the right on the picture (sorry i don't know the name in english but i'm unable to continue the removing of the halfshaft. How to do that?