Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all, I took my Morris Minor out for its longest trip from home since I've started driving it this weekend. 128 miles round trip, I've completely replaced the ignition side of things and the engine ran lovely all the way there and back again. But on the way back we hit traffic caused by the illegal rave just off the A1 yesterday, I did pull over just to see how hot the engine was getting. All was good. About 5 minutes I went to pull into the next lane. As I lifted the clutch pedal there was a little whine and nothing happened, it seems to only come up about a 1/4 of travel and didn't engage. Tried again with the same results. Popped it out of first and back in which got me onto a junction where I stopped for about 10 minutes. We wasn't in the safest of places so we pulled off the A1, clutch seemed ok and it got me up a hill past all the gears to a little town where we lit it cool. We pulled back on to the A1 and got home with no more problems.

The clutch has always had a lot of travel, about 3/4 of its travel before it engages. But I've never had it slip. Can I assume something in the clutch assembly got warm or stuck? I was in first gear most of the time in traffic, with no syncro I opted to stay in first as opposed to a taking it out of gear each time we stopped. We was never stationary for long. Traffic was flowing. But I seem to recall that this is bad for the gearbox and clutch? Have I knackered the release bearing by doing this?

The gearbox has always been suspect, 1st, 2nd and 4th seem fine although it has more recently developed a little noise when coming out of 1st into 2nd. But 3rd gear rattles.. I have a replacement gearbox. Well several really. What is the best thing to do in terms of checking them for condition? The first replacement was bought in good faith from a classic car garage, the others dad got over the years. Sadly he's no longer with us so I can't vouch for any of them being known good. Also the clutch, should I replace the whole thing or is it more likely to be the release bearing based on what I was doing in traffic?

Any help would be great. I can upload pictures of the gearboxes if that helps.

Thanks, Dan

Not had my mog long but if you take the tunnel gearbox cover off or get underneath the car (safely supported on stands) check the lever arm and bushes on the clutch operating linkage. They are prone to wear as is the clutch pedal shaft. Maybe it just got stuck due to wear and heat/use? Try that first anyway looking for excessive play.

Yes, riding the clutch is bad for the release bearing - it is a carbon bush, not a roller race, and constant use wears the carbon down. However, that is not likely to be the problem here, as a warn thrust bearing makes it more difficult to disengage the drive.

You might have very worn linkage and something was getting caught, preventing the clutch form re-engaging. Start by adjusting the free play in the pedal to the correct setting (3/4 inch for 948cc and 1/25 inch for 1098) measured at the top of the pedal. Whilst adjusting the linkage, inspect for wear, and replace as necessary - all holes should be round, and there should be no groove in the rod. Check that the return spring is in place, and that the pedal is not catching on the carpet.

If all the above is OK, then do you lose a lot of oil? It could be a contaminated clutch. Depending on the mileage, it could just be worn out.

Thanks for the replies guys. I will check the linkages first. Is there an overhaul kit for the clutch mechanisium? New bushes etc.. I did ride the clutch a bit. So I guess the carbon release bearing could have suffered, but it drove home fine after calling off. Went in and out of gears fine.

The back oil seal is leaking, but it seems to be dripping from between the engine and gearbox. But I guess the clutch could be a little oil contaminated. I'm hoping to take the car to the morris minor show. I'm not sure if I have the time to do oil seals, clutch and gearbox. Will start with linkages.

Cheers, Dan

CORRECTION - typing error gave free play 1/25 inch. No, it's 1.25 as in one and a quarter inches.

Just use 1" for both, not that critical. Did the return spring maybe get pulled off ? And as above NEVER RIDE/SLIP the clutch. Re 'noises' - any oil in the box ? If the spare boxes have bee stored standing on end, then the bearings are ruined with shards/grit running in...

Thanks for the replies again guys. I've taken the centural section of the floor out to get better access to the linkages, all bone dry! Sprayed them all with penetrating fluid and it made a noticeable difference to the operation of the clutch. Still travels quite far but I think I can adjust it to the settings provided. Return spring is there, it's not stretched. I think the clutch got stuck, a mixture of being a bit hot and the dry linkages.

The gear box is full of oil. It's nice clean oil too. However the selector is worn, very sloppy. I'm sure when dad took it out the ball on the end was pretty worn. Is it a good idea to replace this with one from the spare box? Or will the internals of the gearbox have worn to?

The spares are stood end up.. But I'm certain they have been drained of oil... But I guess I should assume there knackered. If it comes to it I'll take the one out of the traveller.

One thing that I did spot was the brakes, the return spring has broken. Taking out the split pin with it, so the pin had fallen out. Going to replace the spring, but I was wondering should there be a rubber stop like there is on the clutch pedal to stop it returning too fair. Does the rod from the brake pedal to the master cylinder come out? I don't want to pull it out to clean up the pin holes if it's not supposed to come out.

Cheers, Dan

Yes, the rod does come out of the master cylinder, if one of the following is true: master cylinder removed, yoke disconnected form pedal, pedal moved sufficiently to allow all of rod to withdraw.

Yes, a rubber or felt pad can be used to stop the brake pedal banging against the gearbox cover.

Good to spot the potentially serious problem with the pin, one would not want the yoke disconnected from the pedal whilst driving.