Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello everybody,

never heard that before:
The engine of a friends Morris Minor is ticking very loud!
I helped him to adjust the valve setting but still no improvement.
May the chain cause this noise????
Does anybody know about this problem?

Thank you

Guido

Blowing exhaust manifold gasket - or exhaust pipe connection.

Probably leaking exhaust, but could also be a head gasket. Check compression on all cylinders. Does the ticking vary with engine speed. can you tell where it's coming from, is the car lacking in power? Does it happen in neutral and when moving? Could be pinking from advanced ignition if occurring under load. Anything catching on the fan blades?

Or cracked fan 'flexing' - or bottom pulley disintegrating !! Check both carefully because the radiator is at great risk if is either of them......

Do you have an alternator fitted? I have known those to tick. I suppose that dynamos could too, but it seems to be more prevalent on alternators. Hey this is fun, how many more things can we think of that might tick

Best thing is to isolate from where the sound is coming - front of engine, left hand side, back, right hand, top, bottom, etc; plus any other symptoms, then we can offer some more definite guidance. Hell, if the noise is there only when moving, it could even be a stone in a tyre

I've had that sort of noise, mine came from around the distributor drive area. It eventually disappeared, so didn't find the cause.

Loose big end ? Remove fan belt to isolate all the front end ideas.

An old way to find where a noise is coming from is to get a long screwdriver, the longer the better, and place the handle on your ear then touch the other end to different parts of the engine till you find where the noise is loudest. Watch where you are putting your head while you do it and it will be safe. Oh and don't put it on the HT.

HT - another idea, watch the engine running in the dark and see if a spark is jumping anywhere it shouldn't.

When I get a similar sound on my car, I think it's one of the rockers that isn't receiving a lot in the way of oil when the engine is first started and the oil is thick. It shuts up after a little while, and there is plenty of oil up there in general, so I've not worried too much about it.

Why would that make it 'tick' ? It will either stick slightly 'open' (so misfire) or with no gap - so no tick......

I've edited this post because it was a silly thing to say.

Broken rings tick

Is the noise louder (and perhaps with puff of fume) when you run the engine with the oil filler cap off ?