Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi everyone,

I bought my Morris 1000 back in September, and although it can be a labour of love at times, I'm thrilled at my purchase and very glad that I made it (especially during weather as we're having this week, with it being a post-production convertible!). I'm very much an amateur when it comes to car mechanics though, and I'm trying to learn as I go along, so I wondered if I could ask for some advice and assistance with diagnosing some noises that the car is producing, before I send it to the mechanic (and incur costs!). I've recorded some videos and placed the links below.

Occasionally (once every couple of weeks or so), there will be a loud, fast ticking sound. It sounds as though the fuel pump is going into overdrive, but I'm not sure what's causing it (or, indeed, if it is the fuel pump):

https://goo.gl/photos/X8QPz9uH4ywZ5xoy5

When the choke is fully out after starting the engine, the exhaust seems to "stutter" until the choke is pushed back in a bit. This video was taken immediately after an hour's drive, and it was still making the stuttering sound at full choke - although not to the same extent as when the car first starts:

https://goo.gl/photos/wqxNcMMyey6vniVf6

Finally, there is a bit of a whirring/whining sound, that sounds like a loose belt. I've just changed the fan belt, and it's still taut, so I don't believe that it's that:

https://goo.gl/photos/EQvUZ5xJ2bAbnDh86

I've just changed the dynamo after the old one died (or rather, I had it changed at the garage), so I don't know if these issues are related to that.

Apologies for asking so many questions, but any assistance is hugely appreciated! In case the info is of any use, it's a 1958 model, upgraded to a 1098 engine by a previous owner.

Many thanks in advance,

Tom

I am no expert, apart from owning one for 40 years and they are all slightly different, but all sounds eminently normal, perhaps a bit fast on idle or perhaps because you have the choke out.

If do you have the choke out it will tend to die a bit if you don't actually need it. Although why you would want full choke after an hour's drive .......

Cannot hear any whine, just some timing chain clatter, again sounds fairly normal. The petrol pump will change rate depending on how much fuel is being demanded and can be erratic, esp in hot weather.

Make sure you have not overtightened the fan belt as this can really mess with the dynamo bearings. Insufficient tightening leads to slipping. That is usually a scream rather than a whine. As I recall there should be about 3/4 of an inch of play in the fan belt.

As above, really. The noise with the choke fully out after an hour's drive (!) is what you'd expect, as it will be causing a massively over-rich mixture. You should only need full choke when starting from totally cold, and you should be able to return it more or less half way pretty much immediately after starting, and then return it fully soon after. I think you are using too much choke. Getting used to the choke is on a car-by-car basis, but I think a good rule is to use as little as possible once running - too much causes an over-rich mixture when the engine is hot and can cause bore wash, which isn't good and will wear the engine out faster (as well as wasting fuel ).

I can hear a slight rumble in the last 'video' - doesn't sound like much, but it could be dynamo or water pump bearings. You could check for this if you're worried by running the engine briefly with the fan belt removed - this means that those 2 components won't be rotating, so if they are the cause of the noise, the noise won't be there any more. If it is one of them, when the fan belt is back on, you can use a long screwdriver as a stethoscope to try and pinpoint the noise.

Many thanks to you both for the quick responses - glad to hear that the consensus view is that the noises are quite normal (especially the fuel pump clicking away so quickly, I was worried that it was struggling to pump petrol and I'd end up stalling in the middle of a journey!)

Just to put minds at rest: I only had the choke out so that I could record the noise for the video, I wouldn't otherwise have had it out after an hour's drive

all sounds fine and dandy to me , the fuel pump is ticking more because the engine is warm and the fuel line gets warm and the fuel vaporises a bit so the pump has to work harder , as for the choke only pull it out to start push it in as fast as you can does not do the engine a lot of good with it out for long periods

I am unable to access your links, but the fuel pump should not tick rapidly. If it does, there may be a vapourising problem but more likely a leak on the suction side, allowing air bubbles to enter the system. Does it tick quickly at starting, after a period of standing? If so, that would indicate that the fuel line to the pump has drained down causing the pump to pass air, for a time, until the line fills with fuel.

Not sure I wholly agree here. The vaporisation issue often happens in hot weather but all the pumps I have ever put on a minor increase in their ticking according to demand. Obviously not massively racing, when your observation would be correct, but the sound file attached by the OP shows normal noise as far as I am aware.

Firedrake,

Please note that I said I could not access the links supplied by the OP. Yes the pumping rate should be proportional to the rate of fuel usage. A problem arises when that is not the case.. If the problem is heat from the engine then improvise some heat deflectors/shields. If it only happens occasionally and intermittently - was that recorded on those links? I am guessing it was not.

Hi Tom,

If the choke stutters a bit on start up it may be worth checking that the choke adjustment screw on the carb is adjusted correctly. There should be a tiny gap between the screw and the choke lever (I believe that is what the lever is called). We had the same issue on start up and correcting the adjustment made all the difference