Morris Minor Owners Club

Mega woe. Just as I thought it safe to drive to the green again tapping noises ensued. These do not occur the car is still when the engine is running. Seems to be clutch related (maybe?) Car goes into gear, but also makes scrapey, (spinning?) noise and doesn't have much power when going along. Am aghast because am also doshless at moment. Hoping its minor (urrgghh non-pun). Any advice truly welcome. Am at my wits end and v. miserable.
Fablovely

Where are you fablovely, maybe someone from a local MMOC can pop round and give you a hand / idea where to look...

Hi
London at moment
Fablovely

Whereabouts in London?

when you depresse the clutch dose the nosie go if yes then poss ible thrust bearing ,if no then ????????????????
mm16
or clutch slipping try potting in 1 then hand brake on full then try to pull away if the engine stays running and the car staying still your clutch is slipping (change it ) if stalls then more ????????????

Matt wrote:Whereabouts in London?

South Kensington

I think i know your car

Is it a white trav and has tartan (?) rugs over the seats? I got to Imperial College, I could have a look one lunchtime this week....

Is it a white trav and has tartan (?) rugs over the seats?

That'll be the one (unless she's swapped it for a different one!)

Hoping its minor (urrgghh non-pun). Any advice truly welcome. Am at my wits end and v. miserable.

Best wishes from me and mine! I hope it's something simple/non expensive. Getting someone to look(listen) at it will probably be a lot quicker diagnosis than just by a description, but if you need more advice on here, any more description would be good
(e.g. noise when clutch pressed/ or when you let go? Noise only when it is actually moving? is it still noisy when you roll along in neutral? etc..)

If the clutch is slipping it may not neen to be replaced but simply need adjusting. The clutch should have 3/4inch free travel, if not you need to adjust the connecting rod (is that the right term) which is visible from under the car on the drivers side.

Matt wrote:I think i know your car

Is it a white trav and has tartan (?) rugs over the seats? I got to Imperial College, I could have a look one lunchtime this week....

That would be great! I'm near Imperial most days this week, so anytime you say. Thanks.
Fablovely

Ok.... the car has no drive when in gear (propshaft not turning either), so the car would not move under its own power
I forgot to look at the clutch pedal, but i suspect the clutch has worn out or needs adjusting....

As Fablovely said there is a lot of black gungy oily stuff in the radiator (I suspect head gasket), There are a few things that kind of suggest overheating, helping to give that impression: the fan belt is v. loose and it seems a lot of oil has escaped from the front pully area, suggesting overheating and the oil thinning and falling out out?

anybody got any other suggestions?

no drive with 'non rotating propshaft' can only be 3 things (I think)
1) broken gearbox (I really hope not)
2) slipping or broken clutch
3) broken flywheel / broken end of crank (pretty unlikely)

hmph - 1 and 2 probably mean a lot of work to strip down and investigate

how do you tell 3 then? Im going to try and adjust the clutch and see what happens.....

RE '3', if you operate the starter and the engine turns over then the flywheel
is still connected to the crankshaft!! If you can move the gearlever through
the different settings ( 1st,2nd, 3rd, etc) and there is no propshaft drive in
any position then it is clutch/gearbox and a 'box out' job.

Thats a good point! know its not point 3 then

For what it's worth, IMHO (ie it's an OPINION not a statement of fact ) it sounds as if the clutch is very dead. First thing would be to whip the 'box out and have a gander, then worry about oil in the water.

I agree, but I am going to try and adjust it.... that way if it works she might be able to move it to somewhere more sensible... (rather than on a fairly busy road in central London)

Many thanks Matt
The half shaft was repaired in the summer (and the diff, I think)
The gears seem to work ok, that is, it goes in and out of gear without any trouble or excessive noise. As it began to lose power there was even less when the car was in second. This spread to no action in any gear. The actual changes through the gears still remained relatively smooth though.
Fablovely