Getting Gwen the Mini to Run.

kermit_rr said:

Use a thin screwdriver, or a long nail, something that won't impact the airflow too much and lift the piston directly.. couple of mm should do the trick

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Not sure how you lift a piston inside a closed cylinder from the outside when it is all sealed up?

...and in a fascinating fun-packed fiasco today we took the mini's plumbing apart a little bit to confirm the total lack of a thermostat [shock-horror].

So the correct 88° thermostat was inserted in the housing and just because we already had the plumbing undone I chose to remove the "straight through" heat-out fitting and pipe from the cylinder head for one with an inline on/off valve. That's when things went sideways.

Some kind soul had fitted the "straight out" fitting with incorrect bolts that were wrong thread and wrong length so the correct heater on/off valve is hanging on (not by a thread [pun]) but by a wing and a prayer.

The correct bolts/studs/nuts to use would have been 1/4" UNF, but no, they had forced metric 6mm bolts in there instead.
So, I have put it all back together (with these incorrect bolts (that you dare NOT tighten). I started it up and let it run for a while.

Well blow me down with a feather...... As I had predicted the water temp gauge actually worked and went all the way from "C" to the midpoint "Normal" mark and then dipped when the thermostat opened and rose back up to normal after a few minutes.

So another problem resolved, and another one discovered. Correct thread bolts arriving Wednesday.

Running so cold may also be a reason why it has performed so poorly of course.

DanClarke said:

Not sure how you lift a piston inside a closed cylinder from the outside when it is all sealed up?

Click to expand...

We are talking about the piston in the carburettor, as of course you are aware and are just taking the "piston"!
Air filter off of course.

DanClarke said:

...and in a fascinating fun-packed fiasco today we took the mini's plumbing apart a little bit to confirm the total lack of a thermostat [shock-horror].

So the correct 88° thermostat was inserted in the housing and just because we already had the plumbing undone I chose to remove the "straight through" heat-out fitting and pipe from the cylinder head for one with an inline on/off valve. That's when things went sideways.

Some kind soul had fitted the "straight out" fitting with incorrect bolts that were wrong thread and wrong length so the correct heater on/off valve is hanging on (not by a thread [pun]) but by a wing and a prayer.

The correct bolts/studs/nuts to use would have been 1/4" UNF, but no, they had forced metric 6mm bolts in there instead.
So, I have put it all back together (with these incorrect bolts (that you dare NOT tighten). I started it up and let it run for a while.

Well blow me down with a feather...... As I had predicted the water temp gauge actually worked and went all the way from "C" to the midpoint "Normal" mark and then dipped when the thermostat opened and rose back up to normal after a few minutes.

So another problem resolved, and another one discovered. Correct thread bolts arriving Wednesday.

Running so cold may also be a reason why it has performed so poorly of course.

Click to expand...

Glad you got to the bottom of the thermostat problem. Do hope it stays OK and no sudden overheating problem occurs.

Do hope it all goes back together correctly, but that is a serious bodge. Do you have imperial taps, to clear the threads?

You will of course now have to reset the mixture, (sigh).

Personally I would not have bothered with the on/off valve. They tend to go stiff and not work, if you have got the remotely operated one. And TBH I never moved mine, it stayed on all the time, except when I got a coolant leak and turned it off to stop it loosing coolant! Just relied on using the fan if it was cold.

Best of luck!

With coolant circulating at the right temp around the engine, PROPERLY around the engine, which it will not have been doing with no stat in, you may find the centre two plugs firing a proper mixture and the colour becoming more of a match for the others.

DanClarke said:

Not sure how you lift a piston inside a closed cylinder from the outside when it is all sealed up?

Click to expand...

Silly sossidge

kermit_rr said:

Silly sossidge

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Yes, I now realise you meant me to pull the air-filter off to get at the back of the SU. Silly-Billy me.

Since installing a thermostat and the engine then running at the correct temperature I thought it was time to pull one of the previously cold/oily plugs (#2 & #3) and have a look. No longer oily, and a smooth pearly grey colour with hints of brown.
I think that is probably better.
But, I also thought I saw a weep from the head-gasket right on the front of the engine with a bead of water sitting on top of the main block.

DanClarke said:

Since installing a thermostat and the engine then running at the correct temperature I thought it was time to pull one of the previously cold/oily plugs (#2 & #3) and have a look. No longer oily, and a smooth pearly grey colour with hints of brown.
I think that is probably better.
But, I also thought I saw a weep from the head-gasket right on the front of the engine with a bead of water sitting on top of the main block.

Click to expand...

They usually leak around the engine number area, I always used to put a but of gasket stuff on that area when assembling. Water may be running along from the thermostat housing though

DanClarke said:

Since installing a thermostat and the engine then running at the correct temperature I thought it was time to pull one of the previously cold/oily plugs (#2 & #3) and have a look. No longer oily, and a smooth pearly grey colour with hints of brown.
I think that is probably better.
But, I also thought I saw a weep from the head-gasket right on the front of the engine with a bead of water sitting on top of the main block.

Click to expand...

Good about the stat, I had hoped that would change the plug colour, so that is another thing fixed.
As for the head gasket, if it was me I'd do a compression test first. Remembering to do it twice between times introducing a small amount of oil, to see if it improves the figures. If it does, the bore/rings are worn. (I expect I am teaching my granny how to suck eggs here.) But if the pressure in one cylinder is lower than the others or creeps down faster then you may have found a leak and I'd expect it to occur in the nearest cylinder to the perceived leak. But I bow to Landowner's superior knowledge.
My MG Metro engine leaked at the gasket, I fitted a new one, it didn't help. I didn't bother to get the head skimmed, cannot even remember if I checked it for flatness. Nor the block.
I doubt it would hurt to loosen and retighten the head bolts/nuts to the correct torque and obvs in the right order, just in case one or more have come loose.
Changing a head gasket isn't a huge job. Bit of a pain simply. Do hope it comes cleanly off the head bolts as that can be a challenge, if one or more has corrosion on it. I think this happened to me. I may have used locknuts to take it off, can't remember! But my engine had had very little attention when I got it!

Best of luck, as always.

I have re-used a copper head gasket in the past, got wifey to iron it then torqued it down to 60 lbs feet
Might be worth tightening the head down to 60 , they seldom warp being cast iron

Well she gave me another sound kick in the nuts this afternoon.
I was taking the G-kids home from school back to their house and partway there the car started making a strange clattering/jingling noise. I pressed on (wish I had not). I turned of a main road into a side street and "boom" a very loud noise and then a deafening unsilenced exhaust note. The girl started crying and the boy started giggling and winding her up.
I pulled in and parked and looked under the car and 1/2 the exhaust system was not there. Looking back up the road at the junction I had just turned and there was the back box sat there. I then had to walk the kids home (15 minutes) and get a cab back to my place to gather tools etc. to try and rescue the car.

Job done (with some really hairy moments like the car nearly toppling off the jack while I was under it).
I managed to reattach the 2 halves at the broken joint with a pair of jubilee clips, and I gently drove it back home to safety.
A visit to an exhaust shop tomorrow I think.

DanClarke said:

Well she gave me another sound kick in the nuts this afternoon.
I was taking the G-kids home from school back to their house and partway there the car started making a strange clattering/jingling noise. I pressed on (wish I had not). I turned of a main road into a side street and "boom" a very loud noise and then a deafening unsilenced exhaust note. The girl started crying and the boy started giggling and winding her up.
I pulled in and parked and looked under the car and 1/2 the exhaust system was not there. Looking back up the road at the junction I had just turned and there was the back box sat there. I then had to walk the kids home (15 minutes) and get a cab back to my place to gather tools etc. to try and rescue the car.

Job done (with some really hairy moments like the car nearly toppling off the jack while I was under it).
I managed to reattach the 2 halves at the broken joint with a pair of jubilee clips, and I gently drove it back home to safety.
A visit to an exhaust shop tomorrow I think.

Click to expand...

PLEASE don't ever work under a car on a jack ever again.
Axle stands are cheap and easy to use.

Glad you made it back safely.
Must admit I'd have picked up the back box and driven it home with its rorty exhaust.

W did exactly that not too long ago with the exhaust dragging along the road as she went!

DanClarke said:

Well she gave me another sound kick in the nuts this afternoon.
I was taking the G-kids home from school back to their house and partway there the car started making a strange clattering/jingling noise. I pressed on (wish I had not). I turned of a main road into a side street and "boom" a very loud noise and then a deafening unsilenced exhaust note. The girl started crying and the boy started giggling and winding her up.
I pulled in and parked and looked under the car and 1/2 the exhaust system was not there. Looking back up the road at the junction I had just turned and there was the back box sat there. I then had to walk the kids home (15 minutes) and get a cab back to my place to gather tools etc. to try and rescue the car.

Job done (with some really hairy moments like the car nearly toppling off the jack while I was under it).
I managed to reattach the 2 halves at the broken joint with a pair of jubilee clips, and I gently drove it back home to safety.
A visit to an exhaust shop tomorrow I think.

Click to expand...

I'm assuming it's an RC40. common enough at the time I did mine.
Not expensive.

Stanleysteamer said:

I'm assuming it's an RC40. common enough at the time I did mine.
Not expensive.

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No, it's another box, with a megaphone inside I suspect.
All these "teething" troubles are a bit annoying, but so far not fatal.

It is "stupid question" time again folks.
And probably an overly long post that can compete with one of @Stanleysteamer 's tomes.
TLDR/ Version...is there a simple test to detect the presence of petrol in oil?
Why?
Having fixed the "fallenoff" exhaust (special German make I believe ) I took her for a spin and all seemed well except for a couple of misfires under heavy load up the hill at 50.
I got home and opened up the bonnet to see that the car was ticking over and the newly installed inline petrol filter was more or less empty of petrol and you could see the incoming squirts of fuel from the pump arriving into the filter.
That's ODD, I thought, its normally at least half full.
Anyway I pulled the dipstick out and dabbed it on a folded rag and had a sniff. It smelled like petrol to me.
The oil and filter was only changed <100-150 miles ago so the oil is more or less clear/yellow not Mini Slimy Black.
Now I have only just rebuilt that fuel pump but it is perfectly possible the 1975 NOS rebuild kit was no good.
But the level of fluid on the dipstick is pretty normal and wiping the dipstick and then taking another sample and placing it on clean paper towel doesn't show 2 distinct "rings" in the resultant oil-puddle (oil in the middle and petrol round the edge).
As a precaution I have hoiked the old rebuilt pump out and put a brand-new one in (losing loads of fuel in the process (oops!) ).
I took the old pump apart again and I cannot see any trace of fuel on the "dry/engine side" of the pump diaphragm (its as dry as a bone). So, have I just spooked myself into doing a lot of unnecessary work?

In the rework for the new pump I have removed the inline filter as it felt far too flimsy and the hose clamps had collapsed one of the 6mm plastic in/out pipes on it anyway(maybe why it was struggling to fill).
I don't want to chuck away 4.85L of perfectly good new oil and a filter if it isn't necessary, but that is cheaper than a new engine.
The trouble is that petrol and oil are miscible and once mixed you cannot unmix them. That's why my question.. is there a reliable test to determine if there is fuel in the oil. My BIL suggested getting a sample out of the sump and trying to ignite it as a puddle. Oil won't, petrol will?

Best answers and advice to this old duffer.....please.

Ok it's a mechanical driven fuel pump like on the series petrol engine?
If the diaphragm is ok then you're fine? Watch the oil level and see if it goes up?
Can you pump it by hand if so can you pump it up?

Not getting the oil up to temp, until the stat was replaced may not have helped.

Stanleysteamer said:

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Not getting the oil up to temp, until the stat was replaced may not have helped.

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Especially if it's been running on choke quite a lot

kermit_rr said:

Ok it's a mechanical driven fuel pump like on the series petrol engine?
If the diaphragm is ok then you're fine? Watch the oil level and see if it goes up?
Can you pump it by hand if so can you pump it up?

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As I say, I cannot find anything specifically wrong with the OLD SU pump diaphragm I just put on there, but have put a cheap brand-new pump on for now.