gearbox or clutch fault?

[bigginger]

They're called 'circlips'. The manual says "remove the bearing caps and needle rollers by tapping the yoke at each bearing using a copper or hide hammer. Then remove using your fingers. If the bearing cup refuses to move, place a thin bar against the inside of the bearing and tap it gently until the cups start to emerge". That makes it sound nice and easy, which, of course it isn't. I've ended up attacking them with grinders and saws before now, but someone'll probably have a tip for doing it an easy way. Good luck. I guess if you get fed up with it, it's possible to undo the flange at the axle end, drop the propshaft and it's then loose to slide the box backwards - I've never tried it, but can't see why not. Don't forget to mark the prop and flanges so you can reassemble them the same way they came off - I've never had a problem with them vibrating afterwards, others here have. If Ray was working on the box not long ago, you may be lucky and find them dead easy.

a

[Chris Morley]

I guess if you get fed up with it, it's possible to undo the flange at the axle end, drop the propshaft and it's then loose to slide the box backwards

From memory it's quite easy to undo the 4 bolts at the axle end of the propshaft and then pull the propshaft away from the gear box (it's on a spline at the gearbox end). I made a point of marking the universal joint so that the propshaft mated back in the same position - I figured that it wouldn't cause vibration if it was re-assembled in the same position.

[rayofleamington]

1) The easieast way is to undo the 4 bolts holding the propshaft to the axle - then 'carefully' whaack it about with a hammer and screwdriver to get it off.
Don't worry about marking the position of the propshaft on the axle - it's not the original anyway so it was never aligned with anything last time.

2) WARNING - when the propshaft is off, oil will pour out of the gearbox!

3) The gearbox floor comes out easily as half the screws were missing.

4) remove the heater valve from the back of the head on the engine (honestly it is useful!!)

5) Undo.remove the gearbox rubber mountings. Then remove the crossmember from under the gearbox (use jacks under the engine and gearbox)

6) Unbolt the gearbox from the engine. Remove the clutch linkage and the pivot shaft.

7) Rotate the gearbox so the top part comes down to near where the starter motor was.

pull the gearbox back a bit - then lower the jacks so the back of the engine is a lot lower (this is why you should remove the heater valve otherwise it leans on the battery box) - then the gearbox should come past the steering rack

Good luck!!

[Chris Morley]

There's a few more things to unbolt / undo before you tip the engine. The engine steady, exhaust manifold, breather pipe from the rocker cover to carb. It might be wise to pre-order new gaskets for the exhaust manifold & heater valve as they may be damaged during removal. You'll also need to unscrew the speedo cable & gearbox steady from the gearbox. I can't think of anything else at the moment.

oil will pour out of the gearbox!

Not that much when I did it- enough perhaps to make a 15cm diameter pool of oil? (however I drained the gearbox first, which also reduces the weight of the thing when you're trying to lift it).

An old hand on here once mentioned that BMC used to lift the rear of the car as it made the gearbox removal somewhat easier. If you do this you also have a good opportunity to trickle waxoyl or another rust inhibitor into the chassis legs

[gluck]

putted of the gearbox!
Now look for the stress...

[gluck]

i removed the clutch today.
The friction plate is broken in two parts (the center and the friction disk). I think i've found ;)

Now some questions about the parts to buy.
- Is it better to buy a clutch kit (friction plate, clutch cover/pressure plate, beck and borg) or only the friction plate?
- The ringear of the flywheel has some dents damaged about ten dents) is it better to change it?
- I need new circlips for the universal joints but i don't find the parts on www.morrisminorspares.co.uk. Could someone help me?
- Need i to buy a clutch alignement tool? Where is it possible to buy it?

[simmitc]

Wow, that's a new one to me. I'm sure that someone will have seen it before, but I imagine that it's still pretty rare. I've seen broken springs with juddering, but not a complete break. Without seeing the ring gear it's diffucult to say, but I'd change it - easier to to dit now, than wreck a starter motor and have to do strip the car again. (of course, for most people that means paying for a ring gear change, it takes a lot of heat and care to do it properly). Clutch alignment can be done with a screwdriver and "by eye"; or tool can be bought from most automotive spares / tools suppliers, probably about £8 - £16. I've only seen circlips as part of UJ kit, or in selection packs of different sizes. Hopefuilly somebody will know better.....

[rayofleamington]

i removed the clutch today.
The friction plate is broken in two parts (the center and the friction disk). I think i've found

Firstly - Congratulations! The gearbox removal is not such a basic job
Secondly - well done for finding the problem.

Now I feel a lot better as the clutch was fitted by the previous owner, not me ;-) - Also I'm happy that the gearbox is not the fault, because I went a long way to find a good gearbox for that car

It is best to buy a new clutch kit - It is more expensive but gives a lower pedal force.

You should also replace the bush in the end of the crankshaft - I never changed it so it could be very old now! The bush helps the gearbox last longer so if it is worn, the gearbox bearing/s get a lot of stress.

Ring gear - yes it was not very good! 2 times the starter motor jammed on the ring gear so if you can find someone who can change it (and if you plan to keep the car for a long time) then you could get it done.

[gluck]

Could you show me a picture of the bush? i think i see wih part it is but i prefer to be sure. (and my english is so good...)
Ray, you say it's a good idea to change the ring gear i find someone who can change it. Why if i find someone? Is it hard to do?

[rayofleamington]

Is it hard to do?

I think you have to heat it up (and maybe freeze the flywheel) so it probably helps to get someone who has done it a few times. You could do it by yourself if you get advice from someone who did it before (I never did one yet).

If you leave the old ring gear then maybe you get a jammed starter motor - then the engine will not turn anymore. You need a spanner on the starter motor to free it. When it happened to me I put the car in 4th gear and pushed the car backwards and forward until the engine came free (quite hard!)

Can someone post a picture of the spigot bearing please?

[Kevin]

I think the bearing is the same as used on the pedal shaft and if not it looks the same
http://shop.morrisminorspares.co.uk/ind ... b9eaeb6f21
Part number com104 in the picture

[gluck]

This one?
http://shop.morrisminorspares.co.uk/pro ... d76f8dba36

[Kevin]

Thats the one and before fitting its best to let it soak in oil for a while, overnight or for a few hours.

[gluck]

i've looked for the flywheel and i have to remove the engine of the car to fit it so i'll do another time.

[rayofleamington]

i've looked for the flywheel and i have to remove the engine of the car to fit it so i'll do another time.

You can remove the flywheel with the engine in the car (remember to fix the lock washers when you put it back on).

[simmitc]

Agree with Ray, flywheel easy to remove. However, BEFORE removing it, rotate it and identify the marking on the edge that says 1/4 which indicates TDC for pistons 1 & 4. Position this at the top of the flywheel. After removing the flywheel, keep the engine in the same position, and ensure that flywheel is refitted with 1/4 at the top again. As Ray says, check the locking tabs - use new ones, they're cheap and readily available. PS your English is excellent, far better than any of my foreign!

[gluck]

Thanks! For the flywheel i've changed and bought it. For the English, it's easier to write than to speak. I wasn't so proud when coming at Ray home to pick the car up! ;)

[Kevin]

For the English, it's easier to write than to speak.

Well most of us are the other way round judging from our spelling on here.