Pickup restoration part three

[mogbob]

David
Happy New Year.Good to see you " back in the sadlle".

"Is this a common fault ? "

No designed that way !
The headlight chrome ring around the glass will always be at odds with the outer chrome cover /nacelle rather than being flush.The lamp has to be angled down and to one side to get the right illumination on the road at night.If it were "flush"
there would then be an uneven gap at the wing, where the lamp unit was screwed in.
Put a dab of grease / copa ease on the screws/adjusters to protect against rusting.Don't forget the underside of the wing where the screw points pop through.A rust prone area on all classic cars.

Bob

[davidmiles]

Thanks Bob, I hope everyone had a great Christmas. After driving her out of the garage and up the drive to get more room to fit the door mirror, I found that I couldn't re start the engine , after a recharge she only has enough juice for one start. Then it's back on the charger. I spoke to ESM about the alternator they sell, they recon its an easy fit. I will take her for a long spin after she gets through her MOT, just to see if it is just that the Dynamo needs a long run to put some juice back into the battery, and that the dynamo isn't duff.[frame][/frame]

[horrace]

hi david i bought some of those wing mirrors for my pick up and fitted to the triangle bit of the door, the visibilty was so bad i sold them again its worth spending some time sitting in the drivers seat and getting someone to hlod the mirror where you can actually see and fit it there rather than where you should think it should go... i replaced the mirros with some others and still have rubbish vision, i was actually gonna put a post up to see what other owners had as door mirrors. maybe the best ones are the clip on type??? one other point to note is that the ones i had which were the same of yours were showing signs of pitting after less than a year if you keep them keep them well protected with grease? lacquer or soemthing!

[Matt Tomkins]

Thanks Bob, I hope everyone had a great Christmas. After driving her out of the garage and up the drive to get more room to fit the door mirror, I found that I couldn't re start the engine , after a recharge she only has enough juice for one start. Then it's back on the charger. I spoke to ESM about the alternator they sell, they recon its an easy fit. I will take her for a long spin after she gets through her MOT, just to see if it is just that the Dynamo needs a long run to put some juice back into the battery, and that the dynamo isn't duff.[frame][/frame]

you could always spin the dynamo with the fanbelt round a drill and see if you get a voltage at the terminals...

[davidmiles]

Matt good point, I'll try that next time I run the engine. Today after work I got changed and went out to the garage in cold weather clothing to re bleed the brakes, again. I'm getting good at it, there are fewer and fewer wet patches on the garage floor now. The latest go saw firmness return to the brake pedal, lets hope I have solved the leak in the front pipe and the pedal stays firm. Time will tell, yesterdays run up the drive was halted only by pumping the brake pedal. Now then, on with electrical fault tracing...[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

Bob advised me to check that there is voltage at the switch of the lights and wiper, I wonder if I have plugged these in wrong?
The wiper motor is still dead when I switch the ignition to first position, but is there any voltage I wonder. Positive probe into the connector, Neg probe earth to bodywork?[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

Horrace good advice on the chrome protection, my headlamp bezels are starting to bubble slightly and I havent even been out in any weather yet! someone on here mentioned a smear of vaseline petrolium jelly. The visibility provided by the mirror is only of use for close garage parking. I'll be using the "life saver" a lot driving this vehicle.[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

oh dear back to the thinking board. The car has been stationary since I bled the brakes, it would appear that the pool of fluid appears after about 24 hours after Ive bled the brakes, and it's here right under the radiator. At first I thought was it water, was it engine oil ? but dipping my fingertip in, it has the Viscosity and clarity of brake fluid. The engine oil dipstick shows the level as bang on, and even though Ive only run the engine a few times since the rebuild, the engine oil looks filthy. So its definitely not engine oil.[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

thinking of its location under the front, I ran my hand along the front brake pipe where it lays on top of the front chassis rail underneath the radiator, expecting to feel a wet loom or dampness on the brake pipe, or even a pool of fluid on the rail. Nothing, no sign of a leak, the four way union is dry as a bone too.[frame][/frame]

[Neil MG]

Is it just left over from a previous leak? Continue to keep a close eye on the fluid level over the next days and weeks. Best to pump the brakes and hold the pedal for a few minutes before checking for leaks or weeping connections.

[davidmiles]

Thanks Neil, the fluid level in the master cylinder has not dropped, so its fluid from the lines that has leaked out, as mentioned from a weeping connnection somewhere?[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

There's a tell tail pool underneath the drivers side front wheel, this may be that its the master cylinder connections leaking slowly over some time, this pool wasn't here for 24hours, so it's a slow release of one of the master cylinder junctions.[frame][/frame]

[brucek]

Might be worth placing a large cardboard box - opened out flat, under the front of the car so any new fluid leakage will be easily seen. Then get someone to press the brake pedal a few times to see if there are any obvious leaks. It looks like quite a lot of something so you would think the source would be quite easy to trace

As you say, the only brake fuid connection point is the 4 way union but might be worth checking the pipe again in case of any cracks - looks like copper pipe which is notoriously brittle. Let's hope it's residual fluid from last time - good luck

[davidmiles]

thanks for that idea Bruce, it's down to two small drips at the front.[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

and nothing under the master cylinder overnight, but I'm monitoring the situation over a few days to see where I'll have to fix a leak.[frame][/frame]

[cadetchris]

if its only noticable after its moved, maybe it would be worth a few trips up and down the drive way with liberal use of the brakes and get the engine up to temperature, then put paper underneath. This usually shows up leaks well

[davidmiles]

thanks Chris, good idea, I noted new stains in the cardboard box at the front, she hasn't moved, but time has passed and more spots show. The flatted out cardboard box is a great idea, it gives you a more precise idea of where the drips originate.
[frame][/frame]

[ptitterington]

I think that once a Morris Minor stops dripping it is actually dead!

[Pikey]

When an A series stops dripping/leaking oil, check the oil level the sump is probably empty.

[davidmiles]

True, they habitually leak small drips of engine oil, but it's not engine oil thats bugging me, its hydraulic fluid leaking from the brake system. I've tightened the four way joints up a couple of turns and it appears to have fixed the leak at the front. now I'm getting drips from under the master cylinder, maybe a couple of turns on the joints to the rear and side of the master cylinder might help. It looks a real mess down there. The fluid has started lifting paint.[frame][/frame]