just got the word from the mechanic about molly. the mechanic is a very reliable guy, owning a cooper s and a clubby van both in mint condition.

earlier i complained about an oil leak that is the main reason she went to the mechanic, earlier then that my mechanicle fuel pump died and a electricle one was put in place.

whats happened is on the bottom of the cheap throw away mech. fuel pum it was cracked or something and the rod wit the spring has falling inside the engine.

the mechanic says it is most likely on the bottom of the sump. i have allready driven >300km with it some-where in the engine. i don't have a magnetic sump plug dam it and am wondering about ways of getting the rod and spring out. other than pulling the whole engine out which will cost me maximum $500.

would a magnetic screw driver through the sump plug hole do it? is the inside of the sump flat?

i despritly need a easy way of getting it out, other wise i'm gonna have to sell out of minis.

i was planning of being out of them by the end of the year so mabey now is the time i left before i spend any more on them.

help help help i don't know what to do.

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

ANdrew , that's a real shame to hear , if the lever is floating around in the sump somewhere like it sounds there is a very good chance it will at some time be picked up by a gear and do some serious damage . Try whatever you can first at home but make sure whatever you poke around throught the sump plug hole is strong and the magnetic end won't attach itself to the gear cluster and come away from the rod leaving you with one more thing stuck in there . I have seen some flexible "wands" with a magnet on the end at auto places , just make sure the tip won't come off and give it a go .

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Andrew
I would contact Karcraft, Minisport or brickworkz and get a magnetic sump plug - they are not that expensive. Then give the car an oil change which will tend to flush the rod towards the sump oriface.

If it doesn't then you put the new sump plug in regardless hoping it will attract the rod.

But who would you sell the mini to ??? Hopefully not some unsuspecting soul who would buy it in good faith to drive and find the the gearbox collapses and your local mini expert says "Oh yeah thats because of the fuel pump rod in there" Small towns are fairly unforgiving for that sort of thing.

Is it possible to simply store the mini (since you were going to get out of it anyway) until you are ready to do something with it - like a restoration etc.

You own it and its only going to become worth more money as time goes by.

Twice in my life (I am 59) I have quit minis, sold up everything only to have the bug niggle again and have to start from scratch. In each case I could have stored the cars and bits without major cost.

Ultimately your motor will have to come out if the rod is not located - but unless it goes wrong that does not have to be tomorrow especially if the car is stored. You just dont what your circumstances will be in ten years so dont burn bridges now.

There are a couple of baffles and compartments in there that don't allow for a staight line to the sump hole.

If it was me I'd be taking engine out and sump off - just not worth the risk

I doubt very much if you'll have much luck with a magnetic probe - too much other stuff in there to deflect it.

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

Andrew

Get a long piece of strong wire make a hook or elbow at one end drain your oil stick the wire in and spend half an hour dragging the hooked end accross the bottom of the sump.

Steve

so there are a couple of ridges inside the sump? t doesn't have a flat floor?

i wouldn't sell it to some-one with-out telling them, i'm not like that exactly.

i do feel the need to go through a ricer stage though. you know, get it out of my system and right of a car (that isn't a mini) casue when molly was working i'd push her to the limits and have a couple of close calls.

at the end of the year i am planing to go with a third of the clas to europe for 5 weeks for about $5000. so have to get money for that.

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

Get thee a part gripper. A magnetic pickup will stick to everything. A gripper has three little expandible arms that can grip things. it has a button on the top that opens an closed the arms. It is flexible so with a lot of cursing you should be able to get it int the crooks and nannies of the sump.



I have used one with success for getting parts out of sumps.

I found the same thing when I rebuilt my gearbox, the arm was wedged under something but the chance of it jamming the diff or whatever is quite high - I was lucky. Unless you can account for all the bits, trying to do it from the sump plug (which is about 20-25mm in diameter) would be very difficult given the gear clusters, internal ridges etc.

The only way to fix it properly is to pull the engine and split the gearbox off to do a full inspection through the top unfortunately.

Why not consider getting a 998 or 1100 engine and gearbox and doing a straight swap over and put the current one aside until you are ready to tackle it. Others will say, by the time you pull the engine out, you may as well just split it and work on the current gearbox but if your skills are limited, it may get you back on the road cheaply and quickly.

KB

how much abouts would "reliable" 1100 and box cost me?

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

Andrew - watch the "for sales" here and ask on here.
The prices vary enormously from a carton to up to $1,000 or more.

I dont have a engine/gearbox combo at the moment but most of us usually have an engine gearbox sittig around in our shed. Also watch ebay religiously by doing a refined search on mini (refined in that you dont want 200 mini bikes or mini skirts).

You should get a motor and gearbox that is known to be working at time of removal for around $100 under the right circumstances.

Doing the change over is another matter but you dont need to pay anyone $500 to do it for you.

I've had a look and I don't have any suitable , some to be rebuilt but not suited to dropping in and using . I agree with Mike though do an ebay search and also watch here for one . Maybe put a wanted in as well , be better if you were only looking for a 998/1100 rather than 998/1100/1275 though . Keep an eye out for mini's being wrecked or even morris 1100's being wrecked and put it on your gearbox after you've removed the bits when it's apart .

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i just got off the phone to the mechanic. he says that it is most likely fallen down near the gear selector or somthing and an easier way of getting to it would be to take of a plate near the radiator (after taking of the radiator of-course)

he said it would be to big to get out of the sump hole and to hard to get to it past all the gears on the other side of the motor, and the magnet would easily stick to things trying to go down through the where the pump was.

what do people think, it would be easier taking the radiator out and getting it from there.

i don't have the room or the skills to do it myself so i would be paying him.

he charges $25 an hour. (compared to most thats good right?)

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Sunday Morning Mini Sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGuzqBQ32Q my "rendezvous"

I am at work but just trying to visualise the setup- would taking the diff off work?

There should be enough room to get in that way surely?

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

Depends on where it is, and how can you be sure you'd got all the "dangerous bits" you didn't want to leave for the sump plug?
It really this is an engine out/gearbox off job to do properly.

If Andrew can't do it, I agree - it might be time for him to park it (as mike says) or off-load it. $25/hr is a good rate, but it still could end up being more than he wants to pay.
KB