ive got this slight whining noise coming from the motor ive just put in (i knew it wouldnt all go smoothly ) its coming from the clutch area and goes away when the clutch is pressed down... anything abnormal?

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Potato

Maybe from the drop gears or gearbox, when stationary all that stuff stops turning when you press the clutch.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

Thrust bearing.

Stop driving it now.

Change it, then away you go.

Try get your hands on a timken bearing - the others are shi-ite.

thats the little one on the end of the clutch housing isnt it?

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Potato

Yes it is.
Bad news though.
That bearing only has load (therefore noise) when you press the clutch.
This means no noise at rest, noise when clutch down. Bugga.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

damn lol... hope its nothing bad, i really cant be bothered pulling the motor back out...

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Potato

From personal experiance I'd be a bit suspicious of a tight drop gear. I had the engine out 3 times in 2 weeks preparing for Hay. Makes gear changing rather unpleasant too when the drop gear washers are tight.

In car check is to remove the flywheel and clutch and see if (in neutral) the primary gear around the cranck turns without too much resistance. The seal will drag a bit but it shouldn't be tight.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

it was a tad tight when i put it together but not super tight, how is that fixed anyway? i had correct end float etc...

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Potato

Check to see that the bearing isn't just slightly touching the spring plate. Even though you have it adjusted, you can have it so the bearing just touches the clutch and causes it to spin continuously (even if its not directly under load). If the bearing warms up enough it will make a noise. I've been caught out before...

Undo your adjustment nut and back the adjustment bolt right off. See if the whining disapears..

You will be taking it apart, so its not a hard one to check first..

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Good call to always go for the easy things first, you often find a problem before getting too much pulled apart.

The workshop manual says to dry assemble the gearbox and side case with the gasket and drop gear in place to check the drop gear clearance. I'm not 100% on this as my manuals are still in a box, but i think the clearance is 3 - 5 thou for the drop gear.

A new seal will always create a bit of resistance, but will still be easy to turn.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

hmm, im sure it would have had that amount of clearance.. it has a new oil seal was a bit of resistance but nothing that made me think gee thats too tight.. hmm not sure now... i might add that i can engage gears no worries not sure if thats significant..

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Potato

Thats a good thing, means there isn't too much resistance, maybe wait for more ideas before tearing it to bits.

What oil grade you using?

No poms stuck in the gears

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

im using 20/50 mineral oil to run it in will go to 25/50 castrol edge stuff when thats done..

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Potato

I just went through repairing the damage from a tight idler gear - question for you - what colour was the transfer housing gasket you installed - black or orangey-brown ??

the black ones are too thin, they are causing lots of problems for people

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

orangy brown.. if it is the idler gear how do i make it not rub?

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Potato