Might as well lift the motor out and give it rings and bearings while you have the spanners dirty.

Haha! Taking the motor out may be a little beyond me at this point! If I start doing things like that, it'll be down to bare metal in no time. Actually, it probably does need a repaint soon. Hmmm...

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

I finally got the crankshaft pulley off with some help from a can of WD40 and a pulley/gear puller!

The timing chain is a little slack I guess - it probably moves about 5-10 mm in either direction! So that's definitely getting chucked in the bin.

I'm going to put in a fairly extensive order with Karcraft, but there is one major component holding me up.

I was wondering if I should get a new radiator, or just look at getting the original one reconditioned. Do you ausminiers have any opinions on which way you would go given the option? I don't even know if anything could be done with the original rad as the fine cooling fins disintegrate when touched - is this even something that's repairable?

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

If the fins are coming off, it would need a recore to fix this one.~$400, ouch!
Cheaper to buy a new super 2 core from Karcraft or wherever, or take your chances with a chinese alloy one...

Unless, you can find another good Oz radiator, then a reco by your local rad shop should only be around $90 +/-. These are 3 core, 16 fins/inch, they work at least as good as the Super 2 core one does.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I know several people that are running the Alloy Radiators , and are more than happy with them , ( they are cheap as well , $90 ) . I would make sure that you have flushed your engine well before you fit it , and then fill with new inhibitor .

Re; the bypass hose , do as peterb says , but make sure you put decent hose clamps on it , and position them so that if you need to get to them down the track , you can .

One other thing i would do whilst you have the rad out is , undo your speedo cable
connection off the back of the gearbox , give the treads a clean and replace it ,put a smear of vasoline or grease on it , but don't do it up too tight , finger tight should be enough . This helps if you ever have to change your speedo cable , cause they can be a b!tch to undo if they have been on for a long time ,

Thanks, doc. I think I would like to keep a three core on there if they work just as well, so I'll look around for one that I can get reconditioned.

And goodie, your reminder about the bypass hose has made me re-think my overheating problems! Say that for some reason the bypass hose did not exist on my car, with the outlet/inlets being blocked off. The thermostat that I put in there would need to be at the very least drilled, wouldn't it? It wasn't.

I'm thinking that this may have contributed to the blown hg if the thermostat was faulty for some reason, perhaps gunked up or stuck shut after I drained the coolant and left it for a couple of months before refilling it and taking it for the drive that drove the nail...

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

If you run without the bypass hose, I'd just drill one 3mm hole in the thermostat. Yes it'll work without it, but it helps avoid air locks when filling it up.
Many brass thermostats in days gone by had a hole, with a little jiggly bit of brass in it.

I don't think lack of a bypass would give any overheating, I can't see how.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Ah okay. Well I guess I'm just trying to figure out why it did overheat. Hopefully changing the radiator, water pump and thermostat will fix whatever it was

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

As Doc said , they will run fine with the bypass fitting's blocked off . My car sh!t the water pump recently , so when i had it apart i fitted a piece of heater hose as a bypass hose , instead of the bought type , only because i think that they are crap nowdays .

I know years ago that people that i knew that raced speedway mini's , used to block them off , but i think it was more to do with to eliminating the chance of blowing the hose more than anything , and they would run up to a 100 lap enduro with no drama's .

I think the secret is to have a clean system , which includes a clean radiator and block as they can build up a fair bit of crap in them over a number of years , so a flush every couple of seasons can't hurt , then refill with some new inhibitor and fresh water and they should be good .

If what you are trying to solve here is an overheating problem also go the step further and remove all welsh plugs and check the water jacket for scaling. Flushing will not dislodge the crap that accumulates in there over the years. Give more attention around the back of the block around #4 cylinder towards the back through the back welsh plug hole or holes. . Remove the Brass water drain plug at the back and make sure this area of the cooling system is not chock-a-block with rust. Use a piece of wire to poke through the drain plug hole and make sure it is a free passage to the welsh plug area.This is one of the most overlooked things. No circulation of coolant around the back pot causes a lot of heat.

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

+1 for taking off the water pump and checking the state of the impeller. Corroded and worn impellers reduce the amount of coolant being pumped through the engine.

It's only the cost of a new gasket if all is OK - cheap peace of mind and another potential overheating problem crossed off the list. Plus it makes it a hell of a lot easier to change the bypass hose with the pump off

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..

yeah it`s always a good idea to make sure the water pump & all hoses & thermostat are all sorted ,,, & also if you can flush the block out some-what (not that it can be done very well in the car at all usually but still give it a go, it can`t hurt)

I also try to make sure that all the tin-ware , rad cowl , Mounts & brackets & grommets & such are all sweet too, don`t really want it all flapping about & fatiguing & falling apart on you right?

it`s best to cover as much stuff as possible while you`re there,,, & yes if it means checking out that sloppy slappy timing chain/gears & speedo drive & cable & maybe een that leaky old mech fuel pump---> then why not "Do It Now" as my dad always says



& i must say that `m pretty happy with the quality of alloy radiator that the Chinese are producing these days,,,, the cores are really good quallity, the welds are top notch, the material is really really good ,,, we`ve tested them for years & years & years now & on some pretty wild & very fast engines i might add,,,, & the price??? well you just can`t buy better so why not fit a chinese alloy rad??? i don`t/havn`t seen any problem with them at all.

i`ve literally fitted hundreds of the things now (not joking) & not one has given us any trouble at all.

here`s my special 3" thick, sooper-dooper 2-core jobby going onto one of my own personal engines -->



gotta love a monster radiator for a monster engine hey???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Hrm...replaced the timing chain finally (single row) yesterday. I dropped a flat washer down the little slot that is above where the speedo cable goes into the gearbox, however, whilst refitting the timing cover. Is this a problem or will it just be sitting in the sump, hopefully getting close to the plug as the oil moves around?

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

I realise now that my description of my disappearing washer situation was probably not the most accurate.

I have had trouble finding out what the little gap in question (red arrow) is there for in the manuals. From it's location, I assume it leads directly to the gear box. If this is the case then I assume the washer is sitting in there at the moment.

So my question is: Can I remove this little housing simply by removing the three nuts (green arrows) below and hope to find my little friend?

Or maybe this little gap doesn't lead anywhere bad?

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'77 Leyland Mini Van

If you have another washer you can save yourself the hassle and ignore the one you lost - behind the mount you've arrowed is..... nothing There's just a little gap between it and the end of the gearbox (speedo gears from memory)... so no does not lead to the sump...

cheers,

Jacob

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'72 Clubman Van - 1022cc, 295 head, 731 cam - Daily Driver
'69 Morris 1100 S - Dinged by a bus, in shed under repair
'64 Morris 1100 - Early 1100, long term project