Morris Minor Trunions

[Huntsman]

Hello learned old car folk.

We're taking 'Moggington' our Traveller to France for a week, I'm assembling what I hope not to need to use as a spares kit.

I remember hearing that too much force on the wheel when parking can bust the front trunnions.

I was wondering about taking spares? Or is that a bit OTT?

We'll have AA cover of course, but I'd rather have the spares.

[fourfoldroot]

Deffo a concertina bypass hose,the one that goes from the top of the pump to the head. If you haven't taken one it will fail

[austin]

One failed on my car while driving it, fairly dramatic but you can re-attach and hold it all together with a ratchet strap.

I wouldn't bother taking spare ones with me though, very heavy and if the car is in decent shape they should be ok.

[Jefftav]

If you think your trunnions and suspension uprights are so worn that they will be a problem I would change them before you head off. The trunnions usually only fall off when excesively worn so check them for play and grease them if they are serviceable.

Just make sure you give your Morris a thorough service 2/3 weeks before you head off just in case of any problems then at least you have some time to sort them out(new brake shoes, engine oil, axle oil, gearbox oil, points, condenser, plugs, tyres) and replace anything you think is worn. Take out recovery but it will spoil your hols if you have to rely on it so carry spare light bulbs, points, condenser, a couple of plugs, engine oil, water, brake fluid, spare wheel, decent jack and wheel brace and some tools so you or the recovery service can fix basic things. Also maybe the phone number of a MM parts supplier just in case of a catastrophe. When driving abroad I think you need a warning triangle and a Hi Vis vest(1 for each passenger) in case of a breakdown but the AA should keep yiu right on this.

These sites are full of info about Minors and worth joining if you haven't already.
http://mog.myfreeforum.org/
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/messageboard.php

[anonymous-user]

fourfoldroot said:

Deffo a concertina bypass hose,the one that goes from the top of the pump to the head. If you haven't taken one it will fail

This definitely. And if you have to use it, change it for a proper non-concertina type when you get home. They are very thin and usually don't last long.

[Huntsman]

Well, I ran out of time to do some of the jobs I wanted to check out on him, so we're going anyway!

I've done oil and filter, air filter, plugs, tappets, 2 new tyres, new rear damper drop links.

I have a few spares, coil, points, condensor, dissy cap, rotor arm, oil, coolant, gallon can.

Fuel pump is one of the electronic ones.

I had a through look at the brakes a while ago and they are in good shape.

We'll be fine.

[Huntsman]

We did 700 miles in 'Moggington' - no bother at all and got 43.6 mpg!

[Huntsman]

So a further investyigation showed that a lot of the front end clonking was coming from the rack.

So, I've replaced all four trunnions, the tie rod bushes, the rack, the track rod ends.

Its much better but there is still one clunk (opposed to the previous entire front suspension jangling like a bag of spanners!), I'm not sure what the noise is, maybe the exhaust hitting the chassis where is passes through, engine mounts are shot so I'm going to do that next.

[dave stew]

Huntsman said:

We did 700 miles in 'Moggington' - no bother at all and got 43.6 mpg!

That's impressive. Always had an interest in Minors. First car I ever drove was a Minor - my Mum's 1967 two door ex Police 1000.

Oh, the non synchro first gear and drums all round!

[anonymous-user]

43mpg is impressive. The knocking is very likely to be the exhaust if the engine mounts are weak, there's very little clearance so it doesn't take much.

[Yachtworker]

I found that our one loved the higher octctane fuel and it seemed to stay smooth on long runs, obviously I'm not talking a power hike etc but some of the French fuel is a bit iffy, especially down here in the south.