This might go very good, or very bad.

That's a pain Danny. Dangerous fault to find on a newly built car! As undertoad says it's a job which could be a major undertaking on some cars these days. I was watching a vid by some salvage repair guys last week. A Rolls Royce needed a new starter motor. They had to drop the front undertray and subframe then remove the engine then undo various shrouds just to get to it. Crazy!

John
 
I took the Mini to the local club this evening.
Everything works, it goes very well, and I even managed 75MPH.
Noisy in the cabin, with engine/exhaust/induction very loud, but immense fun. :)
 
There has been a very strong and unpleasant smell in the cab of the mini. No, not me, but rather raw petrol leaking/weeping from the fuel pump.
My BIL saw it when doing the MOT and advised a rapid pump replacement. I bought a pump but its input/output spigot arrangement would have brought the output far too close to the weird "PlayMini" exhaust pipes. I was told that rebuild kits were no longer available so I searched online and found one on a classic car site BNIB, Ex-MOD stock 1977 vintage. It arrived yesterday in an overly large box that was difficult to open and I had to carefully cut apart. Inside was a selection of parts each individually wrapped in brown waxed paper and inside its own plastic bag with part number & qty printed on the label. So I fitted the new diaphragm etc. Put the pump back on the car and crossed my fingers & toes and span it over. Happily it burst into life and not flames and there is no smell of petrol in the car any more. :)
Cue "Happy Dance". Now onto the next small issue, no thermostat.
 
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Today we played detective and "hunt the missing thermostat". The temp gauge has never come off the COLD stop when out in the car.
There are at least 3 thermostat part numbers, each has different temperature curve resistance characteristics. I have tried all 3 and none did a darned thing. Earthing the wire to the temp guage at the sensor end makes the Gauge read "H" and beyond.

Yesterday a chap on the mini forum declared that my 1275 based engine and SMITHS binnacle package would most likely use the GTR101 thermostat (the one I actually have in it at the moment and that doesn't move the needle away from "COLD").

So, I pulled the thermostat out of the head clipped an earth lead to the outer casing of it and placed it in a cup of just boiled water.
Hurrah! the gauge lifted off the stop and towards the "N"ormal position. I pulled it out of the water and applied a blowtorch cigarette-lighter flame to the thermostat for 15 seconds. Jumped back into the car to see the gauge had climbed to just below the "H"ot position.

My original theory that there was no thermostat in there and therefore the oversized radiator with permanent water-pump maximum flow and a belt driven fan was keeping the water too cool seems to be about right to me. :)

An 88° thermostat is on order and expected next week.
 
The mini heater was a favourite of the kit car scene as it's self contained in the one unit. It was about as warm as a lit mouse's fart thiugh. I was considering one for the Kitten but found an even tinier non Mini one from Mini Spares so am giving that a go instead. It can't be any worse.
 
Today's S-&-G's has been:
  1. Decanting the 5L of 20/50 you need for the oil change out of the 20L drum you ordered.
  2. Taking the front grill off the Mini because it is the only way to access the niche into which the filter sits.
  3. Using that very clever little wrench to spin the old filter off.
  4. Changing said filter while noticing how the blackened used oil wants to slop everywhere from the old filter.
  5. Using that very clever little wrench to tighten up the new filter.
  6. Finding exactly where the gale-force wind has blown all the self-tapping screws that held the front grille on.
  7. Using as many as you can hunt down and on a "do-one-miss-one" pattern in all the screw-holes you can find.
  8. Refill with 4.85L of clean oil, pull coil power supply off and spin the engine over till the oil light goes out.
  9. Start thinking about where you stored the battery charger.
  10. Refit coil power supply, start her up.
  11. Start looking for "worse than usual" leaks.
  12. Think very hard about why paying someone else to do this is more fun. ;)
 
DannyC said:
the only way to access the niche into which the filter sits
Click to expand...
Surprised they didn't fit one of those remote filter kits - Maybe a future project, or maybe impossible, due to lack of room (likely) ?
You know, I used to like working on some of the old cars and trucks I used to own, back in the day - Everything from VW's to Land Rovers.
But my heart's just not into trying to diagnose computer engine control faults, these days ..........Sigh :confused:
 
Today I re-timed the ignition and retarded it by a couple or three degrees.
It is really strange to find that you cannot see the colour of the oil on the dipstick and have to use a paper towel to get a reading.
I replaced the two rear number plate lights and their lenses and I shall take the car to the Essex Mini Club meeting tonight.
It is a short ride away from here but it puts me on a 70MPH road for a while so I will be able to boot it about a bit and like an optician I can check if the changes have made it "better, or worse". :)
 
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