Hi lads n lassies

[larrydlooter]

Hi everyone, i dont actually own a mini but my little bro does, one which has plaqued him with oil leaks, no starting etc since he bought it 18 months ago! after just spending 500 on a service with new calipers 2 weeks ago it then decided to spit out a big end via the crank casing! my brothers face was priceless

we happen to have a park lane mini sitting in the yard with a little cracker of an engine but the shell is gone beyond repair in my view.

im gonna have a crack at swappin over the engine to the bro's car, i can weild a spaner but would appreciate any advice you experts might have for me??

its an '87 998cc by the way! any immediate pointers for me?

Thanks all,

Larry

[kerryminigringo]

Welcome along Larry.If you got your hands on a Haynes Manual it has a good step by step guide to swapping engines in Minis and will help you along the way.Best of luck with the swap and let us know how you are getting on.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Download a copy of the Haynes Manual for the Mini, it's not too bad on the engine removal/replacement end of things.

There are a few tools you need that you might not have, a ball joint splitter for one, make sure you have imperial size spanners/sockets as metrics will more than likely round bolt heads and nuts.

[larrydlooter]

Thanks, now that you mention it there might just be a haynes manual lying around here!

i'll keep ye posted on progress, thanks all!

oh and i think im ok for the spanners but will i need ball joint splitter for this job or just in general!

[macker]

you can pick up a ball joint splitter from Halfords fairly cheap, just don't go for the hammer in type, get the one where you have to tighten the bolt down into it (if that makes sense)

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Generally known as the scissors type

[macker]

TMG, He's like Andrews for the brain!

[larrydlooter]

Ha! well i know the hammer type so i can figure it out from there, thanks.

hopin to make some progress or at least assess the situation today weather permiting!

[mgb1978]

You have two choices....either drop the engine c/w subframe and lift the car over it, or lift the engine up and out.
Seeing as you are swapping engines it would be easier to lift out the old engine and drop in the replacement one (sounds easy when you say it quickly ).
It's a fairly straight-forward job, just take your time and you should be fine.

[larrydlooter]

Right progress so far-

carb off
radiator out
starter wiring off
alternator wiring off
clutch slave detached and held to bulkhead
jacked up - wheels off
now removing gear linkage (trying anyway) and am here because of mandatory rain break

haynes says remove alternator and starter motor- no need tho.. is there??
alternator and starter are better on donor engine anyway..

Oh and im lifting the engine up as its the way haynes do it and seems handier!

[mgb1978]

Larry, you could have left the radiator alone (just disconnect the heater hoses).
The starter and alternator usually have to come off to let the engine move forwards so the diff can clear the subframe/bulkhead.
If you have a brake servo that will have to come out too.
Also the exhaust will have to be disconnected.
If you are having trouble knocking out the gearchange roll-pin (and don't have the proper punch) try using a Jeweller's screwdriver....those small silver ones like this;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rolson-11-Piece-P ... 35ac1f67a2

The narrow bit at the end fits into the roll-pin and lets you hit it fairly hard with a hammer without it slipping.
Put the car in reverse and the roll-pin should be turned to the best angle.
You should be able to lever off the pot joints with a big flat-blade screwdriver. Sometimes they can be a bit tight so cut the metal clip thats clamps on the boot with a hacksaw and seperate the joint that way.

[gareth]

When i remove an engine i don't disturb the drive shaft boots. Just pop out the inner joint from the gearbox. Just remember to drain oil first or it can be messy. And there is no need to touch the ball joints i find. There is just enough room to pop out the drive shaft joints with them in place.

[larrydlooter]

oh right i'll know for next time regarding the radiator, thanks

the starter and alternator makes sense also,

the pin eventually came out using one side of a snip nose pliers and some cursin!

this is as far as iv got tonight

Im a bit lost regarding the removal of the driveshafts and the splitting of balljoints!
im not great with suspension

The haynes is good but its trying to explain the process for a few variations which is only adding to my confusion!

i'l try stick up a few photos in a bit and maybe some one could explain where im trying to separate the d shaft exactly.
or if theres a thread where this has been covered please let me know i didnt find too much searchin but maybe thats just me

weather permitting hopefully i'll have both out tomo!

[larrydlooter]

[quote="gareth"]When i remove an engine i don't disturb the drive shaft boots. Just pop out the inner joint from the gearbox. quote]

Gareth do you mean removing the few bolts which connect either shaft directly to the gearbox?

[macker]

no, the drive shaft slots into the inner CV and can just be pulled out leaving the two inner pots in situ

[mgb1978]

What Gareth means is levering the pot joints out from the diff. The pot joints are similar to CV joints.
If you look at the drive shafts just before they enter the diff you will see a rubber boot. The round metal things that these boots are clamped to are the pot joints.
You will be levering the inner-most side of the pot joint to release it from the diff. They are held in by a circlip and only need to be moved out by 1/2 an inch to release them.
If you have the engine lifted up an inch or two (after removing all the steady bars and mounting bolts) you will be able to move it sideways a bit and slide out the pot joints.

Some say (well Gareth just did ) that you can remove and replace the engine without splitting the ball-joints to enable the pot joints to be removed/replaced. I can get the pots out but usually find it very tight to re-insert them with the ball-joints attached.
Try and lever the pot joint against one of the diff bolts rather than the casing itself.

[larrydlooter]

Ah ok now im startin to understand! thanks for the advice ill be back tomo to update!

[larrydlooter]

Ok so progress is better this morning but im on another rain break

starter and alternator off,
mounts undone
crane attached, with rope looped twice around block

No sign of brake servo tho.. that possible?
i prized the pot joints out about an inch, then raised the engine an inch or so which allowed me to release the offside pot joint
i then tied this one up to top of bulkhead to keep out of the way..

now i just have to move engine across to allow other poy joint off.. sound about right??
and also remove speedo cable as she comes out.

its feckin pourin down now! i wish i had a shed with a lift!

[mgb1978]

Larry, Yes it's possible that you don't have a brake servo.
Just don't forget to reconnect the speedo cable when the new engine is halfway in...nearly impossible to do it with engine fitted.
Best of luck with the replacement engine fitting.

[larrydlooter]

ok, yeah i hope it'll go a bit smoother from now on! I'll keep ye updated, thanks again.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Sounds like you are doing fine.

Be sure to get a new exhaust manifold gasket for the replacement engine. New oil filter too.

[madjackjr]

Good read this nice to see someone getting stuck in
liked the line
[quote="larrydlooter"] the pin eventually came out using one side of a snip nose pliers and some cursin! [/quote]
I prefer the term “words of encouragement” or “choice words”

[larrydlooter]

Cool good to see people gettin enjoyment out of it! im learnin loads here too, they're so simple really arent they? Although i prefer workin on my defender much more spacious under the bonnet!

TMG- could you recommend anywhere in Ireland to get these parts or are they cheaper in UK? or will halfrauds have them?

Oh and have the engine out now.. THREE holes in it and one seems to have been there a while! no wonder we couldnt keep oil in it!
I'll set up on photobucket later and post a few pics! - quite entertaining!

Also have cleaned out the garage and moved the operation indoors- now have the donor ancillaries and mounts removed and currently drippin out its last few drops of oil while im here!

[mgb1978]

If you can wait a day or two for parts you should order a pair of drive-shaft oil seals and a gearchange seal.
Much easier to change them now and the old ones will probably leak, especially as the Park Lane was standing for a while.
Ian graham (miniquip) is up in Northern ireland and carries nearly everything
http://www.mini-quip.co.uk/
check out the site for opening times.

Paul Kelly (minifix 087 2597085) is in Dublin and should have the parts you need for this job. He is on here under the name "jocelynn".

You will also find loads of firms in the UK (minispares, minisport, somerford mini (great website for parts reference).

And Ebay of course.

[macker]

Paul Hickey of Hickey race engineering is another guy you can get the parts you need from

he's on here as "Merlin" too if you needed advice