I'm at a bit of a loss with what seems to be a very simple problem! I have oiled the hinges and the stay bar, but the door is continually stiffening up to the extent that I can't just push it and let it go to close it, I have to keep hold of it & push it all the way. It's getting difficult to openw hen the camber is against it as well. I'm using proper oil rather than WD40. Any ideas?
Sounds like the oil isn't getting inside the hinge where I guess it's needed. You may need to use WD40 which should be able to penetrate more easily. Once it's freed up then use some oil or silicone grease spray.
I've been having a similar problem - door seems well aligned so no issue there....
The bit that the stay goes into is a bit more complicated than it looks. I think it has some sprung ball bearings that "grip" the indentations in the stay bar. If these have seized or broken, it could be giving you the stiff door. Have a look at the attachment picture.
You can unbolt the whole stay thing. If the door is still stiff, then you have eliminated it andit must be the hinges.
Another quick thought. Way back on my first 1998 9-5, I think I had similar symptoms. I think I found that the stay fixing bolts (12) into the front wing were loose, and the stay bar was not running straight and true into the hole in the housing.
I'll take a look and report back over the next couple of days. Living where we do, parking on a slope is sometimes inevitable and it's getting hard work ::)
Well, took a look yesterday, disconnected the door stay but no difference. The bottom hinge is clean but there is a lot of rusty sludge in the top hinge. So I have flushed out what I can with WD40 and it seems to be a lot better. The top hinge must be exposed to the weather and it doesn't seem to have done the top hinge pin any good. Not terminal, do doubt it will last the life of the car, unlike the hinge pins in the old Mini I used to have when I first started driving. Remember the dropping doors on those? :o
Quote from: mikeloadsasaabs on 24 April 2013, 07:04:03 PM
... unlike the hinge pins in the old Mini I used to have when I first started driving. Remember the dropping doors on those? :o
Oh, yes.
You could buy replacements from Halfords that you had to drift in. And at the same time fit a steering column lowering bracket. And handles to replace the doorlock pull cords. And an angled extension for the yard-long gear lever. And extensions for the flick switches. And replace the dozen screws keeping the grille in place with two knurled chrome knobs. And put Roadrunner stickers on the boot. And footprint stickers on the roof. But the best bit was the Oselli Stage one tuning kit. Gas flowed head and manifold and re-jetted SU.
Ah, nostalgia. Ain't what it used to be.
Quote from: Geoff1951 on 24 April 2013, 07:27:31 PM
But the best bit was the Oselli Stage one tuning kit. Gas flowed head and manifold and re-jetted SU.
Ah, nostalgia. Ain't what it used to be.
Had one of those on my Mini 1000, plus a 1.5" SU to replace the standard 1.25". Didn't seem to make a lot of difference TBH - the only time I really noticed it was when I took the carb off to sell the car, it felt really strangled! The rest of the car was pretty much as delivered with absolutely every optional extra listed fitted - inertia reel seat belts, eyeball fresh air vents, and (wait for it)
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heated rear screen! 8)
In my first Morris Minor the heater was an option! :o
Ah, Mike, that'll have been later than mine - one of the last Mark 1's, a 1967 Morris Mini-Minor 850, original small rear lights and back window.
Hopefully a bit more WD40 over the next few days/weeks will see it working as it should.
After leaving it for a while (to allow most of the WD40 to disappear) then perhaps spray on some silicone lubricant which should be better at repelling any water that gets back on to it so it doesn't happen again.
now you have cleaned it out with WD40 apply some lithium grease, will last a lot longer and is more appropriate for lubricating the door mechanism
W
Quote from: Geoff1951 on 24 April 2013, 10:45:28 PM
Ah, Mike, that'll have been later than mine - one of the last Mark 1's, a 1967 Morris Mini-Minor 850, original small rear lights and back window.
You can't beat the original Austin Cooper 'S' Geoff.........................especially when crafted like mine was with 1360 race tuned and jack Knight crash box + 2 huge twin choke webbers.......185 at wheels 8)
You're not getting old Mike are you???
Use some good old 'PlusGas'..........that shifted bird shite easily as well................
Blimey, Jim, I bet that was interesting to drive! Probably like giving full throttle to a Scalextric car.
My mini couldn't take more than Stage 1, the three bearing crank wouldn't have lasted five minutes with anything better.
Mike, as our newish friend weetabixface says, lithium grease is the stuff. You can get it in a spray can (with a tube like WD40 for easy application), which'll last for ages. Just watch out for overspray when you use it, as the bishop said to the actress.
(The step up from bog standard 850 "power" to the stage one thrust was definitely noticeable. Well, it was starting from a pretty low base.)
Quote from: Norfolk Jim on 30 April 2013, 02:15:45 PM
You can't beat the original Austin Cooper 'S' Geoff.........................especially when crafted like mine was with 1360 race tuned and jack Knight crash box + 2 huge twin choke webbers.......185 at wheels 8)
Yes, I had one of those - red with a white roof. Used regularly to melt pistons. 2K from a set of front boots. Every weekend spent taking the engine out for something or other - seem to remember getting it past the exhaust manifold was something of an art. Ended-up taking off from the lights a bit too quickly with a competition clutch and spin-welding the flywheel onto the crank. Ah, when we were young and foolish.....
... and what about the little bypass hose just behind the head on the right hand side? A real beggar to replace. The gasket under the heater outlet valve was a five minute job though, IIRC.
I could change both UJs in an hour, start to finish.
Off topic !!
Quote from: Geoff1951 on 01 May 2013, 10:16:12 AM
... and what about the little bypass hose just behind the head on the right hand side?
Not so bad when they started making 'bellowed' aftermarket ones. Offside front engine mounting was the real pig. UJs were easy if you had a big enough hammer/friend to crack the ball joints!
Quote from: Norfolk Jim on 30 April 2013, 02:17:00 PM
You're not getting old Mike are you???
Yes, 60 next week! :o
Not seen Plusgas for years, used it many times when I was a lad. Gave it another good squirt of WD40 before we left home, seems to be easing. Been on the road since Monday lunchtime hence the belated reply, now safely bedded in to a pub in Northumbria, birthday treat!
Look, let's not start an "I'm older than you" thread !
I invested in a splitter for the joints on my mini, sort of a cupped claw thingy.
Quote from: Geoff1951 on 02 May 2013, 11:24:21 AM
Look, let's not start an "I'm older than you" thread !
'nuff said.
Scalextric it felt like Geoff - definately.
All the work had been done prior to my purchasing it in flame orange with cobra super slots, corbeau race seats and harness, webasto roof, 2 Cibie hella spotlamps and super exhaust - wow what a note at 8500 rpm. You know where heater switch/pull was on lower left panel. Mine worked a vacuum to bring second webbr in then whooooooosh....
You couldn't start off a lights very quick and had to slam quick into 2nd while wheels just started to get some grip then third and you were already well over 60!!!!! Twin tanks lasted about 150 miles under power....................
Was service every 3k by an old boy who used to work in the cooper factory. I gave him oil etc and he played with the engine to keep it on song - he never drove it though but I took him for a go-kart run in it and he just wouldn't stop laughing each time I hit the LOUD pedal. All I did was polish and drive it - like a loony sometimes
I have no idea what pistons were in it etc but the high lift cam allowed redline of 9k but never needed any more than 6 as more than enough power. Scared my dad sh*tless when he drove it.
Boy I miss that. Twas the only car I actually made money on when I sold it as moved to the smoke for work!!!