Hi everyone! In the past few months I've found a lot of answers to my questions here but have been kind of shy, I suppose, and not posted anything. You guys have been REALLY helpful and now I have some questions I haven't been able to find answers to.

1. Hyatt is a '79 Leyland Mini 1000, RHD, with the speedometer in the center. There's a green light at the top of the speedo that blinks (or, well, used to...) with the turn signals. There are two orange lights on either side that seem like they should blink with the turn signals but are capped off. The green light has a bulb soldered to a wire and won't really stay in place. I was wondering if anyone knew what the green light was actually supposed to be for. I think it'd be nifty to have turn signal dash lights that indicated left and right.

Related to that, after installing an aftermarket tach my blinkers became rather slow. Then they stopped blinking all together, they just came on and stayed on. The flasher is obviously not working and once I get the new positive battery cable in I will put a new flasher in and try it out. I tried to put a new heavy duty flasher in before (the plastic kind) and found that the flasher only works when it's in its metal case. That... can't be right, right?

2. OK, the oil leak. There is oil all over the engine, so it's hard to tell (though it's definitely leaking on the right) and I can't start her right now... and the inner CV boot on the right side is torn and there's axle grease all over everything, too... but it definitely seems like there is at least some oil leaking from this round bit... OK, I won't try to describe it, I took pictures.

What is this? (Sorry about the picture size... I haven't learned how to change that yet.) It looks like some type of plug... but the Haynes manual doesn't mention it. More investigation will be required as to where the leak is coming from, of course, (unless the answer *is* "everywhere) but for now I am just curious if anyone knows what this is or how one would fix it if it was leaking.

I was happily driving around making people smile just a week ago... and now my little Mini is in pieces all over the garage... and I'm *still* blissfully happy...

Thanks!

 

The only one light blinking for the turn signal indicator is common from what I hear. Mine only blinked one yellow one. The green slot on mine was not used and actually looked like it had melted. You easily could re-wire it to blink both yellow on the sides. Just wire it into the loop that makes the outside blinkers go. I would clean all of the connectors and ground points you can and see if you are just getting a bad connection before you go an troubleshoot the turn signals.

The bulb should have a snap connector that goes over the metal socket in the speedo if I remember correctly. Maybe you are missing this or is it just worn out?

You can buy dye at your local auto parts store to put in the oil. You then shine a black light and usually it will point you right to the leak. You need to scrub the engine down before you try to use the dye though. As you said though every gasket may glow so I wouldn't do this unless your ready for the harsh reality of needing to change every gasket.

 

Redline_rally,

I too have a '79 RHD Mini 1000 and if its any consolation mine is in many pieces - however, right now that is by design, I am rebuilding it over the winter/spring.

I can help on a couple of items. When I got my car, it too did not blink internally. The bulb should sit in a holder at the back of the speedo. My holder was broken and the replacement I ordered was nothing like the one that I had. After some messing around with tape to stop it grounding out against other items I was able to get it operating so I could take it for an inspection. My car had been in storage for 2 years and had no oil pressure when I picked it up from my dad's garage, so my memory is kinda fuzzy due to lack of driving it. The green light is for the turn indicators, and I think there is one light that just tells you an indicator is operating. Since everything is out of the car, when I get back from my trip I will take a picture.

Oil leaks are fun... I ended up using a degreaser and cleaning up the underside so I could better distinguish the source of oil leaks as oil will quickly get everywhere depending on where it is coming from. My speedo cable was loose (found that when I pulled the engine) - it was a major source of oil. I also have leaks around one of my drive shaft seals. I will leave the "plug" to those that know more on this board than I.

I am still relatively new to this. Post some pix of your car for us all!

 

The oil is not likely leaking from that round bit - I had a mis-aligned seal on my rocker cover (all the wat up top), and the oil leaked all the way down the backside of the engine and pooled right there. I think it's a low spot... Here's what I'd do:

1. Fix the CV boot - that will seal the bearings properly and stop one major source of grime and grease.

2. Then, if you cannot see where the oil's coming from, buy a can or two (or three) of engine degreaser and clean it up as best you can. Don't spray the alternator or the spark wires, or get the cleaner into the carb. Agitate with a brush and allow to sit for 20 minutes, then wash with hose water. Repeat until you can see the metal, more or less. Then go for a drive or rev the engine and after a few minutes see if you can see fresh oil leaking. Main culprits are the rocker cover (the cork gasket goes bad and only coast like $5 to replace) the rod change shift seal, the speedo cable, and a few other places - basically anywhere anything is bolted to the block. The Haynes Manual lists the primary sources of oil leaks - if you don't have a Hayne's book already go get one - it's helpful at times.

3. Change the oil and put in Castrol GTX High-Mileage 20W-50 - this is a petrolium-based, NON-SYNTHETIC oil with a special additive that swells your seals. Fiona's engine seeped from several spots until I started using the High Mileage stuff - now she leaks not at all (yay!).

Note that because this 20W-50 oil is a bit more viscous (especially when cold) than 10W or 20W oil, you'll need a nice, long warm-up on a cold morning to properly protect the engine - I start Fiona about 5 minutes before I'm ready to leave and let her idle in the garage for a bit on cold mornings and she's doing great with NO LEAKS.

It's also important to NOT USE SYNTHETIC OIL in Mini engines - Minis use a "shared sump" that uses the same oil in the top end that's used in the tranny, and I've seen multiple test results that show that the differential can (and does) unspool synthetioc oil molucules, breaking them down rapidly. Modern cars use a separate transmission oil, one that better resists this unspooling, but our Minis have to use one oil for both, hence the need for a petrolium-based product like the Castrol GTX.

Fiona's engine just passed the 80,000 mark, and she's never had synthetic oil run in her (according to the previous owner), so this, coupled with what I've read, lead me to believe that petrolium-based oil like the Castrol High Mileage work well.

 

5W30 would have the characteristics of 5W when cold/30W when hot. Therefore, would be "thinner" than 10W or 20W. Mini should have 20W50 in it in most circumstances. Find an oil with ZDDP in it. (its been removed from most oils) I use Valvoline Racing 20W50. If you are in a cold climate, you may wish to use a lighter weight multi-grade oil. (10W40)

Before doing anything, degrease motor thoroughly.

Oil leak culprits:
Rocker cover
Tappet Covers (back of motor under exhaust manifold) - check both the rectangular gaskets and the Rubber O-rings that seal the cover bolts.
Pot joint seals on differential
Pot joints themselves - have a plug in them that can leak
Speedometer cable take-off
Rod change gearshift sealing rings
Diff side cover gaskets
Head gasket (esp rad end backside where the oil gallery passage is close to the edge of the head/block)
Engine to trans gasket
Timing cover seal around crank pulley
Oil pipe take-off to filter housing.
Rear main oil seal (look for oil dripping from split pin at bottom of housing)
Drop gear housing to engine gaskets
Copper washer around oil drain plug

Sometimes it is just a good idea to go around the motor and make sure all bolts/nuts are tightened sufficiently. Gaskets shrink/compress and bolts may be loose.

 

Ain't that what Gomer used to say?

SuPrize...looks like some one has been hacking at your wiring....

I too have a 1979 RHD - shipped from England - Mini 1000...that's what it started as anyway...

I too have a centre pod speedo (not the swimsuit you trouble makers)


There is a green light at the top center that comes on whenever the headlights are on, the two side yellow lights come on with the associated turn signal, the lower left blue light indicates high beams and the lower right is the ignition circuit red light which when on under normal conditions means your electrical system is not experiencing normal conditions....

But I also checked the CD with the Owner's Manuals on it and it appears I'm not 'standard'

For an 850 or 1000 1976 to 1980 the book says the green at the top is the direction indicator the right amber is low oil pressure and the left amber is not used at all. High Beam and Ignition blue/red as I described.

BUT for the Canadian model the green is the heated rear window indicator and the ambers are directional indicators.....

next I started digging into the Haynes wiring diagrams and it appears that basic models with the speedo only are wired with the oil pres warning lite function to the two ambers while a 3 dial pod with oil pres and temp gauge had the two ambers functioning as turn indicators (the 1275 GT diagram shows this set up) at least that's what I decipher up to 1976. After that the diagrams show functions but give little clue as to the physical locations....and I know I'm heavily re-wired...actually I believe the entire harness was replaced somewhere along the line.

Soooooo....what does that mean? Have fun I guess!

I also have an electronic tach' added to the system with no noticable degredation...altho my alternator is only a couple of years old (catastrophic failure) and I use an OPTIMA red top battery; so I'm confident of no load related issues (a tach should add MINIMAL load).

About that leaking plug.....I've got to look under the car.....OK yep I have something similar and after a long search I think I've identified it. Here's a page from the 76 to 85 Service Manual




Top left - step 40 - this appears to be the 'bellcrank lever pivot post' and is only removable by drifting out, I guess from inside the pan while disassembled???? I haven't found a part number yet. Mine appears it could be weaping there too but I don't see an easyway to get that out to replace the o-ring. Ideas anyone??? It could be weaping here, or being a low point it is just where other leaks finally run down to.


My suggestion, not unlike others, is CLEAN EVERYTHING OFF then you'll see where the new oil comes from. I bought a small steam cleaner and it is worth its weight in gold. A couple of hours in the garage with hot steam and my engine bay is CLEAN without all the electrical problems a pressure washer causes

I've a small one like this and I've found it quite handy cleaning the engine, underside, wheel wells, bathrooms....
http://www.target.com/Shark-Ultra-St...5Fshark&page=1

 

MiniMad is 100% correct - the 5W-30 was a typo. I don't know what I was thinking about, so sorry. The oil I use in Fiona is actually 20W-50, which is thicker cold than 10W-30 hence the need for the warm-up on cold mornings. That, combined with the seal sweller in the High Mileage formula has 100% eliminated all my seepage leaks. I have edited my reply above to reflect the proper viscosity - thanks and sorry!

Also:

This is ALSO true, and you can actually purchase oil additives that put the ZDDP back in - it functions as an ablative material that coats the engine parts, adding just a bit more protection.

However...

The ZDDP is not present in modern engine oils because it shortens the life of catalytic converters, which all modern cars have. So, if your Mini is fitted with a cat, then you'll wear it out faster by adding back the ZDDP, but you'll also better-lube your engine parts... Decisions, decisions.

Me, I plan to use the cat-delete peice when I replace my exhaust next year and then start using the ZDDP additives - without a cat fitted, the ZDDP will not affect any part of the exhaust.

 

Unless you have a late model Mini, your Mini should not have a cat converter so no problem. But, check first.

 

Stupid question but if ZDDP wears out the catalyst in your catalytic converter then what does it matter if you wear out the catalyst or put in a straight pipe? Your still emitting the same pollution either way so unless your being emissions tested or are concerned about global warming is it really an issue. Anyways I'd take a gander that a replacement cat is cheaper than an engine rebuild.

Honestly, I think all of this talk about zddp wearing out catalytic convectors is just some corporate guy behind a desk trying to cover his behind. It's cheaper to eliminate the problem than to figure out if it really is a problem or solve the problem regardless of the consequences. Just my two cents on the topic.

Hopefully you got the answers you needed before the thread got hijacked. Sorry about that.

 

Yay! Thanks everyone. Actually you guys helped me out on the oil thing before - for my first oil change I bought synthetic because I've always run synthetic in all my cars, but I was looking around the forums and saw that I shouldn't do that. So I think I have Castrol 10W-40 or 20W-50 (I don't remember which...). I was looking around the other day and I did see some oil, maybe, on the back (er, the "back" by the firewall) of the engine. Fun. That will have to wait until I get all the electric stuff sorted...

I peeled the massive amounts of sticky, gooey, electrical (and some duct!!) tape off all the wires... found some interesting splices, an ungrounded blinker, only three of four wires connected on the headlight that sometimes works, and had a wire break off perfectly at the alternator plug. Hyatt seems to think I need to learn more about wiring. Besides the screwy headlight, everything was fine until my boyfriend started rewiring his '55 Ford. I swear Hyatt got jealous.

 

Yeah, once you start unraveling the wiring you gotta expect some nasty surprises. The good news is that the car will be better for the attention and should be far less prone to fire when you're dine, assuming you re-wire everything correctly.

Just remember to always disconnect the battery ground terminal before cutting into ANY wiring. Also remember that screw-on cap nuts are NOT your friend in an automotive application (they're made for home use). Also: butt caps can (and should) be sealed with a dab of silicone before being wrapped or shrouded and always use sufficiently large enough wiring for the current load you expect to transmit and all will be well. I would also highly recommend you document the wire colors you end up using as well as your final circuits - if nothing else, you'll have a guide when you're peering at your connectors in 5 years and can't remember exactly how you completed your circuits. If you can, use the same color wire as in the Haynes book - that way the manual will match the reality under the bonnet.

Good luck!!

 

Well a newbie to the world of LUCAS wiring might appreciate this tidbit


from Classic Motorsports: "....and those of you that speak Lucas know that the colors all mean something: White is switched (on when the key is on), unfused; green is switched, fused; brown is unswitched (always on), unfused; and purple is unswitched, fused."

 

It still blows my mind that ANYTHING in a Mini is unfused... I added a modern, blade-style fuse box to Fiona so I could fuse everything. Now I sleep at night.