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Engine Trouble :-[

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Jaz

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Recently been abroad for 6 weeks and my wife has been looking after my beloved mini for me, as she has done in the past. Unfortunatley whilst she was using it this time it broke down on her way to the cinema. She called out recovery who brought her back home and diagnosed it as the cylinder head gasket.
I have now returned and changed the gasket, including the heater pipe gasket and the thermostat gasket, but the engine will still not turn over. I have recharged the battery and tried again but to no avail. There is a spark getting to the plugs but it will not fire up.
Apparently the breakdown said it could also be the waterpump, I have ordered on of these but can't see any leaks from the pump and there is no free play at the pump itself!
Any ideas or help would be grateful.

PS I will try and get a short clip of the engine trying to start and post ASAP.
 
just been out again this morning checking a few things out, think the battery is going to give up, tried my easy start again but nothing, also tried some fuel in plug holes but nothing.......is the piston in the carb suppose to move up and down when the engine is turning over :oops: or is it stationary!!!!!
 
Please describe a little bit more about what was done and what you've checked.

You said that the cylinder head was replaced and that you have spark. Do you have the spark plug wires on in the correct order. For reference, stand at the front of the car looking at the engine. If your distributor has not been placed incorrectly after service, when piston #1 (at the water pump end of the block) is at/near TDC the rotor inside the distributor cap should be pointing between the 1:00 o'clock and 2:00 o'clock positions. From there the firing order goes 1,3,4,2 counterclockwise around the distributor cap. If you have the spark plug wires on incorrectly the engine won't fire. Since the head was off, perhaps the plug wires are on incorrectly.

Other things to check since the head has been off are: the valve clearances, vacuum hose connections (particularly with a servo fitted), and look for possible air leaks from a loose manifold or carburetor flange.

Your post implies that you did the work on the car. You also said the problem was diagnosed by person who brought the car home. Did you confirm their diagnosis? Was the head gasket obviously damaged when you got the head off? It wouldn't be the first time someone misdiagnosed an A-series engine problem. If you didn't see something physically wrong with the gasket when you pulled the cylinder head off, perhaps the real problem is/was elsewhere... perhaps with the fuel system.

EDIT:
Jaz, I was just reading your parallel post at MiniFinity. You've been asked a lot of good questions there, a couple of which echo my suggestions above. Don't give up.

Assuming you still have compression as Nightrain suggested, what's left are air/fuel, spark, and timing. Check the compression as he suggested. If it's good, I suggest at this point you calmly work through everything again. Mechanically make sure all the manifold gaskets are in place and tight. Then, double-check the points gap AND the static timing. Confirm that you have spark at each plug, not just off the coil or at the points.

You said you have fuel reaching the carb and you said that putting fuel directly into the bores did not help. This implies that your spark is not reaching the plugs. Until you're 100% certain that you have spark and that the spark is happening at the right time and in the right order, don't touch the fuel system except to confirm the float level.

You asked about the carb piston. During cranking it may bounce up and down a bit and have a small lift/gap. However, you're not going to see the piston riding high in the carb body while cranking.
 
Well good old RAC been out, now recovered to my local garage :frown:
Phoned call received and I have no/low compression on 2 and 3, so the head is going to have to be skimmed ÂŁ325 all in :cry:
Think the wife has got me on beans on toast for the next 6 mths :oops:
 
Jaz, if you are checking this post anymore... please explain what you found through the garage. I saw your post on the other board where you are now looking for a replacement engine. I don't see how it could be that bad.
 
Any time a head gasket is being replaced. It is a necessity to check the head for damage. i.e. trueness(warpage) pitting in the combustion chambers, coolant passages, eyeball around the valves to see that the seats are concentric(if visible, some are under the head of the seat). Then take a look at the block. Check down the cylinder walls for any scoring or scratching. If you can catch your fingernail in any score or scratch, time for a rebore. Look at the cylinder walls when the pistons are low in the block. If the engine has been overheated you want to see that you DO NOT have horizontal discoloration rings, usually about 1/2 wide as these will "temper" the cylinder walls as heat transfers from the rings. If so maybe an overbore, but often, time for a new block.
 
garage have said after skimming, engine still low on compression:-
1. 100
2. 120
3. 50
4. 70

bottom end crank is warpped too
they have told me it's probably cheaper to replave the engine

looking for replcement at the moment, not as cheap as i'd first thought as i want to replace it with a 1275cc

i am being to come to terms with it now, although the long hair general is not taking too kindly to more money being spent!!!!!
 
I saw some of the posts on MiniFinity and I saw that you were looking for the new engine. I agree with Anton at MiniFinity that the sudden drop in compression across all four bores needs an explanation. I know you trust the garage, but I also agree that with the engine not running I'm not sure how they determined there are crank problems.

The used engine prices you've found so far in the U.K. seem a bit high. Since you'll be traveling soon, why not slow down on this and take your time looking for a good deal on a used engine. Do consider other board members who may have used engines for you since you will have to pay to transport the powerplant anyway.

Do keep us informed.
 
My antennae are "up" and questioning. Did they reassemble the engine after the skim to determine the compression?

Did they do a cylinder leakage test? This is one invaluable tool for where the compression pressure is escaping. If it's going past the rings, I could understand the low readings on the last two cylinders.

HOWEVER. How did they determine the crankshaft is warped???

Is there a hole in the block, did they drop the pan and crank and "mike" it?

I question mechanical suppositions, as that is my job to verify mechanical failures...
 
You probably just have a couple stuck oil rings. Warped bottom, come on, the crank is stronger than that. If they did not do a compression check before skimming head, better go elsewhere. What happens on a reskim without vavles being ground can get this result. Also, a renewed head on tired rings will help loose the rings. Get another independent an leak test and then re-ring the thing. Lot cheaper than putting a rebuilt engine from some unkown or a knackered one from the junk man. Before storing throw some oil in the cylinders and turn it a bit and put the plugs in hand tight. Upon returning, put in new plugs and fire it up. Won't freeze up or score the cylinders after sitting.
 
Jaz has had a much longer and involved thread running on the MiniFinity message board. I don't wish to post for him but suffice it to say he has purchased another engine.
 
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