so called 'mini expert' garages........

[guru_1071]

I spoke to a guy the other week who had been advised by a 'expert' that his spi mini needed a new throttle body as it ran like a bag of spanners.

I told the guy that id never, ever seen a spi that had running issues caused by a faulty spi injector - from what they guy told me I suggested that it was either a lambda sensor or a temp sender (it was running super rich and sooty)

and that it needed a vac pipe (it wouldn't tick over)

the guy turned up at work today as it was at a local garage getting the lambda sensor swopped (it was knackered as the wire had melted on the manifold!) and I suggested that if he brought the car I could put my rover code reader on it (its nice and sunny outside!)

it turns up and sounds like a diesel, code reader shows the normal inlet air temp fault

looking further it had a missing vac pipe, so an air leak direct into the inlet AND two missing breather pipes, so two other open air leaks........

fixing them, sorted the tick over, but it still sounded like a tractor.

so, I took the rocker cover off, wiggled a rocker and found the problem.....

yep, some half wit had set the tappets at 18 thou!!!!



a quick 'sort of near 12 thou red hot engine special' reset and it ticked over and reved up like a sowing machine!

some people shouldn't be allowed to open car bonnets!

[foxy52]

I spoke to a guy the other week who had been advised by a 'expert' that his spi mini needed a new throttle body as it ran like a bag of spanners.

I told the guy that id never, ever seen a spi that had running issues caused by a faulty spi injector - from what they guy told me I suggested that it was either a lambda sensor or a temp sender (it was running super rich and sooty)

and that it needed a vac pipe (it wouldn't tick over)

the guy turned up at work today as it was at a local garage getting the lambda sensor swopped (it was knackered as the wire had melted on the manifold!) and I suggested that if he brought the car I could put my rover code reader on it (its nice and sunny outside!)

it turns up and sounds like a diesel, code reader shows the normal inlet air temp fault....

looking further it had a missing vac pipe, so an air leak direct into the inlet AND two missing breather pipes, so two other open air leaks........

fixing them, sorted the tick over, but it still sounded like a tractor.

so, I took the rocker cover off, wiggled a rocker and found the problem.....

yep, some half wit had set the tappets at 18 thou!!!!



a quick 'sort of near 12 thou red hot engine special' reset and it ticked over and reved up like a sowing machine!

some people shouldn't be allowed to open car bonnets!

...to right mate I made the same sort of comment on another thread !!.. find a good mini man if u cant fettle it yourself and stick with him.. I use the same guy as the kirkpatricks use,..engine builder par excellence !. nuff said !!!

[Spider]

'expert' (Xspurt)

X = unknown factor
Spurt = drip under pressure

[pdaykin]

I had an expert once swap an engine over for me

I supplied the engine

Came home to find the car had been delivered home with a message to call them

Aparantly the engine was faulty. Would barly run. Backfiring. Etc. But they had kindly trailered it back with a bill for all the extra time taken to try and fix it. They couldn't find a cure and thought it something fundamental requiring major work

I opened the bonnet. Staring me in the face as the plug leads were numbered. Wrong firing order on the dizzy. Needless to say I didn't pay and didn't use them again

[coop12g295]

Just had a local take a morris 1000 in to a "classic" garage for poor running
who was told the timing chain was worn and had jumped,paid £120 for new bits
and theystill couldn't get it to run well. Quick look hardly any points gap and the cheap points foot is so small its impossible to get more than 8thou.New points
runs sweet as a moggy does

[foxy52]

Just had a local take a morris 1000 in to a "classic" garage for poor running
who was told the timing chain was worn and had jumped,paid £120 for new bits
and theystill couldn't get it to run well. Quick look hardly any points gap and the cheap points foot is so small its impossible to get more than 8thou.New points
runs sweet as a moggy does

...there u go then nearly all garages are a license to print money for the unsuspecting or not mechanically minded !!??..especially when it comes to classic cars as many don't have a clue.. u pays yer money and u takes yer choice if yer lucky u get a good un .. stick with him !!! foxy52

[SteveG]

Most modern cars now you need a computer to diagnose any problem.. Its getting harder to find mechanics that know old cars so you pay for 3 hours labour before they get on the right track where as a guy with knowledge of old cars will have it fixed in a hour.

[foxy52]

Most modern cars now you need a computer to diagnose any problem.. Its getting harder to find mechanics that know old cars so you pay for 3 hours labour before they get on the right track where as a guy with knowledge of old cars will have it fixed in a hour.

...but even then they haven't got a clue... take a Beemer to an indy specialist,take a merc to an indy specialist..etc etc.. but give any of these guys a wide berth when it comes to maintaining a mini lol !!!...its unfortunate but a fact of life that so many old timer mechanics have passed on and its also a problem that few have picked up or learnt the old skills .. as my guy says "bring it down for a proper BMC service... and I get it 100% !!!... lol...foxy52

[monkeyjim]

Not been on for a while so apologies for my late reply.

foxy52 is right , the main issue is the old experienced mechanics have retired and the new guys do not have any experiance on points , condensors, ditributors carb's and even adjusting valve clearances .
Remember that with a couple of odd exceptions all cars have had fuel injection and cat's since 1992, we are talking over 20 years ago . The Mini has been out of production 13 years , electronic ignition came in for the A series in the early 90's .
I left school in 88 and went into the motor trade , af spanners , points carbs etc were the norm and even I am in my early 40's now ( unfortunately ) .

I am lucky in the workshop i run , i have my boss still on shop floor at 62 and another guy 60 this year who served his apprentiship in the same building when it was a bmc/leyland dealer or whatever they were called in 1970 .

We look after several big Healey's , A35 , Moggies, Stags, TR3,4,6,7, 8 conversion , Austin 7 , a few other classics and of course a handfull of Mini's from 1960 upto a Cooper Sport 500 .

Not had much issue with injected Mini's , the vac pipes , coolant temp sensors on Mpi and the usual Mini neglect being the only cause for concern .

Modern stuff , i hate it . Yes you can plug it in but ....... Well , if the public realised how complicated there lovely 17 inch wheeled air con electronic packed status symbol they cannot leave with the garage for more than 10 minutes is to bloody fix they may have more sympathy for the so called thieving garage .

How about this : Vw group electronics , Skoda Fabia engine light on ? The cure in this case was to replace a blown stop lamp bulb . All to do with emissions stuff ...........

Rest my case .

[JC T ONE]

Most modern cars now you need a computer to diagnose any problem.. Its getting harder to find mechanics that know old cars so you pay for 3 hours labour before they get on the right track where as a guy with knowledge of old cars will have it fixed in a hour.

Agree, but then its nice to be from the time, when we didnt have computers.

Winter 2011/12, my every day car (VW Golf III) developed a problem (knew it would come one day)

It started perfect, but stopped when I wanted to drive.

My first thought was the little Black "thingie" on the side of the injection housing.

But then I did a mistake I took it to a garage, and they fitted a computer on it, and it said it was the destributer ?
so next day I went to the scrap yard & bought one of those.
This didnt help so I called a VW expert, who had all the knowledge, of these later cars.
After hours of feddling he gave up, this meant another day wasted
On day 3 I drove back to the scrapyard, and borrowed a complete "showerhead"
problem was that you cant buy that Black "thingie" I wanted, only a complete item = 850 pounds.
I then swapped the little "thingie" with mine = all good again

If I only had done this on the first day, instead of trusting a computer
But its nice to know, that I am smarter than a computer

[foxy52]

Not been on for a while so apologies for my late reply.

foxy52 is right , the main issue is the old experienced mechanics have retired and the new guys do not have any experiance on points , condensors, ditributors carb's and even adjusting valve clearances .
Remember that with a couple of odd exceptions all cars have had fuel injection and cat's since 1992, we are talking over 20 years ago . The Mini has been out of production 13 years , electronic ignition came in for the A series in the early 90's .
I left school in 88 and went into the motor trade , af spanners , points carbs etc were the norm and even I am in my early 40's now ( unfortunately ) .

I am lucky in the workshop i run , i have my boss still on shop floor at 62 and another guy 60 this year who served his apprentiship in the same building when it was a bmc/leyland dealer or whatever they were called in 1970 .

We look after several big Healey's , A35 , Moggies, Stags, TR3,4,6,7, 8 conversion , Austin 7 , a few other classics and of course a handfull of Mini's from 1960 upto a Cooper Sport 500 .

Not had much issue with injected Mini's , the vac pipes , coolant temp sensors on Mpi and the usual Mini neglect being the only cause for concern .

Modern stuff , i hate it . Yes you can plug it in but ....... Well , if the public realised how complicated there lovely 17 inch wheeled air con electronic packed status symbol they cannot leave with the garage for more than 10 minutes is to bloody fix they may have more sympathy for the so called thieving garage .

How about this : Vw group electronics , Skoda Fabia engine light on ? The cure in this case was to replace a blown stop lamp bulb . All to do with emissions stuff ...........

Rest my case .

....whereabouts are u monkey ??.. I used to live in west sussex and pat howe lives there to mini engineer par ex........ u r east sussex anywhere near steve stirling who looked after my mates gt40 ??!!...having just sold that he may well reflect on the fact he had a 1 owner 1071 s and sold it for peanuts in about 72-73 !!! that would be worth a good five fig sum now ?!! if current prices are anything to go by lol ....postscript I have only met 2 guys in the last 20 years who can hold a spanner when it comes to looking after my s !!!!! sad but there u go !!! foxy52

[monkeyjim]

I live near Uckfield and work in Saltdean .
As you know Sussex , you may have guessed the name of the Company in 60's 70's who ran the Garage as a dealer was Caffyns .

Pat Howe . A permanant fixture at the speed trials , always loved his cracking looking Mini . I think I am right in saying its always high in class with the Lotus 7 style cars being a thorn in his side .
I plucked up the courage to have a chat with him one year , friendly guy .
Wonder if he would build a hot road engine ?
.

[monkeyjim]

Gained another Triumph Stag to look after yesterday .
Old and long standing customer's car , he used to have a Silver Shadow and 1920's Roller of some type for weddings , retired from all that and got a Rover 75 and the Stag now.

[Lord Croker]

A couple of years ago, a friend, who is a modern day car technician phoned me because he was trying to sort out his sister's 998 A+ Metro , he said the plug leads must be on wrong because it was backfiring & asked me the firing order, I told him & off he went, confidently, I then got another call, "Which end is number one plug?" so I told him it was near the alternator, about half an hour later I got yet another phone call, "Will you do it for me?" I went & took a look at it, started it & it sounded almost like a very bad big end failure, which they do when the head gasket has blown between 1 & 2 cylinders, the combustion clatters up through the inlet. As there was no distortion of head or block, I had it fixed within hours & it ran for many miles without problem, it's now been sold, but the young guy who looked at it is brilliant on the modern stuff, but we are running out of people who can look after the classics.
At present I look after a 1932 Morris 10/4, a 1963 Morris Minor 1000 saloon, a 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Traveller, a 1965 MG Midget Mk2 & 2 998 Minis, sadly 2 of my regular Minis have departed, one was a 1400 'S' that went to a buyer in Norway, the other was a tuned 998 with an all over union jack scheme, which was sold because the owner needed a more suitable motorway car, it's now in white with a pink union jack pattern on the roof, what a travesty after all that masking I did! Not wishing to blow my own trumpet, but I am often asked what will happen when I retire? The honest answer to that is I really don't know, but as such things to me are part work, part hobby, I shall keep going as long as I am fit & healthy.

[migliacars]

i TAKE MY MINIS TO WATSONS IN WAKEFIELD, ALWAYS COME BACK RUNNING SWEAT AS A NUT.

[foxy52]

I live near Uckfield and work in Saltdean .
As you know Sussex , you may have guessed the name of the Company in 60's 70's who ran the Garage as a dealer was Caffyns .

Pat Howe . A permanant fixture at the speed trials , always loved his cracking looking Mini . I think I am right in saying its always high in class with the Lotus 7 style cars being a thorn in his side .
I plucked up the courage to have a chat with him one year , friendly guy .
Wonder if he would build a hot road engine ?
.

....yes I bought a couple of cars from caffyns many moons ago... Pat built rebuilt my engine and gear box 7 years back....I have 98 horses on tap..!!!.. its wicked and totally reliable....!!! as u know he builds engines for many of the top boys in mini racing.. his cylinder head work is superb and attention to detail beyond compare...whenever Pat did the speed trials he broke records and or nearly always finished top in his class......sure he would though when he called me a few weeks back he was stuffed with work !!! jungle drums eh ???.... foxy52