2 replies to this topic

[keefr22]

Firstly apologies if this has been asked before, but I've tried various search permutations & can't find anything.

This is our first Mini, & the last classic engine I worked on (well, the last engine of any type really!) was in a Mk2 Escort (sorry!) 30 odd years ago.

Anyway, I was mooching about under the Clubbies bonnet this afternoon just trying to work out what's what, & noticed a 'sticky pad' on top of the oil filler cap. Removing this I found it was covering a small hole, which I assumed to be a breather. Looking at the filler caps on Minispares they all appear to be 'vented' or 'breather' types. So my question is - would there be a particular reason why the breather hole on ours has been covered up? Could it cause a problem? Should I remove the 'sticky pad thingy'? (sorry that's three possible daft questions!)

Cheers
Keith

PS it's a 1293 Steve Harris engine, with an unknown spec reworked head in a 79 Mini Clubman - if that that makes any difference.

[tiger99]

If the engine is well worn, and pressurising the crankcase due to piston ring leakage, or parts of the breather system are blocked, oil may tend to be ejected from the filler, which could account for it. Ordinarily, the pressure in the crankcase is slightly lower than atmospheric and air is drawn in through the vent.

Try running with it unblocked to see what happens, and if it does eject oil, dismantle and clean all the breather components and fit new hoses.

[keefr22]

Thanks for the reply, & apologies for my tardy response - for some reason I don't get e-mail notifications to threads I start?!

My plan was to try running it unblocked & see what happened, but it'll be a couple of weeks till we can get it started up again. Thanks for the ideas to try if she does start spitting out oil...!!

keith