Hi my 79 mini has got its mot due next month and im concerned it will fail on emmissions. It has a big blue smoke problem, by which i mean that after ideling for a few minutes it will leave a big cloud of smoke when revved up. Driving its fine (although obviously some is still produced). I know it to be a combination of a worn leaded head, worn valve seals and possible (but hopefully not) piston rings. I am now not going to be able to have the time or money to get it sorted before the mot date. Also one of the studs in the block has previosly pulled the thread out of the block so i dont want to take head of again until i know i can get block machined properly (so a tempory head is not an option). so i need advice, tips or reasurance of what can be done to reduce the smoke (even if there has to be some tempory bodgery done) or whether in reality it will cause a fail. I know the only real way if telling is to measure the actual gasses coming out but i do not have access to a gas meter so need past experiences act. Many thanks rob.
Getting A Smokey Mini Through Mot
#1
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Camshaft & Stage Two Head
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 05:53 PM
#2
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One Carb Or Two?
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 05:57 PM
http://www.halfords....tegoryId_255221
A proper temporary bodge if it works at all!
(And probably a bad idea)
Edited by Algordo1100, 02 May 2013 - 05:57 PM.
#3
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 06:02 PM
Ahh, this takes me back...
An age old bodge was to drain enough oil out of the sump to just stop the big ends from knocking, this reduces the smoke. To finish the job off you'd creosote the dip stick to make it look like the oil level was correct.
This was then quickly followed by a trip to the car auctions/autotrader!!
Memories!!
#4
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Camshaft & Stage Two Head
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 06:32 PM
i dont want to ruin the car! 
other than the smoke it runs great. just dont want to have it off the road with the summer coming up!
And if it comes to it i might just chuck a bottle of that stuff in and then give it an oil change straight after the test. Although would this stuff not cause other chemicals to come out as emmisions?
#5
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Up Into Fourth
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 07:46 PM
Use thicker oil just for the mot?
#6
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Mini Mad
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 09:38 PM
#7
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Camshaft & Stage Two Head
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 09:44 PM
If it only smokes after idle it's likely to he the valve stem seals. Bit of a radical suggestion after the.previous posts, but you could just change them....
Hi yes this is part of the issue. This and also I know the valve seats to be worn. The issue i have is though that i cannot afford the time or money to have the head replaced or refurbed for unleaded. Also the damaged thread in the block is unlikley to survive another tourqing from removing and replacing head. One thing that i am going to do is block the breather off on the carb and just for mot run the pipe to a tempory catch tank. Every little helps as they say :-/
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One Carb Or Two?
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 10:42 PM
#9
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Mine is purple, but I have been told that's normal
- Location: Sittingbourne, Kent
Posted 02 May 2013 - 10:49 PM
You can change valve stem oil seals without taking the head off (I think)
#10
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One Carb Or Two?
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Posted 02 May 2013 - 10:52 PM
You can change valve stem oil seals without taking the head off (I think)
Really? are you sure?
#11
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Mine is purple, but I have been told that's normal
- Location: Sittingbourne, Kent
Posted 02 May 2013 - 10:53 PM
You can change valve stem oil seals without taking the head off (I think)
Really? are you sure?
No, I'm not 100% sure
#12
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Mine is purple, but I have been told that's normal
- Location: Sittingbourne, Kent
Posted 02 May 2013 - 10:55 PM
You can change valve stem oil seals without taking the head off (I think)
Really? are you sure?
No, I'm not 100% sure
You can do it with the head on, but you will need a specialist tool for compressing the spring... like this one....
OHV Spring Compressor
and some method of preventing the valve from dissapearing into the combustion chamber....
There are two ways I've heard of doing this..
The first is with the use of a compressor and an adaptore which is stuck into the spark plug hole. Adaptor
The second is the use of a length of cord which is threaded into the bore through the sparkplug hole ( leaving a little tail to remove it !! ) and then rotating the crank to squash the cord up against the bottom of the valves...
Or
Remove the Head
#13
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Crazy About Mini's
Posted 02 May 2013 - 10:58 PM
That wynns oil treatment is worth a shot. The stuff is so thick its practically solid, so it'll thicken up the oil nicely.
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Posted 03 May 2013 - 01:42 AM
You could look at doping up the valve stems directly, possibly the wynns stuff, or engine build lube? You should also be able to compress valve springs directly, though rigging up a bit of leverage shouldn't be hard. Wind out all the adjuster screws to unload the rocker shaft so it can be slipped out and use the rope trick to keep the valves from dropping.
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