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Disaster (BL Mini)
Dickyboy - 2/7/12 at 10:05 AM

Just moving the distributor drive round and it fell back deep into the gearbox, Aaaaaaagh, cant see it with an inspection mirror, nothing with a strong magnet on a wand, so engine out again after just rebuilding, unless someone out there has a good idea, Please!!!!!!

owelly - 2/7/12 at 10:13 AM

Muh? Was there no camshaft to stop it? Or an engine block?

[Edited on 2/7/12 by owelly]

Macbeast - 2/7/12 at 11:45 AM

A mini ? get a couple of mates round, urn it upside down and shake

coyoteboy - 2/7/12 at 12:24 PM

This is what small children were invented for.

MikeRJ - 2/7/12 at 12:59 PM

A friend and I did exactly the same thing many years ago. We had been working through the night to get his engine rebuilt and back in the car so it was a soul destroying moment when there was an "Oh bugger" shortly followed by a "clink" as the distributor drive fell into the depths of the gearbox.

We spent a long time trying to get the drive out with magnets etc. and failed. I think we eventually managed to get it out by unbolting the speedo drive from the end of the gearbox and getting a magnet on a stick in from that end, but this was a good 20+ years ago.

quote:
Originally posted by owelly
Muh? Was there no camshaft to stop it? Or an engine block?


It's possible to put it in at an angle so the end of the drive misses the hole it should sit in and then the whole lot can fall into the gearbox. This is the point at which you wish you had screwed a long 5/16" unf bolt into the end of the drive...


[Edited on 2/7/12 by MikeRJ]

stevegough - 2/7/12 at 01:46 PM

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minitici - 2/7/12 at 02:01 PM

I did that with the Mini engine in the GTM
Afraid it was an engine out and split from gearbox job to retrieve the drive.....

DIY Si - 2/7/12 at 02:07 PM

That's exactly what the rocker studs are there to prevent! Screw one into the dizzy drive and it can't drop in. Unfortunately your choices are either spend ages faffing about with a magnet, which is unlikely to work, or bite the bullet and take it apart.

Dusty - 2/7/12 at 03:34 PM

I did the same 30 years ago at the end of a long hard day. Had refitted the engine/box and was just turning the crank to line up the slot in the dizzy drive. I watched the drive turn as TDC came round, didn't notice it was rising out of its hole and just before tdc there was a wobble and it disappeared into the bowels of the gearbox. I still remember the emotional crash which took one second to register that I was not about to complete the rebuild but had actually just booked the next day to do the whole job again.

AntonUK - 2/7/12 at 07:22 PM

been there done that... and best (easiest) option was to remove the engine and split... half day job is your prepared and know you way round the mini.

Also seen the damage done by not getting it out... Its a common cock up that people remove the dizzy for a mapped ignition conversion but forget the drive shaft... thankfully I've never done it myself...