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metro 1300 breathers
locoboy - 15/3/06 at 04:15 PM

I have a 1300 metro engine in a mini at work and i have fitted little crank case breathers to the clutch case breather canister and the crank case breather outlet.

The clutch cover one is spewing smoke out but the crank case one is not showing any signs at all of anything escaping.

My question is .............should the clutch case breather be puffing out that volume of smoke? or is there something blocked/worn/boloxed!

[Edited on 15/3/06 by locoboy]

DIY Si - 15/3/06 at 05:33 PM

The only thing in there is the clutch. It's seperated from the rest of the engine, or it would get covered in oil. Is the smoke white or blue? Also, have you checked thew release bearing recently? these can lock up/sieze after a while, could be that rubbing, or oil on the plates maybe.

MikeRJ - 15/3/06 at 06:07 PM

The breather bolted to the clutch cover is internaly routed to the crank case. It shouldn't be blowing out that volume of smoke though, you'll probbaly find the other one isn't breathing hard because the oil trap has totaly clogged up (very common).

Time to do a compression test I think. Sounds like you may have worn rings or a damaged piston or bore.

DIY Si - 16/3/06 at 02:45 PM

Are ther many different clutch covers then? Mine just goes straight into the clutch part. Don't really see why it needs a breather in the first place.....

locoboy - 16/3/06 at 06:48 PM

The breather thats firing smoke out is the one right next to the clutch slave cylinder.

I whipped the head off today after a compression test ( No. 1 and 2 are well down on 3 and 4) and no head gasket issues as far as i can see.

How can i check to see if the bores are worn, apart from visual scoring etc

( dont tell me to do the oil down the spark plug hole thingy and then re test the compression cos i though of that after i took the head off!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DOH!!!!)

Can the clearance be checked with feeler blades etc?

MikeRJ - 17/3/06 at 11:14 AM

quote:
Originally posted by DIY Si
Are ther many different clutch covers then? Mine just goes straight into the clutch part. Don't really see why it needs a breather in the first place.....


No, just one type. The breather bolts directly onto the clutch/primary drive housing, but if you remove the cover and take a look you will see that the casting is made so that the breather is routed into the primary drive area (and hence the crankcase). Unless of course your casting has been smashed inside, but you would know all about that if that was case! Having a breather going directly into the clutch housing would be somewhat pointless.

It needs a breather to prevent pressure build up in the crankcase, and I suppose it was considered that the breather on the timing cover wasn't up to the job by itself.

locoboy, check the depth on any wear ridge at the top of the bore. This is were the pistons rings stop, so you get a relativey unworn area. If there is a minimal ridge and the bores look in good shape it's possible you have either sticking or broken rings.