MGF Update.

Burnerman · 10 Jun 2011

A curious vehicle, and my experiences with them are virginal.
It took me ages to open the front bonnet. How was I to know that the pull handle was in the engine bay, at the back?

Refilling the engine oil is fun. There's a small reservoir in the engine bay, which allows oil to fill the sump down the dipstick hole

I couldn't get the wheels off, because the wheel nut cover extractor isn't there......£12 from Rimmers.

There's not really any handbrake, but its got 12 months test

It has a misfire when you accellerate hard, and there's a slight smell of coolant......
I have a feeling in my water that I'm going to get quite aquainted with this car

but thanks to Mursal's help I could at least access the engine!
John

millerman · 11 Jun 2011

John, open the rear engine cover and the pull handle for the front is on the right hand side looking rear to front .................. if i remember rightly.

We had a couple of these in at our workshop for bodywork, cant say i like 'em though!

First time i saw one i was worried were all the water went as there is a load of slots in the engine cover as you've no doupt already seen.
Anyway, good luck with it fella 'cause i think you're gonna need it.

Mursal · 11 Jun 2011

Great it was of some help to you John.

I was thinking can you fallout with the customer at the beginning, save allot of hassle, instead of waiting to the end.

Was it you that sat beside Cheryl as a judge on the X Factor in a previous life? Now its pay back.

Burnerman · 11 Jun 2011

Mursal said:
Great it was of some help to you John.

I was thinking can you fallout with the customer at the beginning, save allot of hassle, instead of waiting to the end.

Was it you that sat beside Cheryl as a judge on the X Factor in a previous life? Now its pay back.

Brilliant

Brightened up my evening no end

I've let the punter know my feelings about this one - he chose it because it was £50 cheaper than a MX5 of the same vintage. I know which I'd have but I dislike them both!
John

jetex · 11 Jun 2011

Oh dear, it'll all end in tears !!. I think you're already thinking about a head gasket for this one ?.

Burnerman · 12 Jun 2011

I told the punter before I started that this would be a pay-as-you-go project, and that if there was head gasket issues then it wasn't for me.
I've done 3 K series head gaskets - one of which was simply incurable, at least by me. The story was one of porous heads allowing air pockets or something? Anyway with all the head gasket and dowel mods etc I just don't need problems like that!
Curiously though, the original small capacity K series seemed ok really - its just since it was overbored that issues seem to arise. This car is a 1.8 incidentally.
Sad to say looking at the build and parts quality etc its the same old British Leyland rubbish all round.
John

Mursal · 12 Jun 2011

My Niece got a 214 to learn how to drive. The head gasket was gone so she got it for taking away.

That was around last June, it got at least 3 gaskets and one cylinder head in that period of time.

As it was for ourselves no expense and or time was spared.

Sorry, She was my niece

DJM · 20 Jun 2011

K series are pretty rugged if treated right. The problem really starts when the low water volume in the engine drops and the alloy head overheats. If it goes soft then mostly it's scrap, but if not too far then peening the firing rings, ensuring the liners are set at the right height and an MLS gasket goes a long way to sorting it.

Whilst the move from damp to wet liners at the time of the capacity expansion did coincide with an increase in HGF, it was not the only reason. Stupid decisions such as plastic dowels, poor cooling and in the Freelander vibration issues all made the problem worse than it neede to be.

The MGF is a far far better car than the MX5.

Don't refil the oil through the top up funnel by the dipstick, you'll be there for hours. take the engine cover off and fill there.

Certainly if you have a smell of coolant it sounds like there are issues, but before the usual (wrong) call of HGF goes up, check the coolant system whihch is long and tortuous. In particular check the under floor coolant pipes which rust to dust from the inside and whilst they make look superficially OK often leak. The water pump is another regular wear item, as is the heater matrix - check for damp carpet on the passenger side.

If you replace the coolant, remember there ar 3 bleed points on the MGF and it's imperative all are checked withthe heater on full hot. if teh jiggle valves have been lost over the years, then it will probably need a run and a second bleed.

If I am teaching granny to suck eggs, then sorry i'll shut up, but if I can help...

Burnerman · 21 Jun 2011

A very interesting post from a genuine enthusiast - thanks for that!

I must say, I did find the MG performance quite crisp on a test drive.
I'm not criticising the make just for the hell of it - it doesn't make any difference to me what people drive, but I didn't find the build quality good although corrosion wasn't too bad.
With all of the engine issues that have been reported, its always been a mystery to me why Lotus use this engine in the Elise and Exige....it can't have done a lot for their reputation!
They vehicle may return for attention to its poor handbrake, but the owner has since moved a few miles away. We'll see......!
Thanks again for the post back.
John

DJM · 21 Jun 2011

No problem.

The Lotus suffered less from the HGF issue than the MG due to the location of the engine and different cooling system route. The Lotus also being that much more expensive and targeted more at spirited road/track car tends not to get used as a daily drive and is generally better maintained.

The K series was miles ahead of it's time when first introduced, but a low water content and all alloy tends toward bigger failings if the coolant is allowed to run dry - when compared to a lump of iron in other cars. Add in the capacity expansion the really crap quality head gasket, plastic dowels, badly cast waterways, long a difficult cooling runs in mild steel in a mid engine car, and suddenly it can look fragile. Well maintained and all the proper coolant mixtures etc there are engines still happily driving on their original HG with 150k on the clock. But most are poorly maintained and will suffer for it.

That said there are specialist who will change the HG for around £350 and do a service at the same time, so it's not necessarily prohibitive to run an old MGF/TF.

But you are right, the BMW years of neglect and the Phoenix cost cutting Project Drive did make quality a variable factor - which is a shame as the boys in Longbridge could do so much better with the right backing.