Four head gaskets and two engines later... End of thread

[Lord Sterling]

It looks great Samba_Lad. Well saved. Lets hope it behaves itself this time.

[overrun]

Looks tidy, man.

 

Your front fog lights are on.

[KruJoe]

I've told you (I don't know how many times) flog it now while it works!

[Barry Cade]

On the risk of upsetting a few people...

 

I wish people would stop arsing around with these, and stop using those daft MLS gaskets and all the other associated bar room drivel that is spouted about the poor old K. Check the liner heights,adjust if neccesary,Do not skim the head, if its warped, replace it, replace the water pump with a quality one, flush out the cooling system, fit a elastomer PAYEN gasket, fill with proper OAT coolant and bleed PROPERLY.

 

Thank me in a hundred thousand miles.

 

All the above is null and void if the K is in a Freelander. Right engine, wrong vehicle.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I'm not sure you can adjust the liner heights can you?

[Station]

Yes I think so. They sealed at the bottom - but what to? Surely they can be resealed? Or is this all recycled internet rubbish?

I surely wouldn't take any advice from mgrover forum as it's mostly incorrect that's just been passed round assuming it's correct until it HGFs again and then blame the thermostat. I felt like I was going round in circles and nobody could answer WHY I needed to do this and that.

I got an 8000 mile engine, changed everything and it's been fine. I wouldn't touch a head that's had HGF as the two I used wouldn't seal and overheated.

That's the problem though - nobody knows how to prevent it really.

[Barry Cade]

Yes, just shims under the bottom, then reseal with hylomar.

 

 

 

http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show/62/1244/k-series-liner-shims/

 

 

 

If your head has damage at the fire ring, then throw it away. Skimming is never successful unless its 0.000001 etc. Skimming cuts away at the hardening, then the liners will just hammer into the gasket and head, then it'll be rebuild no2 and so on.

[Station]

I'm trying to think of all the 'cures' for this engine?

 

Steel head locators

MLS head gasket

Two way thermostat

Coolant level warning sensor

[CortinaDave]

It's still a cool little car and you're still better off than if you'd been running something newish with the monthly payments and stratospheric depreciation.

 

Hopefully now you can enjoy a good long period of hassle free motoring which will more than pay back your investment

[Mr_Bo11ox]

To fit those shims you've got to take the liners right out which means undoing all the big ends, removing pistons, crsnkshft out and all the rest of it. Well you might get away without the crank. Certainly the liner height is critical but if you open up the engine after an 'HGF' and the liner heights are out, you're looking at an engine rebuild or finding another lump.

[stuboy]

after 2 head gaskets and 2nd engine water pumped failed i dumped my car...

 

 

you must love it to keep throwing money at it

[Barry Cade]

To fit those shims you've got to take the liners right out which means undoing all the big ends, removing pistons, crsnkshft out and all the rest of it. Well you might get away without the crank. Certainly the liner height is critical but if you open up the engine after an 'HGF' and the liner heights are out, you're looking at an engine rebuild or finding another lump.

Why? They just pull out, then drop in from the top with some goo. You can do it with pistons in place.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

How do you compress the piston rings when you want to put the liners back in then?

[SambaS]

Today the EML came on

[overrun]

That's bad craic, SambaS! Any idea why?

 

If it isn't illuminated when you next fire it up, I would get it up sold, sharp. TBH, even if it is, get shot!

[SambaS]

Going to plug it in tomorrow when I got pay more of the bill.

 

Also it is only getting 29MPG

 

Over last 2 years it averaged 43MPG.

 

In the 200 miles before it died 2 months ago even with lack of compression it managed 35MPG.

[Barry Cade]

How do you compress the piston rings when you want to put the liners back in then?

Same as you do with a motorbike, fingers, one ring at a time (ooh er) or even use a big jubilee clip.

[Station]

Lambda sensor?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Blimey. I guess that’s not impossible, but seeing as the pistons are going to be flapping about inside the block (I’m not even sure there’ll be enough room to get a jubilee clip in, never mind tighten it) and you can’t turn the crank for fear of upsetting the main bearings I wouldn’t fancy it! You are defo gonna end up with a busted piston ring or two surely. Have you managed to do it? Fair play if so.

[mouseflakes]

I think that when TiffX19 says it can be done with the pistons in place - that might mean with them already in the liners, rather than already attached to the crank? But I might be completely wide of the mark.

[SambaS]

Bare with me on this...

 

Well I had a scare yesterday.

 

I had in my head it will do 350 miles to a tank. The gauge is wrong, full reads as 3/4.

 

I always assumed empty meant 1/4.

 

Since getting it back the MPG averages about 30... I can only assume the times I managed to fill in fuelly.com before, were after a motorway run as it was getting 40MPG consistently. I never drove it carefully economy wise. Ever.

 

So I'm not so happy now with it's economy.

 

Yesterday it the engine management light came on again.

 

50 miles later (200 miles into a full tank) it started loosing power, my heart sank.

 

I managed to complete my run around RAF being very very careful, in the heaviest rain I've ever seen in England.

 

Once on the way back I opened it up and it made it to 80mph then started to loose speed and die.

 

This is exactly the symptom of both HGF in the past.

 

I got to the petrol station and stopped, checked the temp of the top and bottom hose, checked the coolant hadn't disappeared, all seemed okay then it died.

 

I though I'd stick a tenner of petrol in just in case it was fuel (I have been driving quite enthusiastically this last full tank).

 

The fuel pump sounded different and it fired on 3, then drove and seemed okay.

 

So it looks like it had ran out of petrol but I am not 100% sure, because I was unable to fill the tank up to ascertain how much (if any) was left in.

 

The tank is 45 litres. (Was) it has a big dent so holds 42 litres.

 

I assumed it was empty and filled in fuelly.com which told me (if it was empty and I'll never know) that the car had done sub 24.7 MPG over the full tank, which had motorway and local road driving, plus about 20 miles of quite fun fast road driving.

 

The garage said the previous EML was nothing to worry about and to bring it back if it comes on again.

 

So I will take it in tomorrow, but the running out of fuel from experience will throw the EML computer into read out chaos so we may never know what it came on for earlier in the day.

 

What do you reckon guys, (if anyone made sense of my ramblings).

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

When you work out your mpg how are you doing it? The only accurate way to do it is by filling the tank, driving round then filling it again and working it out off the fuel required to brim it. if you are putting in £10 and Ã‚£20 here and there (and your fuel gauge is dodgy) you'll never get anything like an accurate mpg number.

 

I would say it would be very difficult to get 25mpg out of one of these without there being something obvioulsy wrong with it (bad starting, running, smells etc) so i think your mpg figures are dodgy.

[SambaS]

I only work out my MPG by brimming it. I was able to work it out yesterday on the assumption I had used all the petrol, then filled fuelly in as if I had brimmed it.

[SambaS]

So on two occasions while travelling at 90-100mph (on Croft)* the MG died in the same fashion as per both head gasket failures, and put the fear of god into me. However on slowing down it picked back up again and ran fine.

 

Took it back to garage, garage said sounds like fuel starvation, so I've ordered a new petrol filter and I will report back.

 

I did say I had lost 25-30MPH from the top end and 5th just has no power band what-so-ever even changing from 5000rpm in 4th.

 

In other news I fitted a new boot lock today from a scrapper and put my nice air filter back on so it has a nice throaty roar to it. I would have had the central locking servo fitted too but that would have meant changing part of the loom in the boot and I couldn't see where, if anywhere it disconnected after running into the roof.

[SambaS]

 

[mat_the_cat]

That looks fun - when are you off?

[HMC]

GREAT! I had been planning a Similar route this year for a tour in teh jag but with one thing and another its not going to happen. I did overhaul the brakes and upgrade the cooling system in anticipation of the alpine passes. You don't fancy the extra leg the route napoleon to the take in the French Riviera then?

[Barry Cade]

Very similar route to the MGF tour last year. Have fun!

[KruJoe]

Is that the same motor Edd? Looks crackin!

Last time I saw it, it was prime frag fodder:

 

 

We haven't seen much of you lately, have you spent the past few weeks polishing it?

[SambaS]

Yep same car and I've not even polished it yet, just went up Penn Hill to watch sunset... best time for a photos shooting!

 

Planning to go in July, infact I'm getting pressure from boss to confirm the dates. Hull to Rotterdam ferry is £150 quids, petrol for full trip IRO £500, we've a tent some decent sleeping bags to buy, plan about £200 per week spending money, beans for dinner and brews on a stove type thing. 

 

That's the master plan so far there's 2 of us going, if I bin it on the Nurburgring we'll be doing 3 countries! If we run out of cash sooner than expected we wont be doing all ten, and if I get sick of driving etc.... just going with the flow really, I'm told Germany is pretty terrible to drive through in July by my Swiss stepdad, and we've French tolls to consider, also 60 Swiss Francs to pay on border to use Swiss motorways etc.