Head Gasket Repair

[deedan]

Good evening! I am sitting here, head in hands. A fortnight ago I became the proud owner of a 2000my MGF and in the last two weeks it has wormed its way into the affections of not only me but also my wife and child (the child is 34, blond and drives like that Hamilton bloke). BUT today, on my way to the MGF centre, I noticed the heater gauge needle climb into the red and before I could pull over there was a very loud bang behind my right shoulder and the world momentarily disappeared in a cloud of steam. On inspection I found the Coolant Bottle had burst! The nice RAC man who came to my rescue has diagnosed Head Gasket Failure. I appears that this is one of the "joys" of owning an MGF, it's the black cloud that comes with every silver lining. I have a desperate need to get my little love repaired quickly (already I'm in withdrawl) I live on the east side of Birmingham. Could anyone recommend a reputable, reliable, knowledgeable mechanic who could help.

[Geoff.F]

This is the first time that we have heard of a 'Coolant Bottle Failure'. This does not normally happen with a HGF.
Give it a quick turn on the starter to ensure that it id mechanically OK,
I would suggest that you check the oil for 'Mayo' viz. a mayonaize caused by water in the oil. If it is clean, then rebuild with a new bottle ( I have a spare in the garage) with a new pressure cap, If it starts, then bleed the system and look for leaks.
It could be a coolant cap failure causing a high pressure and hence bottle failure.
Geoff F

[Keith Williams]

beat me to it Geoff

Welcome to the MG world, but no good hearing your news. Real bad luck there having problems so soon after buying your car. I assume you bought private so there is no warrenty on the car?

HGF is not guarenteed to happen but does seem to happen more than it should on a modern car. I have had 2 but at 35,000 & 70,000+. Both occasions had coolant loss but nothing as drastic as yours. When my engine blew, steam every where, but that was not HGF & I hope you have not the same probelm as I had.

Never heard of a HGF that blew the coolant bottle at the same time. Loosing all fluid is not good but you may find it was not the gasket that gave.

Even though I was bought up in Birmingham can't help you out for a good mechanic / garage as I left a while ago. Others from Birmingham will be along soon to help you, I am sure. The MGF Centre may be able to help you out if you can get the car to them.

[petevick]

Hi deedan.

Thats pretty weird Like Geoff and Keith, I don't think its hgf....at the moment. Look here -> http://www.mgf-tf-central.co.uk/links-service.htm for garages in the Midlands, they are all places owners have recommended, one or two around Brum, I've just had my hgf done at KLN Services, but he is probably too far for you. If your stuck, I also have a none level sensor coolant bottle in my garage.

[Stuart Dunn]

Hi Dedan,

Im sorry to hear about your break down, its sound somewhat more exciting than some of the others I've heard of though.
I noticed you said you were on your way to the MG centre? Are you around the wolverhampton area? If so I'd be more than willing to help you repair your head gasket at home if you wish, I've just done mine, or if you prefer I can recommend you to a good friend of mine who'd be more than happy to help. There's one way of looking at it if you do it yourself with a few friends you know whats come off and whats going back on, not saying that anyone here would do anything underhand and most MG specialists like the MGF centre are the best at what they do, thought I'd mention it anyway.

[deedan]

Thanks to everybody who took the time and trouble to reply. There is a second chapter to my tale of woe.......are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin......after being brought home cradled in the arms of the RAC I set about finding a MG specialist to check over my poor dear. I discovered SAS Autos, in Yardley, Birmingham. Tom replaced the bottle and cap, filled and bled, vented and refilled all with loving care and following a session on the life support monitor we took once more to the highways. That was on the Tuesday..........guess what happened on Wednesday.....yep spot on! the head gasket blew, with a phut and a gargle we came to a halt. The nice RAC man, on the way back to see Tom, could not hide his delight as he explained to me every conceivable fault you could find on the MGF, he even laid the demise of Rover on it's engine. At this moment in time I was undecided as to whether to commit hari-kari or murder. Anyway Tom took my broken toy from me and for a very reasonable fee restored it to it's former glory. Happy ending well....... I know that with my luck something is bound to break sometime but last week end my wife and I drove across country down to Carmarthen via Evesham, Gloucester, Abervagenny and Neath and returned on Sunday via the Eland Valley. All this with the top down, we had the proper MG experience. My little car drove like a dream without one hic-cup, murmur or loss of water. So all's well that ends well. The moral ...............don't listen to the RAC, we're all entitled to our little mgfoibles!
PS if you live on the east side of the city and your MG needs a friend take it along to SAS Autos (the links on the site) Tom and his men are all ex-Rover and are MG experts.

[petevick]

very pleased your sorted I've had SAS Auto's linked on my web site for a while now.

[markisgoing]

hi i have an mgf which has mayo on dipstick car has ot ever gone upinto red so it has not overheated what is the chance of having a cracked head

[Keith Williams]

hi i have an mgf which has mayo on dipstick car has ot ever gone upinto red so it has not overheated what is the chance of having a cracked head

Mayo on the dipstick does not mean a cracked head. It depends upon how much mayo you have on the dipstick and how much you use the car. If you are not doing many miles, it could just be condensation that is not been burnt off due to the oil not getting hot enough on short trips. Are you loosing coolant? That will tell you more if the head gasket has gone.

[MartinRobbins]

I know exactly how you feel, I had not long had my MGF and the head gasket went, now I have just replaced the pipes underneath and the cat.
My mechanic was bringing it back to me tonight got within half a mile of home and a pipe blew filling the cockpit full of smoke, not major I know but I just want my car back, and my wallet is taking a bashing.

[Softly~Softly]

http://www.tech-speed.co.uk/

Based in Leamington, can highly recommend ..

[Reece]

ive used this steelseal and it did the job you get the money back if it doesnt work but saved me a couple quid just make sure you follow the instructions though i didnt let it cool down enough first time round

[colintf]

http://www.tech-speed.co.uk/

Based in Leamington, can highly recommend ..

Techspeed would also be my suggestion

[Mike H]

Interested to hear re the coolant bottle failure - we had one in SWMGF around 15 months ago:

Pic is here:

clicky clicky

(Not mine I hasten to add)

[Keith Williams]

This thread has been resurrected from some time ago, so Mike do not expect any further responses about the tank blowing

ive used this steelseal and it did the job you get the money back if it doesnt work but saved me a couple quid just make sure you follow the instructions though i didnt let it cool down enough first time round

The last thing you should use on a MGF/TF is something like Steelseal. It may well fix the issue in the short term but the mechanic who eventually fixes the problem correctly will not thank you for clogging up the small cooling path ways in the engine. Fix the problem, don't just mask the problem

[Mike H]

This thread has been resurrected from some time ago, so Mike do not expect any further responses about the tank blowing

Sorry Keith - Hadn't picked up on that but as a result I've taken the pic out and just left the link in my post above.