Our Solar Red TF160

You can talk about anything here. You'll also find a section with member posted photos of our events here.

Moderator: Committee Members

Post Reply
ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Thu May 22, 2014 8:26 pm

So I thought I'd make a thread about our TF.

It all started here....
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=17365

Moving on, I did an MGoT Taster Day at North Weald.
That was a real hoot!
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17701

We then decided it would be a good idea to:
Get a full service done
Change the timing belts, tensioner, waterpump.
Resolve the oil leak, reported as being camshaft oil seals
Fit stainless underfloor heater pipes

So we enlisted the help of MG/Rover Mobile Mechanics in Derby.
Dan and James dropped in and carried out all the work and also sorted Ken's Timing belts, tensioner, waterpump with a full service too.

What thoroughly decent guys Dan and James are!
Me and the Mrs. did a small test to see if they were real mechanics and not just laptop junkies....
Come lunch time, Mrs. made sandwiches....

The test was would they wash their hands of all the gunk first or just get straight down to business...






Well we are extreeeeeemely happy to report that NO they DID NOT wash their hands and sandwiches were consumed complete with oil, anti-freeze and god knows what else.
What luck that we had clearly chosen a proper garage to do the work and we can now relax in the knowledge that the jobs they did were all done properly :lol: :lol:
Couple of pics from the day...
Attachments
Dan's red van, James' white one.<br />Our red TF and Ken's VVC
Dan's red van, James' white one.
Our red TF and Ken's VVC
Nice and clean in here...
Nice and clean in here...
New tensioner, note the oil slick!
New tensioner, note the oil slick!

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Thu May 22, 2014 8:29 pm

The oil leak was quite severe and not the camshaft seals as reported previously.
It was a leak from the VVC mechanism.
This meant partial lowering of the engine for loosening, cleaning and automotive siliconing of the plates.
Looks like the leak has stopped but will be sometime until we can get all the engine clean again!

Oh, we were losing about 0.5 litres of oil over a few weeks!
Only when driving, nothing when stationary, only what had already leaked.

User avatar
Rob Bell
Committee Member
Posts: 14422
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:36 pm
MGF Register Region: South East
Model of Car: MGF 1.8i + MGF Shed!

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by Rob Bell » Tue May 27, 2014 5:34 pm

I like the vans - I think they're Rover 25 Vans rather than MG ZR Expresses?

Where was the oil coming out Colin - from the VVC actuator? Glad to hear that you've got a cure :)

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Wed Jun 11, 2014 11:57 pm

Hi Rob, yes I think they were 25's but with lots of MG goodies bolted on..

It was the VVC actuator or Hydraulic Control Unit as some call it, causing the leak.
Looks like it's started leaking again so I guess silicone is only a temp fix.
Have bought the full 'O' ring kit from Rimmers so will try a DIY permanent fix.

Having searched high and low on the net the only real reference to these being changed before is here.
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=384302
Which suggests it is straight forward

My concern is once the actuator is removed that something will go out of alignment with respect to the VVC mechs.
Or can it just be removed, repaired and replaced without undue concern?
Has anyone got experience of doing this?

User avatar
Rob Bell
Committee Member
Posts: 14422
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:36 pm
MGF Register Region: South East
Model of Car: MGF 1.8i + MGF Shed!

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by Rob Bell » Thu Jun 12, 2014 1:05 pm

That info should be in the K-series service manual Colin - drop me a PM if you need help.

From what I've read, the VVC cams need to be in alignment before re-fitting the Hydraulic Control Unit, with the piston pushed fully in.

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:26 pm

Bit of an update for this now...
Hope this next part helps others as there is so little info I found on the net and the workshop manual was OK but not 100% right in my case.

Firstly, I lined up the camshafts on the timing marks as used when changing the belts.
Disconnected the two breather pipes and took off the cam cover.
Dropped the engine on the O/S using a trolley jack to control the drop of about 100mm.
Disconnected the three plugs from the VVC actuator.
Undid the the 10mm bolts holding the actuator to the head.
Carefully removed VVC Actuator housing and baseplate, leaving the piston rack in situ (removed piston top to allow baseplate to clear).

The manual suggests the complete actuator can be removed but I found the piston rack was held firmly in place and would not shift either up or down.

Cleaned off the liquid gasket, prized out the old rubber O-rings from the baseplate (boy that rubber was seriously hard and no surprise it could have been causing the problem).
Replaced the O-rings and also there is a piston oil seal which needed changing as that was rock hard too, took that out of the baseplate with a Dremel.
Swapped the piston top and allen screw over as a new one is supplied it the kit.
Had to remove the piston top and reuse the old one as the new seal was so tight I couldn't get the actuator housing back over it, even when swamped with engine oil.
Carefully reassembled everything and bolted the engine back in place.

Also, fitted some Magnecor leads, (I chose the Red leads as they were only a couple of quid more than the blue).
They are slightly too large to follow the normal channels but easily fit.

Finished off the driveshaft gaiter situation....
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17816#p138811

Then drained the coolant and flushed out the fairly liquid/dishwasher tablet concoction as there was a fair bit of gunk needing shifting which the Mobile Mechs had picked up on.
Replaced with 5L of oat and topped with water.

Part fitted a B&G servo bracket, still need to drill the holes and clamp up from inside.

Went for a little spin to check all is good. Not fitted the engine cover, alternator cover etc.

Came back and found there is still a poxy oil leak!!!
I'd cleaned the engine as best I could previously but it was too dark to see what the cause is.
It's not the sump plug, cam cover, cam oils seals or VVC actuator.
There doesn't appear to be any oil running down from the top of the engine as before but cannot be 100% at this stage.
Fresh oil is dripping from the lowest point of two pipes to the right of the sump plug (near what could be the crank sensor?)

So, two oil leaks maybe?
The VVC actuator was certainly one of them :sf:

Had to call it a day as too dark and started raining.
Stay tuned :thumbsu:
Attachments
2014-06-22 21.25.49.jpg

purplebargeken
Posts: 734
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 9:01 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: MGF VVC
Location: North London

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by purplebargeken » Fri Jun 27, 2014 9:29 pm

Bloody impressive work mate.

The HT leads do look a bit classy :thumbsu:

Oil leak!!!! At least the coating of dead dinosaurs will stop anything from rusting. You will get it sorted mate. If you need any ham-fisted assistance....
1965 Volvo 'Amazon', TR7 powered Triumph Toledo, Triumph 1500 FWD and a modern 1.6 Beetle. My name is Ken and I am a caraholic. There is no cure. Thankfully!

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:07 pm

Cheers Ken.
The leads are probably total overkill on an otherwise standard engine!

Went to the local Land Rover dealer and ordered in a few bits for the engine, namely all the bolts which were missing from the cam belt cover and HT lead cover. They were missing when I bought the car.
On the off chance, got the gaskets for dipstick tube and oil filter adapter too.
Really hoping to find the source of this oil leak...

Finished off the B&G brake bracket instal, noticeable difference just moving the car across the driveway.
Unfortunately the glove box light switch disintegrated when removing the glove box so another job added to the list.

Was going to just top up the gearbox oil but decided to do drain and refill.
Had only bought a litre of MTF94 so need to grab some more to finish the job.
Going back up to the factors won't be an issue, especially if the girl that served me last time is there again ;)

Lots of jobs half done at the moment but all heading in the right direction.

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:51 pm

Car is back on the road this evening.

With new gearbox oil it is actually a lot easier to change gear than before.
The lever was always needing a little something in the smoothness department so I'd greased the linkages already with a minor improvement but the oil change has made the biggest difference.
I used Carlube branded MTF-94, readily available and on display in the local Motor Parts Direct.
PartCo/Unipart had some GL4 80-90 stuff listed as correct for the TF and had never heard of MTF94 so I turned my back on that :thumbsd:

Brakes are vastly better with the B&G servo bracket although I can now be reasonably sure they at least a bleed or probably a fluid change.
I'll do that when I get some more cash and probably go to braided hoses too.

Plenty of degreasant and lots of wiping, hosing and scrubbing and......
2nd oil leak is now found and confirmed as leaking from the inner part of the oil pressure sensor, would you believe it!
So, at idle about 1 drip per minute, who knows how much at driving speeds...
Rimmers list two types, either tapered or parallel.
My engine code is 16K4KN2756.... so I'll go for parallel.

New glovebox switch is on its way too.
So is a 30mm hose clip to replace a weak spring clip.
An annoying dribbley leak has started from the coolant hose plastic adaptor thingy (where a 30mm hose joins to a thin hose going to the top part of the header tank).
I think too much crud has been removed from the cooling system as it didn't leak before :lol:

So next up is sort these silly issues then 4-wheel alignment and new rubber.
Still undecided on Falken 914's or Toyo's.
I might go for the Toyos on these scruffy rims and get Falkens if I splash out on some fancy shadow chrome ones....

Is there a cure for all this commitment?
Attachments
Drip.....drip.....drip.....
Drip.....drip.....drip.....
From above... Don't touch that spinning disc or belt!
From above... Don't touch that spinning disc or belt!

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:09 pm

Got all the bits and got stuck in to the final stages...

Glovebox switch done.
Fitted LED bulbs for footwell lighting.
Changed the oil pressure switch and fitted a better hose clip on a coolant pipe.
Looks like we are now leak free!!

Got 4-Wheel alignment done on Friday evening.
Four new Toyo's fitted yesterday, what a difference!
Now have a 16" Spare too.

So that's all the essential works done and it's enjoy enjoy enjoy time!!
Sneaky session at North Weald this Friday is next.

Our little lad wanted to help out so he now knows how to check neutral and start the engine.
Also learned 'righty tighty, lefty loosey' which he found hilarious.

He has assured me he wants to learn to drive in the MG and then buy his own one, coloured gold.

Told him he better start saving.....
Attachments
image.jpg
image.jpg

User avatar
stuart
Posts: 823
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:43 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by stuart » Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:42 pm

Cool mate! Glad it's all sorted- time to enjoy driving it now :thumbsu:
Stuart

'02 TF 160 - an Original MG Rover Group Press Car...and still lookin' sharp!

Bilstein Shocks, Z&F Remap, B&G Coolant Alarm, Glass Rear Screen, Braided Hoses, Bling-free at the moment...but that'll probably change

purplebargeken
Posts: 734
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 9:01 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: MGF VVC
Location: North London

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by purplebargeken » Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:53 pm

Lots of driving enjoyment had today, eh Colin. :D
1965 Volvo 'Amazon', TR7 powered Triumph Toledo, Triumph 1500 FWD and a modern 1.6 Beetle. My name is Ken and I am a caraholic. There is no cure. Thankfully!

ColinP
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:48 pm
MGF Register Region: Hertfordshire
Model of Car: TF160 Solar Red

Re: Our Solar Red TF160

Post by ColinP » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:36 am

Cheers Stu, yep enjoyment all the way now.

Ken, what a blast! :D :D

Not sure if you saw this.....
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8xrd6moskprb ... 2LjirSmJ5a
:twisted:

Post Reply