Calling all experts... urgent advice required.. OMG(F)

[Rob Bell]

That's the classic "have you tried switching it off and on again" IT solution isn't it?

[peakslad]

Unbelievable..... !!!

For any of you great owners who have been following my tragic breakdown and subsequent AA debacle , this is the latest news.

As you may remember I took it to a garage recommended by my father, the owner is a guy who has worked as a mechanic for 40 odd years.
He took the car in and was surprised to hear that the AA had not gone through a few tests to try and determine what the issue was...

I got a call yesterday to say he had tried a few tests and was not convinced it was HGF and didn't want to start the work until he was absolutely sure. He has since ran a few tests and took the car out for a good run (including going a ton... the bugger! ha) When he stopped the car and rested it he said there was no steam but the bubbling in the coolant expansion bottle was continuing. Now I may have got this slightly confused so excuse me but he has said the water bottle and thread are worn and will not let the cap tighten. He is now not suspecting HGF.

As a result he rang some Rover suppliers and tried to get hold of an expansion bottle , they have quoted him £35. Is this a fair price or can I get one cheaper elsewhere, he thinks it's rather steep.

Thanks once again folks.....

[peakslad]

Unbelievable..... !!!

For any of you great owners who have been following my tragic breakdown and subsequent AA debacle , this is the latest news.

As you may remember I took it to a garage recommended by my father, the owner is a guy who has worked as a mechanic for 40 odd years.
He took the car in and was surprised to hear that the AA had not gone through a few tests to try and determine what the issue was...

I got a call yesterday to say he had tried a few tests and was not convinced it was HGF and didn't want to start the work until he was absolutely sure. He has since ran a few tests and took the car out for a good run (including going a ton... the bugger! ha) When he stopped the car and rested it he said there was no steam but the bubbling in the coolant expansion bottle was continuing. Now I may have got this slightly confused so excuse me but he has said the water bottle and thread are worn and will not let the cap tighten. He is now not suspecting HGF.

As a result he rang some Rover suppliers and tried to get hold of an expansion bottle , they have quoted him £35. Is this a fair price or can I get one cheaper elsewhere, he thinks it's rather steep.

Thanks once again folks.....

[talkingcars]

Always best to keep to one thread with the same issue - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16588
And not to post the same question in two threads

Caps are known to fail, personally I treat them as a service item.
£35 is very steep for a cap, Rimmers charge about a sixth of that.
Always worth buying a genuine one, they are only a little more than pattern ones.

[talkingcars]

Keen for an answer?
Three posts?

Caps are known to fail, personally I treat them as a service item.
£35 is very steep for a cap, Rimmers charge about a sixth of that.
Always worth buying a genuine one, they are only a little more than pattern ones.

[peakslad]

Point taken Talking....

However, I thought I would expand my base to try and see if I can get hold of one within the next 48 hours... and, incidentally, it's the bottle I need not the cap.

Thank you.

[talkingcars]

Replying in the other thread.

[peakslad]

Bloody hell, how has that posted 3 times!!!!! I am going to try n delete now

[talkingcars]

Sorry misread the messages - £35 for a bottle seems reasonable - make sure that they fit one with an alarm if that is what you have, possibly worth fitting one even if you haven't already, just worry about the wiring later.

[peakslad]

An alarm on the bottle ???? I am baffled? x

ps... how the frick do I delete those messages above ....

[Keith Williams]

An alarm on the bottle ???? I am baffled? x

ps... how the frick do I delete those messages above ....

Later models have a low level alarm in the coolant bottle which lets you know if you have a loss of coolant hopefully before you do any major damage.

I have deleted your extra posts. You should be able to do it yourself by using the cross [x] along side the edit button on the right side your post.

[peakslad]

Thank you Keith...

I just bought a coolant bottle from ebay for tenner.

[Neil Rushton]

If you don't want to fit one with the alarm built in like the Brown & Gammons one there is a secondhand one on ebay for £20 looks worth a try to eliminate the bottle is the problem?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MGF-or-MG-TF- ... 233350ecac

[Rob Bell]

Not everything that boils is a head gasket failure - which was the point I made on the other thread. You've got an honest, good mechanic there!

The expansion bottle actually costs more than that (£54 rather than the £35 you've been quoted) from X-Part Rimmers, so yes, a reasonable price I'd say. The threads don't usually wear on the bottle though - and usually a replacement cap (usually around a tenner) is sufficient to get a good seal. But if a replacement tank is needed, you could consider second hand.

I'd also advise buying a coolant level alarm, which will notify you early before all the coolant disappears!

Good luck!

[Rob Bell]

Ah, replied to the other thread - I'll merge the two to keep this discussion together

[robbie1003]

I hope its just the expansion bottle, obviously it all depends on how hot the block and head got that determine if the head gasket goes. People seem to forget that there are items on a engine that are made to give out before something else takes out a major component, big end shells and the head gasket are two components made to be sacrificed if problems occur.
most head gasket failiures are at the cost of such like coolant loss, air buildup or pressure loss but being the nature of the f and tf system its more prone to quick overheats. Precautions to stop the loss of coolant is important, only the other day I noticed a small damp patch on garage floor,tasted it(not advisable but im a professional ) and it was coolant from one of the newly fitted stainless coolant pipe joints to front rad hoses, the poop clips were then replaced by jubilee ones, this small thing could have developed and is a example of us lot needing eyes in our bottoms (or back of our heads to see the coolant bottle) to avoid such things. Again your mechanic sounds a gooden,hope it goes well.

[Reckless Rat]

It all depends on whether you're prepared to spend a few quid to help guarantee the well-being of your car. A second hand header tank will solve your problem, but probably only temporarily. The majority of HGF problems have been caused by delayed identification of coolant loss, resulting in engine overheating and failure of the head gasket. In many cases this could have been alleviated by early detection, and for that reason I advocate the instaollation of a low level coolant alarm - it has saved my engine twice already. The location of the engine behind the driver means that often a leaking or split hose isn't noticed by the driver until it's too late. Serious overheating can cause the cylinder liners to drop and or softening of the light alloy. Either means that the engine is as much use as a chocolate fireguard and has to be scrapped.

So, by all means fit your Ebay header tank, but remember that for a few (actually several) quid more you could buy an after market new item from B&G with the low level alarm & wiring loom. A blown HG will cost you at least £150 to rectify and that's not counting time & labour...

And, of course we're all assuming that the root of your problem is the header tank.

I would lake sure that the coolant system is properly bled before you venture too far.

[talkingcars]

Ah, replied to the other thread - I'll merge the two to keep this discussion together

but that makes my posts a bit weird!

[Rob Bell]

and mine too!