TF Stepspeed - Stalling and whirling noise?!

[walsall_mgtf]

Hi I have a 52 plate Tf stepspeed. I bought it 6 months ago and it is turning into a money pit. I did the research and read about the head gasket etc. Anyway, it had already had the gasket replaced - needless to say 2 months in and following a journey home from work and enormous bang and lots of coolant emptied on the drive way - rang the garage (which specialises in MGs) and the guy said it was either a pipe or the head gasket - they towed it away so not to over heat and informed me it didn’t have the new ford gasket and it was that... etc etc .... £1000 later it had been reskimed, new head gasket, water pump. Now a couple of days later both the engine light (yellow) and the SRS light has come one - I rang them and they now say the engine light will come on and off until the engine realises it had had a new gasket and the SRS light is just one of those things.

Anyway, when it is cold it stalls and kangaroos to the extent is it dangerous, and there is a whirling noise all the time when you accelerate (even when hot) and when coming down a hill you get a noise which I can only describe like a flat tyre. The other day when i started it up - it obviously wouldn’t change gear as the revs red lined and it wouldn’t go past 20 mph making a horrid noise - so I had to pull over restart car. I love the car but it seems to be turning into a money pit - I do a lot of miles - should I just expect to be constantly paying out on it? - And to make matters worse I rang the garage who did the gasket they have said they don’t touch automatic gear boxes (seems strange as they are MG specialists and sell Stepspeeds!) Anyone know of someone who knows what they are doing and isn’t going to rip me off around Walsall, Cannock, or brum etc.


Cheers

[Reckless Rat]

I know they speak funny round Walsall, but that accent to me sounds like "bollacks". Find another garage - they're taking the p*ss.

[stux99]

I dont know an awful lot, but I have to agree with the above. We have 2 stepspeeds, one we've had for a couple of years (MGF) and one a few months (MGTF) The F was a problem when we first got it but soon sorted
Have had head gasket done and no probs with lights having to re-learn their purpose in life
Both of these cars are a delight to drive and when you get used to the stick shift you can really push
So take heart, get it sorted and enjoy

[Jonathan Tully]

The red line revs and limited speed symptoms sound like the gearbox is in one of 2 'limp' modes. The computer has registered a fault, and does this to protect the gearbox, although it can sound pretty frightening. I understand that one mode is high revs, the other keeps it in low revs.

The gearbox fault could be electrical (snagged cable / water ingress), the whining could be a bearing on the way out. Tricky to diagnose over the web. It would be worth the garage hooking it up to a T4 diagnostic machine to at least read the fault codes stored on the computer, as it could be something that isn't mechanical and within their skills to fix. The 'PRND' switch (at the bottom of the gearstick) is something is not uncommon to fail, and send it into limp mode.

If they really struggle, then you might want to consider a BMW garage as the Mini CVT shares the same ZF VT1 series gearbox albeit with a few minor differences.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[redbeard57]

Consider taking it over to the MGF Centre at Wolverhampton, I have always found them very helpful when I have had any problems