Recently bought MGF and since last week I have had accelerator problems with the car. The car was first registered in 1998.
Last week the oil and temperature gauges kept on creeping up until they overheated and this coincided with an accelerator problem. When these gauges were high the car kept on increasing in revs until the only way to stop the car from making a noise was to tun the engine off. This has happened twice now in the space of two days.
Can anybody help with trying to work out what the problem is? not sure if it had anything to do with the car being driven on empty for a couple of miles or something else. I know nothing about cars so any assistance would be grateful.
David
MGF Accelerator Problem
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Not many rules really, this board being aimed at technical issues, it shouldn't fall foul (hopefully) of some of the more personal issues that can affect forums.
Rule 1 - Is that you need to think very carefully before posting anything technical or asking anything technical relating to the security system of the car - See 'Security Issues' sticky for more info.
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Because advice is honestly and freely given in this technical section, much of it will be amateur experienced based, so any information is given in good faith and is not guaranteed as correct.
Not many rules really, this board being aimed at technical issues, it shouldn't fall foul (hopefully) of some of the more personal issues that can affect forums.
Rule 1 - Is that you need to think very carefully before posting anything technical or asking anything technical relating to the security system of the car - See 'Security Issues' sticky for more info.
Rule 2 - We (MGF Register) do not support copyright infringement and therefore references to CD ROM, PDF versions or paper copies of the workshop manual (for instance) should not be posted on the forum. We don't want to get into trouble and we'd rather sell you a genuine hard copy through our Regalia shop anyway!
Because advice is honestly and freely given in this technical section, much of it will be amateur experienced based, so any information is given in good faith and is not guaranteed as correct.
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
Sounds daft but did you check the oil and water levels? See if theres any oil in the radiator water bottle and if theres any water in the oil on the dip stick.
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
checked the oil and it was just above minimum so put half a litre in. however when drive the car temperatures start off low but then start to 'rise' again.
haven't checked water level yet.
haven't checked water level yet.
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
if the oil levels low its either leaking or burning it. your trouble may be the cylinder head gasket these engines are prone to this. its only a guess as Id near more info.
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
checked the coolant system and there appeared to be no water in it. have put some water in and will leave it overnight until the wife drives it tomorrow. hopefully this may be the root of the problem.
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
It sounds more than ever that your head gasket is gone . driving the car if it has blown will make it worse. even if youve toped it all up. you really need to get it looked at . A compression test would tell you if the gasket has gone. or check for oil down the side of the engine .Good luck.
I wish my problem was this easy.
I wish my problem was this easy.
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Keith Williams
- Posts: 6109
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 5:25 pm
- MGF Register Region: Midlands
- Model of Car: MGF VVC, Trophy 160
- Location: Coventry
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
I would NOT drive the car again until you sort out where the coolant is going to.DaveB1971 wrote:checked the coolant system and there appeared to be no water in it. have put some water in and will leave it overnight until the wife drives it tomorrow. hopefully this may be the root of the problem.
You could be lucky and it is just a leak in one of the many rubber pipes, the underfloor steel pipes or the radiator. You should not just fill the car with water (you do need coolant) without bleeding the system at the 3 bleed points before you drive the car. Checking the coolant level is something you need to do as much as you can. Handy to see as it is in the boot.
1998 MGF VVC, 2001 Trophy 160 & 2013 MG6 GT TSE
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Reckless Rat
- Posts: 1889
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- MGF Register Region: Europe
- Model of Car: 97 1.8mpi in BRG
- Location: South of France - in the Gard.
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
As said in the previous post this sounds like you've either got a blown head gasket or a leak in the cooling system somewhere. If you continue to drive it like this you may wreck the engine completely so don't anyone drive it until you've found out where the problem lies and it's been fixed.
You can't just top up the cooling system and expect it it heal itself - the coolant has gone somewhere so you need to find out where (and why). In addition to that, the cooling system on the MGF has to be properly purged of air for it to work effectively. There isn't much coolant around the engine and any leakages will very quickly result in overheating, which can permanently damage the engine.
If it's the head gasket that's gone, it'll cost you about £500 to have it fixed properly. If you've cooked the engine then a replacement will cost you more than the car is worth.
Bleeding the cooling system is explained here: http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=333315
You can't just top up the cooling system and expect it it heal itself - the coolant has gone somewhere so you need to find out where (and why). In addition to that, the cooling system on the MGF has to be properly purged of air for it to work effectively. There isn't much coolant around the engine and any leakages will very quickly result in overheating, which can permanently damage the engine.
If it's the head gasket that's gone, it'll cost you about £500 to have it fixed properly. If you've cooked the engine then a replacement will cost you more than the car is worth.
Bleeding the cooling system is explained here: http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=333315
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Rob Bell
- Committee Member
- Posts: 14425
- Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:36 pm
- MGF Register Region: South East
- Model of Car: MGF 1.8i + MGF Shed!
Re: MGF Accelerator Problem
Hi David,DaveB1971 wrote:Last week the oil and temperature gauges kept on creeping up until they overheated and this coincided with an accelerator problem. When these gauges were high the car kept on increasing in revs until the only way to stop the car from making a noise was to tun the engine off. This has happened twice now in the space of two days.
Got to agree with the chaps here - there is something very fundamentally wrong here - the engine rpm shouldn't be spontaneously increasing. I wonder whether there is an inlet manifold leak, allowing more air into the system, enabling the increased engine speed?
The oil temperature increasing is not so surprising if the coolant temperature is rocketing. But these are circumstances that can lead to serious damage to the alloy castings in the engine. Not healthy - and potentially very expensive to put right.
What isn't entirely clear is what the conditions are when the temperature increases. Is the car stuck in slow moving traffic at the time (suggesting a non-operating radiator fan etc), or is the car overheating when worked hard - which would be more in keeping with a head gasket failure - particularly perhaps around the firerings (coolant levels will boil off pretty quickly under high engine loads).