|
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
  
Location: leigh | Now the k series has been re worked I've not heard a whisper about head gaskets! I know on the k it was a matter of how it's been put together that usually caused the hgf so what are the Chinese doing different? Also can you use one of the new gen engines with k series manifolds and management? Might be worth a punt if you can get a cheap engine from a scrappy by telling the bloke who works there it's just a k series haha |
|
| |
|
Transport Guru
MP Moderator
Posts: 4947
Location: Bromley, Kent | I heard that MG Rover had sorted it all but never got round to production due to costs etc |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | Shame really.. that engine could have been the reason rover went under.. let's face it, it could have been the best engine in the world but it had the worst name.. we know ourself if you build them right you don't have bother with them but the public had already made their mind up! They probably should have sank a few quid into it from day one! |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 11052
 
Location: Wolverhampton | It'll fit in place of a k and use its management setup but it's not quite different internally, it doesn't even use the same grade of oil that a k would. The block is cast in a different way with strengthening ribs across it. I believe metro martin's father is putting one in an mg zt as we speak, look up his thread on mgrover.org. Once mg6s come down in price or end up crashed more I suspect these engines will be popular conversions into older k series cars with the reliability issues resolved. Watch this space I guess |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 4458
Location: Jelling, Denmark | I did read about the mg-6 engine being put in the mg zt on mgrover.org. interesting read. it seems that there are quite a few things that need swapping over to make it work. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | I would imagine it would be a bare block by the time you took all the stuff that needs swapping.. kinda like the jp4 engines in the saxos |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 11052
Location: Wolverhampton | glyn-ellis - 28/3/2016 3:27 AM
I would imagine it would be a bare block by the time you took all the stuff that needs swapping.. kinda like the jp4 engines in the saxos
Yeah pretty much the same sort of thing, though I reckon a jp4 conversion may be a little more involved with having to drill the head to take the inlet. This mg6 swaps looks like pretty much ever k series component can be swapped on to the bare engine |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | I'm going to keep my eyes peeled at my local friendly scrapyard.. I wonder what the actual difference is between the 2 |
|
| |
|
Regular
Posts: 113
Location: wigan | I have owned 6 K-Series motors the 1.1 model and i never had any issues with HGF.
The only problem i ever had was with the coolant tank cap.
The water would gush out from the cap when the engine was hot and the cooling fan kicked in.
Replaced the faulty cap and no problems after.
I think people have let the cooling system level fall and never checked it then blown the headgasket due to over heating due to a faulty coolant cap. |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 11052
Location: Wolverhampton | the head gasket going is simply the easiest part of the system to fail but its generally not the cause rather the symptom of a problem. Coolant leaks, poor quality of the head and water ways, water pumps going, inlet manifolds leaking unnoticed etc. I remember a few years ago in the 1.1 metty I had the radiator pipe popping off doing 80 down the A452 near coventry, dumped a lot of coolant everywhere. I simply refilled bled it up and drove on no sign of head gasket trouble after at all.
That said I reckon the earlier wet liner blocks especially the 8v were "tougher" |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | Well to be honest I have never come across a hgf on a k series. I'm not saying that it dosent happen but I've never seen one. I don't work with them much though! I did 3 years in a garage while I did my nvq and the amount of failed inlet gaskets was unbelievable! We was swapping 1 a fortnight for the "new and improved" inlet gasket.. I think it was mainly down to the plastic manifolds aswell! Every single person who brought one in said they have been told it's the head gasket! I think this sort of thing, bad rep and poor diagnosis and probably Clarkson mentioned it on top gear killed the rover brand! Even if you get a Honda powered one now people laugh at you and say mind the head gasket lol! |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 11052
Location: Wolverhampton | glyn-ellis - 30/3/2016 10:14 PM
Well to be honest I have never come across a hgf on a k series. I'm not saying that it dosent happen but I've never seen one. I don't work with them much though! I did 3 years in a garage while I did my nvq and the amount of failed inlet gaskets was unbelievable! We was swapping 1 a fortnight for the "new and improved" inlet gasket.. I think it was mainly down to the plastic manifolds aswell! Every single person who brought one in said they have been told it's the head gasket! I think this sort of thing, bad rep and poor diagnosis and probably Clarkson mentioned it on top gear killed the rover brand! Even if you get a Honda powered one now people laugh at you and say mind the head gasket lol!
ignorance basically. I mean look at vauxhall with snapping timing chains, the smaller fords plagued with MOT failure level rust in under 5 years, mazda rx8s with the flaky and flooding rotary engines? All have loyal followers and manage to stay in business. MGR always got the short end of the stick which is usual with the british - we hate everything we make ourselves and would prefer to buy on image rather than support our own industry. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | I've gone loads of 20vt head gaskets and never heard a bad word said about them. I don't know what we are going to do as a country when our industry is gone! |
|
| |
|
Transport Guru
MP Moderator
Posts: 4947
Location: Bromley, Kent | Tata are selling up so maybe sooner than we think  |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 4458
Location: Jelling, Denmark | well I have done 130k miles with two different cars with k-series engines and its a good and smooth engine. I never had any problems with my two in the time I drove them. but started out by doing the head-gasket and cylinder-head on both engines after I bought the car. The rover 400 engine was particular funny because it was almost empty of water and oil, the previous owner obviously didn't check anything. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | Yes I heard on the radio today that tata was selling up.. I had this conversation with a friend not long back when there was the last big save our steel whinge.. people aren't willing to put the effort in! There's alot of "that's not my job" attitude going on in places I have worked, not saying it's everyone but quite a few! How many English people would work through their brews and dinners then work for free doing overtime to get an order complete? Not many nowadays I bet. A Chinese bloke in the same situation would probably get flogged for thinking about going home and not get his 40p wage at the end of the month! Put that and the fact that our employers have to pay tax, pensions, other things and it's no surprise that we can't compete with China making steel ect. I'm not too happy about our industry going to pot but there's not much we can do about it apart from tax Chinese steel at the docks! Even as consumers the majority of us (me included) try to buy the cheapest stuff! Rant rant rant lol I'm going to bed in my cheap foreign bed watching my Korean telly and checking my emails with a uk tax dodging Google company on my Korean phone lol rule britannia! |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | DotMatrix - 30/3/2016 9:43 PM
well I have done 130k miles with two different cars with k-series engines and its a good and smooth engine. I never had any problems with my two in the time I drove them. but started out by doing the head-gasket and cylinder-head on both engines after I bought the car. The rover 400 engine was particular funny because it was almost empty of water and oil, the previous owner obviously didn't check anything.
Did you just do them so you knew they where right? Or did you have a tell tail problem? |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 4458
Location: Jelling, Denmark | glyn-ellis - 31/3/2016 1:17 AM
DotMatrix - 30/3/2016 9:43 PM
well I have done 130k miles with two different cars with k-series engines and its a good and smooth engine. I never had any problems with my two in the time I drove them. but started out by doing the head-gasket and cylinder-head on both engines after I bought the car. The rover 400 engine was particular funny because it was almost empty of water and oil, the previous owner obviously didn't check anything.
Did you just do them so you knew they where right? Or did you have a tell tail problem?
no the first one had done 71k miles when I got it and was mixing oil and water so I gave the head a light skim and changed the gasket and it was fine for 68k miles more until another problem (not headgasket) occured.
the second car, the rover 400 had been run dry by the previous owner, no oil or water in the engine at all and the engine was stuck so I disassembled it all, took the liners out, cleaned it all changed necessary bits, re-sealed the liners at the bottom, skimmed the head which had indentation marks and changed the head-gasket and it ran for 62k miles more in my ownership and still ran great when I sold it. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 697
Location: leigh | Tough old girls really! |
|
| |
are the Chinese better than us..
