Our MG-ZR Head gasket has gone..

gabyjane

somech wrote: »

i understand completly what your saying

just making sure you dont pay anymore money for labour and parts(excluding new cylinder head)

Ah ok sorry! some people on the other site don't and i seem to be trying to justify it all the time! The only other thing we will have to pay is fuel costs to him.
Thanks x

Justwed08

Hi - i have a beloved MGF and when the head gasket went it cost me over £1k to get fixed I now have a system set up where a warning light goes off should my coolant level drop again below a safe level. As I expect you know if you continue to drive it your engine could blow up.

Do you belong to any of the MG groups they will be able to recommend a good garage in your area so you dont get ripped off.

If not just put MG Rover groups into a search engine and you'll find loads of MG folk only too willing to help you! Sorry I'm at work and cannot access certain sites otherwise I would include a link.

Lynne

gabyjane

Ok so weeks on from my origional post today the car has been finally repaired! this is really for my records too!

So the last i knew the head gasket was done but when he tested it all the heater was not working, needed a cylinder head at the cost of £200 & fuel costs £50..today i was hoping it wouldn't come to more than that.

He arrived at 8-30am and started work, it got to 10am and i said to him i had to go to work and was getting picked up, he said he didn't know how much it would be so said id'e have to send a cheque in post as would be 2 hours at least..he said he would only be another 10 mins but i had to go so left him to it. It then occured to me that a new head gasket, cylinder head and heater repair should take more than a couple of hours as last time took ages just for HG and got me worrying.

Not long been in and got an invoice here for £150, a note saying he will call me to explain..without getting technical basically he has realised that the heater gone was not from the HG (did kind of get why but can't explain), he took the thermostat out and it ran much better so has left it out, he put it back and it started getting hot spots as needed really flushing out..he has left it out. I said surely this is not good but he said the only 2 small issues we will have is 1: the temp gauge will go down a bit (less than the half way mark where it should be) and 2: it will take slightly longer to heat up. He assured me it is now completely fine to drive and no worries of anything blowing etc..the car he said is fine and everything else on it is ok BUT i got a niggle he wasn't quite happy and he said that he just liked things as they should be and without the thermostat it wasn't how it should be! i said i agreed but at the end of the day if it is safe to drive then i don't mind. I asked him if we needed to get it flushed or anything and he said not unless any major scum appears which it shouldn't..he advised to put a small cap of detergent in the coolant tank to absorb some of the oil on top as it will help to quicken the removal process..so we will have a nice smelling car!

Other than that i'm not sure..guess it's done and that's that for now..tbh just have to keep an eye on it and he said if he is near in the future he will pop back and re try it with the thermostat but it nothing to worry about.

wazza

It is safe to drive the car without a thermostat. The main use of a thermostat can be seen in winter where it is shut preventing water from circulating through the radiator/engine. By doing this the water/engine temperature increases quicker. Once it reaches the required temperature it will open up.

colino

It is OK to run without a 'stat, but your car will run less efficiently and it is a temporary bodge.

Inactive

colino wrote: »

It is OK to run without a 'stat, but your car will run less efficiently and it is a temporary bodge.

A bit like the car then, they were all bodged at the factory.;)

gabyjane

wazza wrote: »

It is safe to drive the car without a thermostat. The main use of a thermostat can be seen in winter where it is shut preventing water from circulating through the radiator/engine. By doing this the water/engine temperature increases quicker. Once it reaches the required temperature it will open up.

I asked this and apparantly it's fine. Taking his word on it though although dh asked a couple of friends last night whio said it was quite common to take them out at times like this..i don't know!

gabyjane

colino wrote: »

It is OK to run without a 'stat, but your car will run less efficiently and it is a temporary bodge.

Hi well maybe it's all in the mind but he said it should run better than it had been doing..i took it out yesterday and it seemed to have more oomph and dh took it out last night and said he agreed, it was getting quite sluggish with the gears but seemed better today too. I agree in a way it is a bodge but so long as it runs and doesn't cause it any damage then i'm happy. We have a years warrantly on it so will have it booked in at the garage in 6 months time, if there are any probs related to it guess whos coming back..if not we wont be using him again!

gabyjane

Inactive wrote: »

A bit like the car then, they were all bodged at the factory.;)

Well maybe you had a bodged one but ours has been fab. We will have paid it off in a few months time and i have to say it is the best car we have had so far. In the 3 years we have had it it has passed every MOT, no breakdowns, other than new tyres, oil etc it has been a great car and would buy another one tomorrow. Unfortunatly ALL second hand cars have their ups and downs. Compared to various friends cars i think we did very well!

colino

Hi OP, It is a temporary bodge, but you should really get a new 'stat fitted. The car will come up to temp quicker (more efficient, saving fuel) and you don't you will notice the temp. guage dropping on the motorway (the rushing air literally overcooling the engine). Get it replaced, it wont cost a fortune, but I really wonder why a Rover guru doesn't have a stack of them as spares to fit as a matter of course.