Coolant problem - Rover 45

MeeNorr

Hi, I'm hoping that someone with some more car mechanical knowledge than me (I have very little!) can help please.

I have a '04' reg Rover 45 1.6 with 64k miles on the clock. A year ago the head gasket went and was replaced along with the timing belt (which had only been done a few weeks before but had to be done again) and the thermostat. The whole job cost around £650. I've previously spent about £1200 on various things over the 2 years since I've had the car (it cost me £4000 in June 2008).

About 6 months ago the car overheated and had to be recovered to the garage by the RAC. Heat wasn't circulating (I think that's the right term, basically one of the hoses was cold and the other hot). He said the thermostat was faulty and he replaced it. Over the past few months the engine has sounded like its got a very slight mis-fire and the coolant warning light has started coming on every couple of weeks. I've got through about 5 litres of coolant in about 2 months.

I don't know if the garage hasn't done the repair properly but I don't really have any faith in the them to sort it out and don't want to spend hundreds more in repairs as I've spent so much on it (new fuel pump, replacement electric window motor, screen wash motor, repairs to the fan motor).

Would you keep spending more money on it (the car is worth about £900) or look at part exchanging it whilst it has a little bit of value left). I've seen a Chevrolet Lacetti 57 reg with 22k on the clock for £3,000.

Thanks for any advice.

rev_henry

Sound like the Head Gasket's gone again, which only really happens if an idiot replaced it the last time. Try asking on the mg-rover.org forums...

soup

rovers are rubbish. get a ford focus.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

people need to understand that A. the engine isnt the problem it doesnt cause a HG failure. B there is a remedy to this that cures it of that problem.

1. the head gaskets fitted were of rubber seal type, the head of the engine gets hot and over time burnes away the rubber seals over the dowels water flow and over heating problems speeds this process up, thats why some rovers HG will last longer than others because the way their treated.

2. any good mechanic will use the multi layered head gasket developed to cure the problem. as the MLS gaskets have NO RUBBER SEALS theres nothing to burn away problem solved with use of a HEAD SAVER (to take up the skim gappage) and NEW HEAD BOLTS.

did you have the water pump changed when you had the timing belt done OP? if not this is the exact reason why you should, any car that over heats will pop its head and if it doesnt is pure luck. my feeling is that this could have been prevented when the timing was done the second time, not the garages fault by all means you get what you pay for.

motorguy

soup wrote: »

rovers are rubbish. get a ford focus.

As a motor trader

(a) i have replaced more head gaskets on Renault Clios than i have on Rovers

(b) i have had more major engine failures on VW's than i have had on Rovers (Golf GT TDI turbo failure)

(c) i have had more major engine failures on Ford Focus's than i have had on Rovers (Ford Focus TDI turbo failure)

motorguy

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

people need to understand that A. the engine isnt the problem it doesnt cause a HG failure. B there is a remedy to this that cures it of that problem.

+1

HGF on a Rover tends to be a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself.

cyclonebri1

But the problem that the OP has is that he does have a blown gasket and a warped head and is going to have to fork out a further £650, and possibly more on the repair work. Doesn't matter how reliable or unreliable they usually are.

Is it worth spending that amount on a individual car that has a proven unreliability record if, in fixed condition, it's only worth £900???


No it's not;)

Lum

pgilc1 wrote: »

(a) i have replaced more head gaskets on Renault Clios than i have on Rovers

No-one stated that Renaults aren't crap.

(b) i have had more major engine failures on VW's than i have had on Rovers (Golf GT TDI turbo failure)

(c) i have had more major engine failures on Ford Focus's than i have had on Rovers (Ford Focus TDI turbo failure)

Turbos are consumables. Very expensive consumables, but still consumables. They're also much easier to replace than a head gasket. Most people don't bother to look after their turbos properly these days either.

You also have to weight your figures by how many of each type of car are in your catchment area. For example if 1000 people in your city own Ford Focuses but only 10 people own Rover 45s, and you have seen 100 Ford Focuses and 5 Rover 45s then the Focus is the more reliable car with only a 10% failure rate, rather than 50% for the 45.

Same applies to Renaults too, to be fair, I suspect there's a lot more of them on the road than similar age Rovers as for some reason Renaults are trendy and popular.

pendulum

You have a Rover K series. Fanboys go on about how "light" the engine is, and point out its power to weight, but the drawback is the unreliability, and changing the headgasket regularly is just a part of ownership. I've done one myself and it isn't too hard. I think you should either learn how to do it yourself or sell it and get a more reliable motor.

s_b

pgilc1 wrote: »

As a motor trader

(a) i have replaced more head gaskets on Renault Clios than i have on Rovers

(b) i have had more major engine failures on VW's than i have had on Rovers (Golf GT TDI turbo failure)

(c) i have had more major engine failures on Ford Focus's than i have had on Rovers (Ford Focus TDI turbo failure)

as a motor trader ive never had a rover head gasket issue
whys that?
ive only been custodian of one rover this last 9 years
why is that?
because rovers were rubbish cars with rubbish design faults and rubbish components and usually bought by rubbish customers
OP chop the car in yes but go mainstream not some cack chevy lacklustre

pendulum

's b' speaks the truth.

When I went to car auctions I'd always see Rovers go through for seemingly bargain prices. That's because clued up trade won't touch them, and there's reasons for that.