Rover 25 - Annoying problem !

[Markd89]

I'm posted this on png because i wont get keyboard warriors slating me for no reason and i need genuine opinions and help.

Rover 25 1.4 16v
Its had a recent headgasket / waterpump.

When i bought the car it was losing coolant, the inlet gasket was leaking mainly becuase the bodje artist that did the headgasket left 4 nuts finger tight and 2 missing.
I replaced the gasket with a new one and did the nuts properly.

Bled the system and its been fine nice hot air until today,
All of a sudden i lost heaters they went cold and the temperature rose and the fan kicked in, i thought it was an airlock so i bled the system 3 more times and had hot heaters again, drove 30 mile and lost the heaters again and tempetature rose.

I know its not the thermostat stuck as the fan is kicking in at 102 degrees,
does anyone have any ideas apart from headgasket has gone again ?

There is white smoke out of the exhaust and a bit of water although it has done this for a while now, theres no mayo in the oil.
I've also replaced the header tank cap as i know they are a common problem.

I've done a compression test and its all the same per cylinder, unless its blown on the water chamber

I'm thinking the bloke bought the car with the headgasket gone and just chucked a waterpump in and a gasket without skimming / pressure testing it and sold it quickly

it was only £300 so im not too bothered

52 plate
45k miles
full service
1 owner + this bellend so called mechanic

I dont mind spending money on it to fix the problem, just need to find the problem

[Novasport]

Thermostat or blockage somewhere?

[Markd89]

Fan is kicking in at correct temp so cant see if been the thermostat, if it was a blockage i would have thought i wouldnt get any heaters atall but i done for a good 20 mins driving

[Spudly]

Youre sure its had a waterpump?

[Markd89]

Youre sure its had a waterpump?

Ye looks brand new and theres plenty of black sealant in that area , also to mention its perfectly fine when it idles, can leave it for an hour just idle and it doesnt overheat and has nice hot heaters

[Royston]

Pm sent.

[Markd89]

Thanks Royston

[Spudly]

Has it had the landrover spec copper gasket fitted?

[marc69]

I'm no expert at all but over the years, I have known many people who have fitted standard new gaskets, often they fail again on k series engines.

As far as I have heard the head has to be skimmed and the uprated gasket has to be used, rover knew this was a weakness with these engines but continued anyway...

[turbojolt]

have you tryed flushing the whole system, isnt 102 deg really hot before the fan kicks in



p.s you had a sniffer test done also a pressure test done on the coolant system to make sure the waterpump is working and there isnt any little unseen holes somewhere

[Southie]

I had a GTI 2.0 rover back in the day which had headgasket issues, due to the ali head it had warped and was never right, I spent a fortune on trying to get it running right... eventually it seized lol

[Markd89]

Great ! Lol, I'm unsure what gasket was fitted although from the work I've seen I presume its a cheap one, also the headbolts aren't new. Unsure if I could take the thermostat out and see if that makes a difference to rule out a sticking thermostat

I flushed the full system when I replaced the inlet gasket, a sniffer test was going to be the next choice in line on Monday

[Spudly]

If theyve reused the head bolts then there is a problem straight away, youre supposed to replace them as they stretch, it wouldnt surprise me if they had used a cornflakes packet for a gasket either lol

[staggy_gsi]

As spud said, its a must that the bolts are replaced. I would definitely be removing the head again, skimming, testing and refitting with land rover gasket and new bolts

[Adam25]

Iirc you can re use rover headbolts if they're under a certain length, should tell you on autodata.

[Jon_nova1]

i'd get a sniffer test, sounds like its gone between the water jacket and cylinder, i'm sure theres some liquid you can put in your coolant that changes colour when hydrocarbons are present

[Royston]

Will speak to you later Mark, but......

Buy good quality new head bolt and multi layer head gasket, would suggest using Payen brand

Head needs should be pressure tested and skimmed (would suggest also lapping the valves)

Clean everything, I strip the hydraulic followers (if gunked up with sludge / mayonayse)

Cam locking tool is useful, paid @ £7 of fleabay

Do not rotate the crank one the head is removed, the liners will move, if this had happened the liners need resealing


The liners are/should be proud of the block deck height @ few thous (check with straight edge/feelers)

The can be resealed without a full strip down, but not easy (haven't done this)

There is a wealth of information available, would suggest joining www.mg-rover.org (http://www.mg-rover.org) it is an excellent forum, people are helpful and knowledgeable.

The K series engine is a cracker...........when right......once a head gasket has been done properly, they usually never fail again.......

[staggy_gsi]

The K series engine is a cracker...........when right......once a head gasket has been done properly, they usually never fail again.......

Here here!! Proper lively little engines, yet its very rare you hear anyone saying good things about them!

[Royston]

Here here!! Proper lively little engines, yet its very rare you hear anyone saying good things about them!

Those that do keep quiet

I have run a 1.4 16V rover 200 bubble as an everyday runner (I did the head gasket) was a super little run around, I now have a 1.6 16V Rover 45 saloon with leather (was my son's) did the gasket on that one, which I now run

[staggy_gsi]

Ive had two 1.6 coupes and neither of them ever missed a beat. Also bought a 2.0 coupe and had nothing but trouble with that one! K series all the way! Lol

[Markd89]

I had a rover 25 before when i first passed and it was one of the best cars i've owned, really nice to drive and good on fuel.
Thanks royston for the info

Today i took the waterpump off to check it and it was fine no problems there
Flushed the system and noticed that not alot of water was coming from the heater matrix pipes,
I re - bled the system and took the heater hose off and alot of coughing and spluttering happened but no water.
I tried the other hose and alittle dribbled out slowly, i flushed the matrix and make no difference.

So now im in thinking the thermostat is either only open a small bit or closed , allowing the hot air to happen on idle soon as you go for a drive more water wants to get through but cant so overheats and looses the heaters, in theory.

Will try a thermostat tomorrow and see what happens, also get a pressure bleeder

[staggy_gsi]

Just remove it and see if it works before going out and buying one

[Markd89]

Just remove it and see if it works before going out and buying one

Was thinking this but apparently they have a specific seal on the stat that cant be out back in with no stat in place ? according the the mg forum anyway.

[staggy_gsi]

You could take the middle out of the stat, but then you still gotta buy a new one anyway lol

[Markd89]

You could take the middle out of the stat, but then you still gotta buy a new one anyway lol

lol , think it will only be like £5 anyway so not bothered start with the cheaper option first

[Markd89]

thought i would update this to say ive fixed it

it was the heater valve located in the inlet manifold ( ballbearing type thing )
it was getting stuck when it was supposed to be letting the coolant circulate to the expansion bottle.

I drilled it out with a 4mm drill bit, i now how constant flow of coolant and boiling hot heaters all the time, no overheating issues

:)

[Jon_nova1]

bet thats a relief lol

and no you can't just take the thermostat out because the thermostat housing just leaks everywhere then

[Royston]

Please you have got it sorted, Rover /MG cars are vastly under rated cars in general people/dealers have such a downer on them;)


I am currently looking at my friends MG ZR with a cold heater, all OK otherwise, heater valve, etc OK, think the matrix is silted up, wonder if the fault is the same as yours, have you a photo of the offending item?

Happy motoring:)

[Markd89]

Only just saw your reply, sorry heres a picture :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/MGJohn/Janes%20Rovers/KSeriesInletGasketT16TappetCompr-4.jpg

Its located on the left hand side you can see it below where the manifold bolt goes in Thats what i drilled out, its a small ball bearing that gets stuck with muck and crap