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MG-F boiling over - possible airlock?
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Mike Tomlinson
Jan 31, 2015, 3:36:40 PM1/31/15
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A friend has a 1999 MG MG-F, left hand drive, an import from Germany,
with about 200k on the clock. Those have the Rover 1.8 K series engine
of overheating/blowing head gasket fame. The engine is mounted in the
middle of the car, behind the seats.
The car has had at least two replacement engines and one engine rebuild
(don't ask), and is a total shed, but he has a sentimental attraction to
it. Recently it bust a rear wheel bearing, fixed with a used
replacement wheel hub from eBay UK. But he has spent thousands of euro
on it over the years. The phrase 'money pit' would be inadequate to
describe this motor. It spends more time off the road than on it.
Recently it started boiling over and ejecting coolant from the pressure
relief valve in the cap of the expansion bottle located under the rear
bonnet. The car was fine during motorway driving but in stop-start
driving it would boil over with the temp gauge going into the red.
He was keen not to wreck the engine again so asked me to help. Using
info found online, we found fuse F6 in the fuse box under the front
bonnet blown and replaced it. This supplies power to the electric
cooling fan. The fan is also fed by fuse F15 under the steering wheel
(why?!) and this was ok. Once we'd done this, the fan started operating
as expected when the engine temperature reached a certain point at a
standstill.
We removed the engine cover plate and located the coolant temperature
sensor which seems to be ok and have clean connections.
The car still boiled over during stop-start driving, and we were
puzzling over it during a motorway run when on a whim I tried turning
the cabin heater on. The car's located in the Canary Islands, so I need
not say that the heater never gets used.
The vents blew cold air at first which was puzzling and started me
thinking about a blocked heater matrix or seized valve, but started
blowing hot air after about ten minutes, and the car has been fine since
then in stop/start traffic with the heater off.
Is it likely this could just have been an airlock in the cooling system,
which was dislodged by turning on coolant flow through the cabin heater
matrix? Seems a bit far-fetched to me but would welcome opinions. Ta.
--
:: je suis Charlie :: yo soy Charlie :: ik ben Charlie ::
Adrian
Feb 1, 2015, 4:33:50 AM2/1/15
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On Sat, 31 Jan 2015 20:36:10 +0000, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
> Is it likely this could just have been an airlock in the cooling system,
> which was dislodged by turning on coolant flow through the cabin heater
> matrix?
I'd have thought something that recent would have constant coolant flow
> Is it likely this could just have been an airlock in the cooling system,
> which was dislodged by turning on coolant flow through the cabin heater
> matrix?
through the matrix, with the airflow being controlled by flaps.
But whatever happened, it clearly worked, and that's the important bit!
Chris Whelan
Feb 1, 2015, 4:53:33 AM2/1/15
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On Sat, 31 Jan 2015 20:36:10 +0000, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/common_problems/hgf_pages/
why_do_hgfs.htm
http://tinyurl.com/kuwnsyg
Chris
--
Remove prejudice to reply.
Adrian
Feb 1, 2015, 5:13:42 AM2/1/15
to
On Sun, 01 Feb 2015 09:53:31 +0000, Chris Whelan wrote:
>> Is it likely this could just have been an airlock in the cooling
>> system, which was dislodged by turning on coolant flow through the
>> cabin heater matrix?
>> Is it likely this could just have been an airlock in the cooling
>> system, which was dislodged by turning on coolant flow through the
>> cabin heater matrix?
> More than you'll ever need to know here:
>
> http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/common_problems/hgf_pages/
> why_do_hgfs.htm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/kuwnsyg
Wow. Ignore my earlier reply. The heater does indeed have a water-flow
>
> http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/common_problems/hgf_pages/
> why_do_hgfs.htm
>
> http://tinyurl.com/kuwnsyg
valve, so - yes - it probably was just an airlock there.
Mike Tomlinson
Feb 6, 2015, 6:25:20 PM2/6/15
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En el artículo <vImzw.461814$lm5.2...@fx36.am4>, Chris Whelan
<cawh...@prejudicentlworld.com> escribió:
>More than you'll ever need to know here:
>
>http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/common_problems/hgf_pages/
>why_do_hgfs.htm
Thanks Chris. Had a good read of that, and other parts of the same
website. The car's behaved perfectly since with no other attention
needed.
It even passed its ITV (Spanish MOT test) the other day, much to my
surprise, since the brakes are practically non-existent. I had a drive
of the car and it scared the bejeezus out of me. The clutch bites
within an inch of lifting off the floor, you have to stand on the gas
pedal to get the car to move (though it goes like shit off a shovel once
you manage to move the pedal) and you have to stand on the brake pedal
to stop it.
For all that, my friend seems able to drive it quite competently and
safely. Have to say the sound from the exhaust when he floors the pedal
is great.
<cawh...@prejudicentlworld.com> escribió:
>More than you'll ever need to know here:
>
>http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/common_problems/hgf_pages/
>why_do_hgfs.htm
website. The car's behaved perfectly since with no other attention
needed.
It even passed its ITV (Spanish MOT test) the other day, much to my
surprise, since the brakes are practically non-existent. I had a drive
of the car and it scared the bejeezus out of me. The clutch bites
within an inch of lifting off the floor, you have to stand on the gas
pedal to get the car to move (though it goes like shit off a shovel once
you manage to move the pedal) and you have to stand on the brake pedal
to stop it.
For all that, my friend seems able to drive it quite competently and
safely. Have to say the sound from the exhaust when he floors the pedal
is great.
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