MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - ZS120 Heater/Coolant Problem

Hi

Coming into work this morning, I had the heater on hot and it kept on blowing a hot and cold cycle. I looked at the engine temp gauge and noticed the needle was on the half-way line instead of its usual place (about a needles width below the half-way line).

When I put the heater on full blast, then engine temp went up to about 3/4.

Pulled into work and popped the bonnet. Coolant tank is empty!!!!

I have never had trouble with any fluid levels in the car ever since I have had it.

Strangely, I had the car serviced a few weeks ago at Crown Garage, Soham - the 60k service. One of the things they done was an engine flush - could this have brought something on? The car was running like a dream before then :o(

Demon
Demon

Engine flush usually refers to the oil rather than coolant, but worth checking with them - I believe there's a scheduled coolant change as part of the 60k service.
Mike Hankin

Maybe there is an airlock in the system, get them to pickup the car and take a look!!

Kelvin
Kelvin

Got AA arriving at 10:35 to attempt to get the car running again. They said they will not tow the car unless they cannot get it started again. I am going to try and convince them to take it to the garage rather than fanny around trying to start it as I am not keen on driving it at the moment.

I may have to pay out getting the car recovered by someone else :o/
Demon

One thing to check, and what happened to me after a service in Summer was the loss of coolant on my KV6 - the cap had not been retightened properly. I would suggest a first course would be to top up the levels and invest £10 in a new expansion bottle cap if you haven't already done so.
Martin ZT

Where would I get such a cap? Can you recommend any places?

Thanks
Demon

I had mine supplied by the MGOC w/s when they did the service - they're an Xpart facility, but the Soham garage should have these available or be able to order, too.
Martin ZT

I'd be interested to know how you got on, Demon.

Last night the other half said - I think there's a problem with my heater - it blows hot and cold - this in a ZR 105.

So, 7.00am this morning, there I was, outside - and also discovered no coolant in the expansion tank. I tend to check it weekly, but from the outside it looked okay at a quick glance - the plastic seems to get stained by the anti freeeze.

Anyway, I filled it up with anti freeze and water, and drove it up the road - all seemed well, just hoping there aren't any airlocks - didn't get time to loosen the bleed screw.

Will have a look tonight. The cap seems the most likely culprit, from info I've gleaned on th MG Rover Forum. I'm hoping it's not the head gasket, which is probably an all-too-easy conclusion to jump to, especialy as it has only done 13,000 miles, albeit it's 3 1./2 years old. And none of the other tell-tale signs are there.


Colin

The AA gave the car a thorough going over. He done a "litmus" type test on the coolant to check for oil residue, which would point to the head gasket. He also done a pressure test, and obviously checked for leaks.

He gave the car a clean bill of health. Since then I have checked the level on a regular basis, and so far have found it to be ok.

I am constantly checking the engine temp, making sure it sits nicely just under the half-way line while driving.

Do you know if the engine temp went into the red at all. If it did, some damage may have been done.

I suggest you go to a reputable garage and get them to do a pressure test etc. My garage in Soham does them for free.

Good luck.
Demon

Thanks, Demon.

Properly checked for airlocks last night, and all seems well, so I'll keep my eye on things over the next couple of days.

As far as I know, the temp guage didn't go up.

The car is booked in for its annual service at the end of April at our local ex-MG Rover dealer (good old Kernahans in Witney) so I'll get them to check everything then. It seems a long way off, but it's really only a week and a half, as we're on hols for three weeks before then, and the ZR will just be sat at home.
Colin

This thread was discussed between 06/03/2006 and 22/03/2006

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG ZR ZS ZT Technical BBS now