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MG MGF Technical - Abbreviations


Dear all,

can someone please explain to me what HGF is? Head gasket failure.. What is the head gasket?

Cheers

Philly!

Why is everyone experiencing this problem?
Philip

Jealousy?

Seriously just do a search in the archives and leave yourself a month of sundays to read it.

Ted
Ted Newman

FUBU
For Us, By Us...

Hmmmm...........
Brad

ONNTA, FWIW HGF IS AAMOF A TLA.

IITYWIMWYBMAD?

BBFN

Ralph
Ralph

To avoid being un-polite by writing things reader of this BBS might not understand, I have sent you an off-line message Phil...

It's in Swedish...

/Ronny
Ronny Peschel

FUBU =F*uck*d up beyond use.
Paul

ronny, how can you send him a message when he didnt leave an e-mail addy?
Dov

perhaps he knows it! They are after all both Swedish and as they say 'not many *F*s in Sweden - one S, one W, two Es, one D and one N but NO *F*s.

Ted
Ted Newman

SNAFU
JohnP


I love you Ted! Maybe we can get together in London? Soho ?

Paul

Ted, you're on right track!

However I must admit, this thread has become rather difficult to follow for a guy like me with the limited language skill I possess...

/Ronny
Ronny Peschel

Paul

Why not indeed - just along Wardour Street from Shaftesbury Avenue is a shop that should suit you.

Ted
Ted Newman

HGF = Head Gasket Failure

K-Series engine has an alloy block (contains pistons and bottom end coponents like the crank - which is oil cooled) and an alloy head (contains valves, camshafts, sparkplugs - is water cooled). These two items are bolted together and inbetween is a thin metal plate called the cylinder head gasket.

In the event if a head gasket failure, the water and oil mix, resulting in the water boiling and engine temperatures rising suddenly, this increased temperature can 'cook' the engine, cusing lots of damage.

Current theory regarding why the F seems to be susceptable to HGF is to do with the thermostat (temperature guage). The thermostat controls the temperature of the water by increasing or decreasing the flow to the radiator. The HGF theory goes something like this: The thermostat is located in such a place that it receives bursts of cold water from the radiator, this closes the thermostat, causing the water to heat up, it then opens again (as the water is hot) and recieves yet another cold burst straight from the radiator and closes again... this is a vicious cycle. The result of this is that the head gets pulses of hot/cold, hot/cold, hot/cold water causing repeated expansion/contraction. The block however stays reasonably stable, so the movement is taken up by the gasket, causing it to wear out and thus fail.

Solution is to fit a combined oil/water cooler that effectively 'locks' the two fluids' temperatures together. People on this board are looking into this at the moment.

Hope This Helps (HTH)

SF
SF

This thread was discussed between 11/07/2002 and 12/07/2002

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