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MG MGF Technical - Any ideas/advice please?

Dear all, I wonder if anyone has any ideas regarding this annoying intermittant problem? Ive had my MGF mk2 2001 for about three months now, had a few teething probs, but in general,really enjoying the car, fantastic to drive, and has put the fun back in driving for me again. anyway to cut to the chase- it has overheated twice, once when we first got the car, on a steady 70mph drive- few hundred miles.I pulled over, steam everywhere and let it cool down(both fans running by the way)- replaced water.. within about 40 mins off we went on our journey with absolutely no probs whatsoever? ran fantastic for 2 months, then last week, again on a steady 70-80mph m6, temperature guage through the roof- water boiling real bad... again let it calm down, eventually managed to top up with water, and off we went with no further probs since? please note- both cooling fans are running, no water loss day to day, and there is no oil in the water. any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!!
Kind regards
Matt
matt ardin

I'll start the ball rolling - have you replaced the pressure cap on the coolant expansion tank?
Robert Matthews 1

Have you checked your radiator? They have a habit of falling apart after a few years and your's will be just about that age. When your engine is working hard (on the motorway) it won't matter if your fan is working or not if your radiator doesn't have any fins to cool the water down. Need to either get the car up on a ramp or get under it at the front with a torch to check.
David Clelland

Hi Robert, thanks for your reply, yes I have changed the pressure cap
mattuk1

Did you bleed the coolant system as well after a major top up? It does sound like a knacked radiator though.
Tony

It's important not to run these engines with low coolant level, so you need to sort it out. I take it there's no sign of a coolant leak anywhere? Have you looked under the carpets, because the heater can leak into the car and the underfelt just soaks it up - it happened to mine. And as Tony says, correct bleeding after refilling is paramount.
Mike Howlett

Just to follow up, I have just had to replace my rad on my 2001 F, I guess I was "lucky" in that there was a puddle under the rad in the garage BUT, when I was looking out for more leaks it seemed the leak from the rad was intermittent and did not always show. FYI the leak from the rad was at the front along the bottom and looked like a it was a 20 year old rad as opposed to a 5 year old. You had to get down and crawl under the front to notice the deterioration. Hope this helps.
Robert Matthews 1

Hi guys, thanks for your comments. To be totally honest, I havn't bled the system at all, due to the fact that the rad bleed screw has sheered off, leaving just the plug- not leaking though, need to get one from somewhere.Could that be the problem, air in the system? could that be why its intermittant? also where are the other bleed points? seems to make sense at the moment.
Thanks
Matt
mattuk1

Matt,
Log on to Rob Bell's site http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/ from the box called Technical, DIY & Common Problems, choose The Coolant System & Mods, and then from the menu in the box choose Avoid Air Locks, Bleed your Colling System properly.

All will be clear.

Mike
Mike Howlett

Matt,

You may well have got air in the system when the engine boiled, but my money is still on the root cause being the radiator.
David Clelland

This thread was discussed between 01/09/2006 and 04/09/2006

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