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MG MGF Technical - Breakdown in France

Hi

I'm just back from an trip to the south of France and (nearly) back again in my 98 VVC.

On Sunday morning we were shooting up the autoroute to Calais when the oil light started flicking on and then straight off occassionally. I presumed my oil level must be low (it had been fine when I checked it about a week previously) and bought a can of oil when I stopped to refuel and intended to check the oil level that night (when the engine was cold) and top it up if it needed it.

However 100 or so miles down the road my engine started making a grrrrr type of noise when I pressed the accelerator. In the time it took to think that I ought to stop pretty fast white smoke came pouring out of the engine and I pulled onto the hard shoulder and stopped *very* fast.

At least I got my money's worth out of my AA 5 star European breakdown cover (even they can't coax a hire car out of the French on a Sunday) and my warning triangle ;-)

The AA are transporting my car back to a UK garage so for the moment I don't know anything more about the problem than what I observed at the time (not much, I was in a panic trying to communicate to breakdown people in French and not doing very well at it). The breakdown man started the car back at the garage and it made an awful grrrrrr sound and oil came out of the bottom whilst the engine was running.
I'm now beating myself up that I don't know enough about cars and could have done something to prevent this if I did. Would stopping to top up the oil straight away have made a difference? Is this one of the HGFs I've read about here?

The car is under MG warranty but it was a stressful way to end a very nice holiday! We found a silver lining in the situation by loading up our rented Clio with wine and beer that we had no space for in the F!

cheers
kirsty
kirsty darbyshire

Really sorry to hear that you nearly had your holiday ruined by this problem Kirsty.

Difficult to say what the problem was now, after the fact. If the oil level was the cause, the sump must have been practically empty! Low oil pressure due to low oil level is, frankly, a terminal sign!!! It's too late to do anything. If the engine had been sounding a bit noisy (tappety noise - especially at start up when the engine was cool) would suggest that this may have been a cause.

It is fair to say, that illumination of that oil lamp has to be one of the biggest heart-sink moments in motoring. On a par with no fuel in the middle of no where. Hmm. No, probably worse.

The faltering illumination of the oil warning light could also have been due to a failed oil pump (although this is very rare on K-series engines).

Sadly, the determination of the cause is probably somewhat academic: the engine sounds as though it has been destroyed: you are likely to need a new replacement. :o(

Moral of the story: always stop at the first possible opportunity if that oil lamp illuminates to avoid massive bills. :o((
Rob Bell

Bad luck Kirsty :-( Still if still under warrenty then at the least it should simply be an inconvenience as opposed to an expense.

This wine wouldn't be the free stuff on your www would it? ;-)
SBD

Thanks Rob.

I'll know that next time I see an oil warning lamp!

I didn't realise it was such a serious sign and (not being able to phone a garage on a Sunday) thought the engine would be ok for a few hours until I was able to stop for a while. I thought I'd get more warning of something so bad.

Never mind, you live and learn, and nobody got hurt or anything like that. (I've moved on from beating myself up to telling myself much worse things could have happened ;-) ).

SBD - no, the wine was from HoverSpeed at Calais for about half of UK high street prices, a good panacea for a breakdown!

cheers
kirsty
kirsty darbyshire

>>I've moved on from beating myself up to telling myself much worse things could have happened<<

I couldn't agree more! :o) Chalk it up to experience (I've blown up an engine before - all part of the learning experience! LOL)

Should be covered by warranty, as I seriously doubt that a low oil level was the cause.

Hope the car gets fixed and rapidly returned Kirsty!
Rob Bell

>> (I've blown up an engine before - all part of the learning experience! LOL) <<

Me too, twice now! :-) (what am i smiling about!) :-(

Ironically in both my cases it was caused by valve shear, must be my driving style (or lack of it!)

Sorry to hear of your missfortune Kirsty, still you made it home in one piece and that's the important thing. I have to concur with Rob's analysis i'm afraid, sounds like a major repair to me... :-(

As someone who has replaced the engine in his F before i can only sympathise and say that when you get it back it will be better than ever (it was for me).

Good luck.

SF
Scarlet Fever

Kirsty,

I would be interested to know if the warning light was for oil temperature or oil pressure. The oil temperature light is in the oil temp gauge next to the clock and the oil pressure is in the main cluster of instruments.

I had a HGF and the first I knew was when the oil temp light came on. By that time the water temp gauge was off the clock.

Commiserations!

Bruce
Bruce Caldwell

Bruce,

The warning light was the one in the top left of the dashboard, for oil pressure I think. I'm afraid I didn't notice the state of any of the instruments when the engine started smoking, my instinct was to stop the engine and get out of the car at that point!

Thanks for the sympathy everyone, a major repair is what I'm steeled for. As for the "rapid return", if it is an engine replacement how long should I expect the car to be off the road?

cheers
kirsty
kirsty darbyshire

Kirsty,

Yep that's the oil pressure warning light. Sorry, I should have explained better that the warning light for oil temp is in the middle of the instruments just above the SRS light and is coupled to the oil temp gauge next to the clock.

If you have a totally new engine then I would imagine it wouldn't be off the road long. If parts are needed to repair the existing engine then it could be a long time given the problems with Caterpillar and parts delivery times. I've been waiting five weeks for a clear indicator lens set!

Bruce
Bruce Caldwell

Kirsty
What an end to a holiday!
Be careful what you say to the garage - I would maintain that you check the oil level regularly. They may try to say engine failure was due to not enough oil which is up to you to check. You don't want to get into a dispute if you can avoid it.
In future, if you ever see an oil warnig light you should ALWAYS stop immediately.
T Green

This thread was discussed between 11/06/2002 and 12/06/2002

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