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MG MGF Technical - head gasket

anyone any ideas? on my 3rd head gasket for steptronic. 60 k miles. also new rad, pipes, water pump etc. gasket fitted[ the new special one that is supposed to last for life!!!] and bled a number of times. on test car ok up to about 5 miles when temp rises quickly. temp immediately goes down when heater turned to hot and back up if turned to cold. top class man did gasket but we now lost for ideas.
thanks
d elliott

The temperature/heater thing indicates an air lock and also indicates that your faith in your mechanic is ill founded as does the fact that you are on you third HGF!

Did you have a good MGF man do the job? Not just a good mechanic.
Ted Newman

Have you checked the thermostat is opening correctly, i.e. felt the surge of warm coolant on the radiator inlet, followed a short time later by (less) warmth at the radiator outlet?

If the engine can only cool itself effectively when the heater circuit is open, that suggests the plumbing may be suspect; worth double checking the pipe system - not impossible to get two pipes the wrong way round if all were replaced at the same time.

I'm presuming the water pump was replaced at the first gasket replacement? Probably worth a check of the flow rate - poor coolant circulation/pressure from a dud water pump would fit with your symptoms.
Mike Hankin

thanks for ideas chaps. my man is good. first gasket changed at 25k by rover techs under warranty, but they did not even skim head, as they had car back in under a day! most parts renewed including pump and pipes last year and thermostat[tested as well] this. head ground this time and pressure tested. will check plumbing again.
cheers. will post solution to the mystery if we find one.
d elliott

It is better not to skim the head if it has not been warped as the annealed layer giving the soft base alloy a harder coating will be lessened.
Has the jiggle valve in the top hoses and the radiator been checked.
Jon Baker

Hi, on sat day time driving my Mg Mgf 1.8i(2001) it just cut out! RAC turned up and towed me back, RAC said head gasket is going or gone, put the sniffer on it etc etc, any ideas how much this will cost!!
lee

This thread was discussed between 09/09/2007 and 10/09/2007

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