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MG MGF Technical - Help: new engine required after 71k miles

Hello all,

Once again I have to ask your help with regards to
my F, which is a '96 N-reg VVC with 71k miles.

A couple of nights ago the engine went; a sudden loss of power, the dipstick blown out, misfiring & black smoke out of the exhausts. At the time I was driving & the only symptom I could feel was the loss of power, so I drove on for about another 5 miles. The following morning I found no oil showing on the dipstick.

I had the car taken to Brown & Gammons, who tell me that one cylinder has no compression at all and an oily spark plug. It is the service manager's opinion that I need a reconditioned engine, at an inclusive cost of £2,600. He reasons that a combination of the piston, its ring and the cylinder liner will have gone, and that if the car was driven with no oil then I'd probably also need new shells and possible a re-ground crankshaft. Given that he'd have to charge me for taking off the cylinder head for a closer look, and that the work would require stripping the engine and would not be guaranteed, it would probably be cheaper to put a recon engine in.

Can anyone comment on whether this is a reasonable judgement? The car can't have been worth more than 6--7k so I'm quite shocked.


Another point is whether or not a car with so few miles should have had so many problems and whether it might be worh talking to Rover. Here is its history:

20k Gearbox rebuild under warranty (popping out
of 5th gear).
48k Head gasket failure
60k Gearbox rebuild (broken input bearing)
63k Cat gone
68k VVC seals replaced to fix oil leak
71k Engine blown up

I bought the car second hand --- 3 years old and with 13k miles --- from Swain & Jones. I've had all work carried out at MG Rover franchises up until now.

As usual, any comments would be very welcome.

Regards,

Robert
Robert Harris

A better bet might be a secondhand engine, hopefully well under a grand (plus fitting of course). That way you can keep the old engine, strip down at your leisure to discover what went wrong (if you are that way inclined) and have a useful supply of spares too. If my maths is right you've done 58k in 3 years- what's the profile of your normal driving, could this have any bearing on the problem? One more question - how long before the engine failure was it since you last checked the oil?
David

Hi David.

The £2,600 quote is for the fitting of a reconditioned engine that comes with a 1 year unlimited mileage guarantee. The engine alone is £1,400 + VAT.

I had last checked the oil 80 miles and 8 hours before the failure. It was just above the minimum mark.

It's difficult to describe my normal driving style. I'm no granny, but equally I don't always work the gears and heel & toe. Maybe "sporty" describes it.

Robert
Robert

I'd agree with David; get a second hand engine and gearbox - this will save you money on installation and is a more straightforward DIY job - which also translates to a cheap job if you get a garage to do it.
You won't get the same warranty - but it would be half the price.

I doubt that Rover would be interested in a six year old car.

Steve
Steve

>>I doubt that Rover would be interested in a six year old car.<<

Unfortunately, I think that you are quite right Steve.

The gasket, from your excellent description Robert, has blown between the oil way and the combustion camber - hence the blue smoke, and the loss of oil. I *suspect* that bearing damage will be minimal if present at all - but without stripping the engine, it is not possible to know :o(

A replacement engine does sound a logical decision. The price you've been quoted is reasonable for a new engine (it's be more if an MGR dealership were quoting for the work).

The dilemma is whether to go for a complete second hand engine and transmission, or the new engine alone. That decision would be coloured by whether you were interested in stripping your old engine and had somewhere to store it.

If not interested in amateur mechanics, then go for the new engine with warranty, IMO. Labour is the major contributer to the cost - so you might as well have some peace of mind for a little bit extra.
Rob Bell

Robert,the symtoms you describe sounds like a broken ring hence lack of compression and oil being burnt.The broken ring(s) would pressurise the crankcase/sump and blow out the dipstick. In any event a garage would not want top risk changing maybe one piston /liner for another to fail making further repairs neccessary. Bearing in mind it is a VVC and a new engine will come with new VVC's etc then I would go for this option, unless you can hear a s/h engine running with a known mileage, if not you may be inheriting some more grief.Also consider selling the car as is and put some cash towards another lower mileage car.HTH.
mike.
mike

You have my total sympathy. In fact I thought you were talking about my car.
Bought 1997 4000 miles from very careful owner.96N VVC
HGF 40000, engine overheated plus oil loss 67000 miles.B&G advised new engine May 2000 total bill £3638.95
Numerous other problems all too painful to relate!
125 000 miles today Am I due for another engine?

bset wishes on your recovery
Roger
Roger

Another member of the 100k club!

Roger, the engine in my F has now completed over 152k miles, so I wouldn't say that you were due for another engine yet. It would seem to me that your new engine has only done 55k miles.

Ralph
Ralph

Wow, 2 in the 100K club (nearly there, 97,500 ish!)

With regard to the problem, B+G seem to be quite reasonable to me. My new engine was £3500.00 all in back in 1998.

>> 20k Gearbox rebuild under warranty (popping out
of 5th gear). Warrantee so OK
48k Head gasket failure. Statistically par for the course (they tend to go at around 45,000)
60k Gearbox rebuild (broken input bearing). First one i have heard of, PG1 gearbox is pretty much tried and tested IMO
63k Cat gone. Par for the course, only supposed to do 60K before they are worn out.
68k VVC seals replaced to fix oil leak. Was it a major leak? I ask because low oil pressure could have caused some damage and may have been a factor in the next item
71k Engine blown up. Ouch, been there, doen that and it aint nice.<<

SF
Scarlet Fever

This thread was discussed between 03/10/2002 and 04/10/2002

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