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MG MGF Technical - HGF Bazaar solution

Ok I will suggest something very daft.
Now please don't all jump down my throat all at once

HGF is a persistent problem for Fs. and a veritable pain in the Årse but given that fs are getting lower and lower in value there will come a time when an HGF could eceonmoically write off an otherwsie ok car

so let's look a cheap solutions.

Those who know me will remember the Labrat. 214 SLi. As threatening as a Vicar's sandwich, but with a definite slice of the Darkside thrown in. That 103bhp K-series engine which whould temp you into doing things that the Parish Council wouldn't approve of. I got 123mph out of that car once! A mental free revving bike engine in a car. ALSO it was bullet proof!

With 214s swapping hands on ebay for the price of a good night out, (or half the price of a night out with my band) I put it to you that a cheap solution to the HGF nightmare that could afflict young and impoverished owners of ropey or just old Fs could be solved by the fitment of a later 214 or perhaps 216 engine. They do seem to be more resistant to the dreaded HGF.

Could the more technical amongst you confirm my belief that the original F gearbox and the MEMs system would work properly for a direct transplant.

Those of you who are dismissive about the 1.4 engine should really try one out.

Obviously there is a cost to doing the transfer job but if it's just a matter of straightforward spanner work, it could be accomplished as a car saving procedure



Neil

There's a guy I met a while back who has been competing in a car with a 1.4 K with a very large turbo strapped to it for several years now, without any gasket issues. Something in the region of 400bhp IIRC...
Mike Hankin

darkside beckons!
Neil

I think you may find that the low rate of HGF on cars like the 214 is due to the radiator being 10cm away from the engine rather than at the other end of the car. It may have little to do with the 400cc capacity difference.
David Witham

What are we talking about here? Are we suppossed to acquire the parts for a conversion in a marketplace? Or is it supposed to be about some unusual and bizarre transplant?
mose

HGF is not the preserve of 1.8 litre engines. It impacts all K-series (it effects all engines in fact!)

An example - SIL's Metro 1.4 GTa suffered a HGF at 100k miles.

They all go eventually one suspects.

The problem on the F and TF is the design of the cooling system - which is why Rover and LandRover fit the PRT thermostat. Easy enough job for the hardened DIY-er.
Rob Bell

I agree with the radiator comment.
The reason for the non-failure is the volume of cold water in the system is HUGELY bigger in the F. Probably 1/2 much again. The HGF is caused by the thermal shock caused by the poor cooling system design - the shock is smaller in the front engined cars.
-other reasons for the failures, ie bolts, warped heads, slipped liners etc etc are all secondary - the reason these things happen is because of the thermal shock.

With suitable mods to the cooling system - as early as possible in the engines life - the HGF can be avoided. Im sure.

Dave
Dave

IMO head gaskets (or at least the design used in the K series) has a finite life and should be changed with the cam belt ie around 50-65K. There is no 'cure' for deterioration.
mike

>The problem on the F and TF is the design of the cooling system - which is why Rover and LandRover fit the PRT thermostat. Easy enough job for the hardened DIY-er.

OK how do I fit one of those?

Neil

What is a PRT thermostat?
Have been a MGF owner for a month now and am concerned with HGF.
Have ordered a water level sensor kit from B&G but how is this going to help?
Will it just limit the extent of damage caused by a HGF but not prevent one?
My MGF has 73,000 miles is T -reg,(1999) and a vvc model.
From all I have seen on the forums I will have a HGF at some point for sure.
KS Gould

KS,

Welcome the "bazaar" (sic) world of MGF paranoia. At the risk of being shot down, not every car will suffer HGF. It sometimes appears that this BBS is the gasket equivalent of the Elephant's Graveyard. Relax, enjoy the car, warm it up gently, cool it down gently, and adopt a "que sera sera" attitude.

Bizarre!
Graham Martin

Thanks for the response Graham.
I have already been advised to let the temp come up before revving over 3000rpm and have been doing this.
As for the que sera sera business I agree but if there is anything I can do to avoid/limit damage I would like to know. I am just getting used to driving a sports car and don't want it off the road. Then again I guess a sports car is always more liable to breakdowns than the boring small "family" type car I used to drive (vauxhall astra).
KS Gould

Spooky.. my last car was a boring Astra that stalled and refused to restart on most major roundabouts, usually straddling lanes. It got so bad that my son refused to "face certain death", and I travelled alone alot. Hundreds of pounds spent on false cures and I'd had enough.

Six months of MGF ownership have seen enjoyable motoring and the return of my passenger! The paranoid phase is waning, and the other problems have been basic and easily resolved.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that all cars have their problems, but some inspire a desire to cope with what comes.
Graham Martin

B&G kit just arrived at my work, I just "happened" to be looking out the window when a UPS van turned up.
Now all I need is to persuade the boyfriend to help me fit it (or just do it himself while I look on).
He has a Land Rover (series 3 lightweight, ancient, top comes off and windscreen folds down) so maybe he can help me with the thermostat too.
KS Gould

Sorry Graham did not see your message when I posted the "my part from B&G turned up" message.
Thinking about it the astra played up for ages on and off to the point where I refused to drive it any further than 50 miles radius from where I live.
It was worn fuel pipes (right word?) into the carburettor causing fuel starvation. However I didn't know what fuel starvation felt like so for ages the car would play up, I would get bf to come and help by which time it was going ok. When prob was fixed it went much better than it had ever gone before,
KS Gould

"At the risk of being shot down, not every car will suffer HGF"
Now Graham don´t be a naughty boy, behave yourself, and stop telling lies. As you said ...not every car will suffer HGF... BUT you brat perfectly know that EVERY MG F will sooner or later get a HGF, and even worse, may not be the only one.
John Baskin

This thread was discussed between 23/02/2006 and 24/02/2006

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