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MG MGF Technical - Oh Dear.... Could it have caused any damage?

Heres how it goes...

The wife rings me up, shes broke down. "Whats the problem? What happened?"
"Lots of steam and temp gauge very high!!!"
"Oh S**T" I say " sounds like the start of HGF?!?!?!"
Mr RAC man comes along and takes a look after about 30 minutes of prodding and poking (the car, not the wife!!!). He solves the problem!!! The wife tells me it was the "Thingy switchy thing that turns the fan on when the engine is hot..". She had been stuck in traffic for a while so this is the is the reason for the overheating (I hope)

What I would like to know is could this have caused any damage? The car is under warranty (Its only 6 months old) should I get the dealer to check it over?

Any answers would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

Carl Fairhurst
P1 KLF
Carl Fairhurst

Get it checked out straight away. There may be some heat damage to the the heads. As it's still under warranty don't take any chances.
Ralph

The temperature sensor that the engine management system uses to switch on and offf the radiator fan has been known to fail: it's certainly failed on my car in the past with similar overheating consequences in heavy stationary traffic.

Sorting this problem out is both cheap and simple - the sensor just needs replacing: see http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/hgf_diagnosis.htm

A DIY fix that only costs 10 quid :o)
Rob Bell

Rob,

Would you consider a pre-emptive replacement a sensible idea for owners of older F's. Is failure inevitable or is it a question of good, or bad luck.....?

Tim
tim woolcott

Many Thanks

Ive booked it into the dealers tomorrow for them to have a look at..

Carl
P1 KLF
Keeping my fingers crossed
Carl Fairhurst

Tim - the prevalence of this failure seems to steeply increase at the 5 years of age point - so perhaps a replacement at the 5 year major service may be a good idea (I think I'd also advise that all the ignition consumables should also be replaced at this time - spark plugs, ignition leads, rotor arm and distributer head). At the same time a very thorough inspection of the condition of the radiator and under body coolant pipes should be performed - as an increasing number of radiator/ pipe failures are being reported (usually at around this time). Maybe these items should also be added to the prophylactic replacement list?
Rob Bell

Carl,

Important word in your posting: 'warranty'. Make the most of it - no DIY fixes!

David 'head being replaced under warranty - cor how much's that costing - I don't care' Bainbridge
David Bainbridge

Rob,

I had a full coolant system inspection this winter, clamps, pipes, manifold gasket tightened or replaced but not the heat sensor, might be an idea sometime soon by the sound of it. 10 quid/small price to pay for peace of mind.

Any chance of a part number.!

Good advice

Thanks


Tim
tim woolcott

Tim - it's on that link above - GTR406 :o)

Carl - sorry missed the point that the car was only 6 months old - therefore most certainly a Dealer job for the warranty!
Rob Bell

Carl

Similar thing happened to my wife on the M6 one day, only it was a fan motor problem that eventually caused the fan fuse to blow, so when she stopped at the end of an enormous tailback, ...

When you get your car back, keep a close check on the coolant level. In our case, the inlet manifold gasket must have been damaged, causing a subsequent slow drop in the level of coolant in the header tank with no obvious signs of external leakage, finally leading to a rapid 1/2" drop in the tank and an unpleasant smell from coolant dropping onto a hot exhaust.

Can I also plug my local dealer, Stour Valley Rover in Stourbridge. When this happened, they really pulled out the stops to get our car collected from Junction 4 of the M6, and repaired under warranty at no cost.
David Dewick

Well got the car back from the dealers, everything OK. They said they'd left the car idling for about 1hr fan cut in, so that seems OK, no loss of coolant etc.... I will just keep my eye on it now.

Just give the "F" a good blasting round Rivington temp gauge never moved.

Carl

P1 KLF
"A very happy chappy!!!"
Carl Fairhurst

Carl
Glad to hear that the car is OK. I was very worried when I started reading your post, as the abbreviation HGF should (hopefully) not be associated with your car, due to it's age (51-reg). This has been sorted (so I have been informed) on post 2000 cars with revised HG and dowels.
However, overheating can damage the HG, so keep your eyes on that temp gauge for a while. I'm sure the garage will have checked this though, so you should be fine - fingers crossed....at least you've got a few weeks until NMGO3!
Cheers
Paul
PK51VDL - Yellow Trophy
Paul

Cheers Paul

Carl
P1 KLF
Carl Fairhurst

This thread was discussed between 06/06/2002 and 07/06/2002

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