MG ZT CDTI, 190, or something else?

[wildcat45]

Back story. I wanted one as a toy for ages. Wife wasn't keen. We were doing up a house and needed a load lugger for trips to the tip. Wife said, if you can get a Zt-T in a photocromatic colour, I'll be happy. A day later I bought mine.

As a car to take loads it is fantastic. I didn't really think of them as big cars until - seats down - I started to use it to move tables, chairs, garden rubbish building rubbish. There is not a load it has said no to including a (disassembled) dining table and chairs.

Mine is a KV6 auto. It is not a sports car and it does drink fuel so as a car for daily commuting it may prove a bit expensive.

It is a lovely old thing. Great on long journeys and mine is full of toys - even a TV. Sadly mine does have starship miles on it and she codl do with a bit of love.

Watch for leaks. Mine lets in water which I am trying to get sorted. In hindsight, a non-sunroof model would have been a better option.

Mine came with a stainless steel exhaust on it. What a wonderful noise. I lend it to a mate now and then and he drives everywhere with the windows down just to enjoy the sound!

I would imagine a diesel would be a bit underpowered - I think mine is - but they are fantastic value for money. There is a good spares network and a very helpful owners club online.

I would say get one, if even for a short time. They are at an age now where if they were Fords or Mazdas, they'd be no more than old downmarket motors. There is something kind of old money shabby chic about mine. I have a place in rural Scotland and when I am tooling around there in the local villages and local country town, it really fits in. My 2013 Land Rover seems a bit too new money flash in comparison.

A lovely old British barge, with nice looks.

Edited by wildcat45 on Saturday 30th November 09:15

[cptsideways]

We have owned two of them, both CDT mine was an auto & managed mid to late 40'mpg on a run, wifes is a diesel manual & she get high 40's on her daily running about. Both have been reliable bar a broken front spring & a faulty cam angle sensor causing starting issues on hers.


Both very comfy, well specced in SE/Connisuer, cdt's are SLOW, Cdti would be my preferred choice if looking for another one.

Plus you get the webasto diesel heater which can easily be wired to a remote control for toastie warm starts

[BigTom85]

Ok, so here's a list of common issues etc from the top of my head. There is lots more info and a very good owners community - http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/ , as well as others.

Diesels (M47 engine)

• Injectors - not terribly expensive to be honest, but can be a nightmare to remove.
• EGR valves - many options for replacement available, including deletion.
• DMF/clutch - mobile specialist offers replacement for £450, flywheel extra if needed.
• Fuel pumps - there are 3 and they can all give bother.
• MAFs - many options available for replacement.
• Thermostats - a big job to change, but alternative options available
• Lower engine mounts - again, various options available, easy job to swap.
• ECU failure - mounted in the plenum, if the plenum drains are not clear and the plenum allowed to drain freely it can fill with water and kill the ECU. ECU can usually be repaired, and there are mods available to help prevent this issue.
• Crankshaft pullies fail - The harmonic damper (rubber) fails and hence get very noisy and need replacement.
• Turbos - generally reliable, but failure not unheard of.
• Intercooler o-rings and pipes - poor designs but can be uprated easily and cheaply.

Other pros and cons

• Timing chain so no belt to worry about - generally last the life of the car.
• MPG can be variable, some report averages in the low 30s, others low 50s, and anything inbetween. Averages very much depend on health of all items above.
• Not the smoothest engine, noisy, yukky smelly diesel etc etc!
• Can be remapped to 160bhp cheaply and reliably.
• Heavy engine means its relatively hard on suspension components.
• Can be very long lived - many examples now well over 300k miles and reportedly running sweetly.

V6

• Inlet manifold butterflys can rattle and get very noisy - only options are to remove the butterflies (not recommended as this affects performance and economy), or replace with a known good one. Nobody to my knowledge can supply new, remanufactured or repaired parts.
• VIS (Variable Intake System) motors - there are 2 and these control the inlet manifold butterflies. Almost guaranteed that one or both will be broken if they haven't been replaced recently. Its fundamental that these work to obtain the best performance and economy from the car. Uprated parts available, can be DIY repaired if good with a soldering iron.
• Thermostat housings split for fun - easy, if a little time consuming to replace (inlet manifold off if you don't have the hands of an 11 year old).
• Some reports of camshafts snapping if the cambelt is changed without using the correct locking tools (about £200 for the tools).
• Can suffer from HGF or other engine damage if overheated - can occur if thermostat housing splits and goes un-noticed. Luckily good engines are still easy to source.
• Fuel filter housing can separate - the most common cause of non-starting. The housing is mounted in the tank and is relatively easy and cheap to repair permanently by adding the 'fabled orange clip'. This is common to all petrol models except very early ones. Fuel filter is a lifetime one although can be replaced.

Other pros and cons

• Cambelt job is not for the faint hearted and requires special tools. Allow £650 for a specialist to swap.
• Mpg in the high 20s average.
• 190 has a lower (or is it higher?) final drive, meaning 80mph is 4krpm ish, although mpg on motorways can be surprisingly good at low 30s.
• Very sweet sounding and revving engine.
• Generally long lived.
• 2 variants available, 190bhp and 160bhp, both are sweet but the 160 is no better on fuel than the 190, so why bother?
• Petrol ECUs are waterproof, although that doesn't mean you should ignore the plenum drains!
• 325mm front disks are superb, but expensive. The non-190 286?mm set up is hardly lacking though!

1.8T

• Head gasket failure - most will have been uprated now. Once replaced with the latest MLS jobby, and replaced to a high standard, they should last the life of the car. Now a sub-£300 job at specialists, approx £100 DIY.
• Quite common for turbo failure shortly after HGF. Shouldn't be an issue if HGF is quickly identified and repaired, but hardly surprising the turbo fails if run on emulsified oil. A doddle to swap though and around £300 recon from reputable turbo specialists. Turbos generally reliable though.
• Coil packs - there are 2 and are £30 each, tend to last 80-100k or so. Easy to swap.
• Ignition system - the ignition system is identical to the 1.8 n/a engines, so is a little weak for the turbo engine. Gapping the plugs to 0.8mm (instead of the factory 1.1mm) tends to improve smoothness and longevity of the coil packs etc.
• Boost control solenoid - can fail giving bad stuttering at high rpm. Easily replaced (as in 10 minutes with no tools) for £40 ish, or aftermarket controllers can be fitted.
• Fuel filter housing can separate - the most common cause of non-starting. The housing is mounted in the tank and is relatively easy and cheap to repair permanently by adding the 'fabled orange clip'. This is common to all petrol models except very early ones. Fuel filter is a lifetime one although can be replaced.

Other pros and cons

• Generally the cheapest to buy.
• Mpg generally low-mid 30s, high 30s on the motorway.
• Low pressure turbo is very smooth and linear.
• Easily remapped to 200bhp ish.
• Doddle to DIY.
• Nice sounding engine for a 4-banger!
• Cambelt every 90k or 6yrs.
• Petrol ECUs are waterproof, although that doesn't mean you should ignore the plenum drains!

Pros and Cons for all models

• Very solid build quality overall
• Lovely unique oval dash dials
• Optional extras are usually easy to add if not specified at the factory (electric rear blind, heated and electric seats, fancy trip computer (IPK), powerfold mirrors, cruise control (although not on the 1.8/1.8Ts), fuel burning heater for the diesels etc).
• The cheaper standard half-leather seats tend to wear and split and look tatty. Full leather and leather/alcantara seats fair better.
• All seats very comfy indeed.
• Superb rust protection.
• Tourers are a great load lugger.
• Jatco autobox is robust and long lived. Most spares are available and are surprisingly easy to work on.
• Timeless looks. All models still look fabulous.
• Standard headlights are poor, optional projectors are great, xenons even better and easy to retrofit.
• Front strut top mount bearings commonly fail - £40 a pair plus fitting.
• Some parts no longer available, plenty of second hand spares, no problems with consumables etc.
• Handbrakes can be poor - easily rectified with correct adjustment and a modified compensator.
• Waterleaks into the boot are common, usually the rear light seals or waist line moulding clips.
• 75 suspension is sublime - unrivalled comfort!
• ZT suspension is available in 2 flavours, MG Sport or MG Comfort. Can be determined from the sticker under the rear seat squab. The MG Comfort (not sure if that's the correct name) is what is fitted to mine and will be plenty firm enough for most!
• Uses BMW e46 headunits and navigation, some great aftermarket options availble too. MGs tend to have Kenwood single DIN units as standard but are easily upgraded.

That should do for now. These cars really are fabulous and I'd recommend them to anyone. A Mondeo or similar may be an easier ownership proposition, but won't be anywhere near as rewarding!

Edited by BigTom85 on Saturday 30th November 09:18

[BigTom85]

This is my project thread - http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

Turns out I didn't buy the best example, and I've done lots of catch up maintenance, but I really do love it!

[sjc]

Agee... your car has arrived!!!Low spec but low miles and 1600quid!

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

[900T-R]

You need to realise that a 75 drives completely differently from a ZT though... the transformation from pipe and slippers to sporting MG was very detailed and not just a matter of bolting big bumpers and wheels on and colour coding the lot. If you want a soft, cosseting ride there's nowt wrong with that of course, but buting a 75 rather than the ZT thinking you'll be able to sharpen it up to a similar degree would be a bit of a mistake.

[davepoth]

900T-R said:

You need to realise that a 75 drives completely differently from a ZT though... the transformation from pipe and slippers to sporting MG was very detailed and not just a matter of bolting big bumpers and wheels on and colour coding the lot. If you want a soft, cosseting ride there's nowt wrong with that of course, but buting a 75 rather than the ZT thinking you'll be able to sharpen it up to a similar degree would be a bit of a mistake.

Although the 75 is actually quite rewarding to punt around in a sort of racing yacht type way. The steering is a bit slow, but the pedals are just right for H&T, the gears are nicely spaced, the brakes have good feel, and the engines are good. The 1.8 N/A really does like to get wrung out to the redline, which does get some odd looks from time to time.

[carinaman]

sjc said:

Agee... your car has arrived!!!Low spec but low miles and 1600quid!

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

It's a real shame when forums require logins to view images.

[cptsideways]

carinaman said:

sjc said:

Agee... your car has arrived!!!Low spec but low miles and 1600quid!

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

It's a real shame when forums require logins to view images.

Racing beige with velour cloth in beige!!! It actually looks very tidy though, definitely a good look if you like slippers

[AGee]

Thank you all for the help, I've visited a few locally and wasn't that impressed with the examples for sale. They're still on my radar however my car buying is on hold for the next few months so I settled on new tyres and brakes for my Celica and folded the seats back down!