Head Gasket MG ZR

[Scottdog]

Hi

Recently bought the car from a dealer and it had a 3 month warranty.

I took it to a garage who said the head gasket had gone, although I couldnt tell until I inspected the engine with their help. Gunk in the coolant etc.

Anyway, the dealer has agreed to put a new one in.

However, my question is : How reliable are replacements? I love the car but should I try for my money back?

Any advice would be appreciated

[Mat C]

If the repair is carried out correctly, ie - all new headbolts are used, new water pump, new timing belt etc then it should be fine but to make it even better , suggest to the garage that they use the gasket kit from a LandRover Freelander as it is supperior.
But whichever way they repair it, the fix will only be as good as the attention you give it after it is done. The 4 pot K is renowned for HGF and it is due to the minimul tollerances of the coolant system - a trade off for making what was at the time (and still may be) the lightest production 4 cylinder car engine.

[wildoliver]

As above there is a new kit out including the modified gasket AND a modified bottom rail which reduces the likelyhood of it going again by a large factor, I doubt the garage will put the bottom rail on for you, I would suggest paying the extra (£40 or so) to get the bottom rail and ask them too, it will take more labour but will be worth it.

Then when the job is done always take care to warm the engine up properly before using the revs, and look after it.

[Mat C]

Yeah, it's vitaly important on the K4 (and i think more than any other engine really) that your coolant level is constantly monitored from cold.

[ady_d]

hi ive recenly bought a 2002 mg zr 1.4 16v 105 ps to be acutate i bought it last night & two miles down road it broke down in a huge ball of smoke! head gasket gone!! i wernt happy in the slightest ive been told its a big job on these cars & an expensive one too, so i was wondering if anyone could give me any info on price or any info @ all.ive been told that it would be easyer to buy a new engine?? but i dont know [e-mail] if you could help me i would appreicate it alot

[Wicker Man]

ady_d said:

any info on price

It's just a head gasket, no big deal! A head gasket replacement on my VVC cost £293 last year, but if you shop around you can pay double that.

(That's asuming it hasn't been driven for miles without any coolant in it.)