MGF - Headgasket gone again !!

[Ray Singh]

Father in law (FiL) bought a MGF brand new in 2000 - Yes £16k worth. Its an X plate car.
Its now done about 65k miles and on its second replacement head gasket.

Today i found out that the car is loosing water again. Oil is not mayo like, but its using two cups of water per week. The car was tested this morning, and using dye it was found that exhaust gas was in the header tank.

The car has done low miles, and FiL has spent a fortune on up keep. I was quoted £840 for the headgasket replacement. Car also needs a new radiator and tyres. So i reckon about £1k all in.

What does he do?

Car is probably worth £1200 at best or £300 as it is.

Is it worth replacing the gasket? What sort should we replace with? I heard Land rover gaskets were the best?

Can anyone do the replacement for me in the Wiltshire region?

[louismchuge]

I'd sell it to a breakers personally

[y2blade]

get rid and move on

as a side note I've often wondered why people buy cars with such a reputation for HGF

Edited by y2blade on Wednesday 14th April 10:19

[kambites]

I suppose it depends on why the gasket keeps failing. When he had it replaced before was it done properly (liner heights corrected, head tested for hardness, etc.) or did they just slap a new gasket on?

The BMW era is generally recognised as the worst period for the K-series build quality problems that are the major contributors to head gasket failure so if it hasn't been checked, it's probably pretty likely that the liner heights are all over the place.

I don't know if the MGF is in some way different, but in an Elise you can get the gasket replaced with a MLS version, liner heights corrected, head hardness tested, etc. for around 500 quid. If that's already been done then there's presumably something else wrong with the engine and it's probably not worth trying to figure out what it is.

[R11ysf]

If the rest or the car has been looked after and is in good condition then get it fixed and enjoy the summer in it. If you really think it is only worth £300 as is then do the head gasket yourself. If you don't think you are able give it a go anyway - worst case scenario and you screw it up is you sell it to a breaker for £100 and are £200 out. Best case scenario it costs you £50 in parts and a weekend's time and you are back on the road.

[kambites]

y2blade said:

as a side note I've often wondered why people buy cars with such a reputation for HGF

Why do people buy Porsches with such a reputation for RMS/IMS problems, or BMWs with such a reputation for VANOS problems?

Some people believe (correctly, generally) that these problems are blown out of all proportion and some people just don't know about them.

[ewenm]

Get it fixed PROPERLY.

Check out Dave Andrews of DVA Power for some of the most comprehensive knowledge on the K-series engine.

[braddo]

If you want to replace the head gasket get a K-series specialist to do it - they can determine the cause of the gasket failure and fix that issue, making gasket failure in the future highly unlikely. If the car is already on its 3rd gasket there is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Maybe try to find a MGF forum and people can recommend a good specialist.

In the Lotus community Dave Andrews (DVA Power - google it) is very well respected as a K series tuner. Get some headwork done at the same time as the gasket replacement to get some more fun out of the MGF!

[y2blade]

kambites said:

y2blade said:

as a side note I've often wondered why people buy cars with such a reputation for HGF

Why do people buy Porsches with such a reputation for RMS/IMS problems, or BMWs with such a reputation for VANOS problems?

Some people believe (correctly, generally) that these problems are blown out of all proportion and some people just don't know about them.

good answer

thanks

[Mr E]

y2blade said:

get rid and move on

as a side note I've often wondered why people buy cars with such a reputation for HGF

You've driven an Elise, right?

[y2blade]

Mr E said:

y2blade said:

get rid and move on

as a side note I've often wondered why people buy cars with such a reputation for HGF

You've driven an Elise, right?

I have been passenger, great handling car.

FYI OP wasn't talking about an Elise, did you read the opening post?

[kambites]

y2blade said:

I have been passenger, great handling car.

FYI OP wasn't talking about an Elise, did you read the opening post?

To be fair, the MGF is a pretty decent handling little car too. Shame the seating position is down-right weird and that they didn't screw them together properly (and comparing build quality unfavourably with an Elise, really is sad ).

[LeightonBuzzard]

where i worked we did it for £680 using an uprated gasket, this was a reputable garage. there we people getting quotes of like £400 tho.

I say do it

or I'll have it

Edited by LeightonBuzzard on Wednesday 14th April 10:33

[y2blade]

kambites said:

y2blade said:

I have been passenger, great handling car.

FYI OP wasn't talking about an Elise, did you read the opening post?

To be fair, the MGF is a pretty decent handling little car too. Shame the seating position is down-right weird and that they didn't screw them together properly (and comparing build quality unfavourably with an Elise, really is sad ).

if the thread was about an Elise we wouldn't be having this conversation

it would have been fixed and back on the road without even dropping onto the PH radar

Edited by y2blade on Wednesday 14th April 10:35

[aka_kerrly]

i have also heard that LandRover and Lotus head gaskets are better as they are steel and have steel locating dowells.

thing is for the headgasket to fail twice (when was the last time) suggests there is a bigger issue. The rad is most likely a contributery factor but is the water pump, thermostat and temp sensors all working correctly.

£800 for a head gasket is a fair bit of money and the car is going to be worth £2k tops if it is in pristine condition so the decision is to get it repaired and sell it asap as having a fresh HG or sell it for £500 needing a HG replacememt.

dave

[telecat]

aka_kerrly said:

i have also heard that LandRover and Lotus head gaskets are better as they are steel and have steel locating dowells.

thing is for the headgasket to fail twice (when was the last time) suggests there is a bigger issue. The rad is most likely a contributery factor but is the water pump, thermostat and temp sensors all working correctly.

£800 for a head gasket is a fair bit of money and the car is going to be worth £2k tops if it is in pristine condition so the decision is to get it repaired and sell it asap as having a fresh HG or sell it for £500 needing a HG replacememt.

dave

BMW Specced crappy plastic dowels and a thin gasket which is why things went wrong!!! The Engine had been built since the early Nineties without problems then BMW decided they knew better than the Rover engineers who designed it!

[kambites]

y2blade said:

if the thread was about an Elise we wouldn't be having this conversation

it would have been fixed and back on the road without even dropping onto the PH radar

Nah, there would probably be a thread on the Elise forum moaning about it and asking exactly what to get checked and what to get upgraded during the repair. I think the fact that Elise owners tend to ask these questions is the reason that Elises suffer from the problem less.

[Mr E]

y2blade said:

Mr E said:

y2blade said:

as a side note I've often wondered why people buy cars with such a reputation for HGF

You've driven an Elise, right?

I have been passenger, great handling car.

FYI OP wasn't talking about an Elise, did you read the opening post?

Yup, but I was responding to your question. Having just asked myself exactly the same thing and bought the car anyway I felt fairly qualified to respond.

I am absolutely sure the car will lunch the HG at some point. And it's worth it.

[kambites]

telecat said:

BMW Specced crappy plastic dowels and a thin gasket which is why things went wrong!!! The Engine had been built since the early Nineties without problems then BMW decided they knew better than the Rover engineers who designed it!

That's a little bit unfair. The 1.8 K-series always suffered from a disproportionately high number of head gasket failures. It just got much worse in engines built under BMW stewardship.

[y2blade]

Mr E said:

y2blade said:

Mr E said:

y2blade said:

as a side note I've often wondered why people buy cars with such a reputation for HGF

You've driven an Elise, right?

I have been passenger, great handling car.

FYI OP wasn't talking about an Elise, did you read the opening post?

Yup, but I was responding to your question. Having just asked myself exactly the same thing and bought the car anyway I felt fairly qualified to respond.

I am absolutely sure the car will lunch the HG at some point. And it's worth it.

when your HG does go you'll probably get a VTEC fitted instead like a mate of mine did

enjoy