Coolant loss on mg zt 160+
 

Hi Guys,not been on for a while.Last week while driving home from work early hours was doing about 60 ish,when the temp gauge went right upto red and the computer screen lit up 'Engine Overheating',i slowed down and both went off,drove home steadily without any further mishap,checked the water level when i got back and it had lost a little bit(about 1/2 pint) so i topped it up,checked again today and had to put in about a pint!!Any ideas? not had any warning messages since!

I think I'll wait till Intermission to read your question.

TC

Well, plenty:D
You have either
1. Lost water
2. Got a thermostat stuck
3. Indicating fault.

Firstly establish if you have lost water.
If so, have you got an external leak?
check
Thermostat housing
Water pump
All hoses
Check for drips, check filler cap on expansion bottle
If no external leak but water loss, check oil filler cap for mayo (water loss past liners or, if you also have oil in the water, HGF)

If none of the above, stuck thermostat, could be it, start engine from cold and feel the hose to see if it gets hot, If not stuck thermostat.

If none of the above,you could perhaps have an air-lock, but then you would have been tinkering with the cooling system recently, and that you would know.

It just shows you how useless the temperature warning is, get another gauge
either install an analogue type as I did many moons ago, or get one of the excellent units of Hans.
And, with absolutely no modesty whatsoever!!!! install another durable thermostat (hint hint!!)

All the above assumes that you r car is V6 engine.

Otherwise all applies with exception of the thermostat housing!

If I have forgotten anything, it is just to see if the other big mouths on the forum are awake!!!:D:D

Err - I think it's the 1.8T Kaiser :D

But do the checks that K has suggested anyhow!

thermostat housing.....check the V with a torch (I'm assuming a KV6)

Of course, you are right! 1.8T!
Somehow I only noticed the 160, and that did not mean anything in particular to me.
Anyhow, the advice stands, with exception of the thermostat housing. Darn!!:getmecoat:

Assuming you've eliminated the possibility of HGF and you know the header cap is sound, then on the 1.8T the first leak candidate is the upper plastic T-piece behind the radiator. This tends to deform as you tighten the clips. If the original clips are still on there, swap them for Jubilees. In fact get rid of the T-piece altogether and replace it with a steel one from Gerry. Search and you'll find.
If that's not the culprit, think about the inlet manifold. It's water heated and the o-ring type gaskets easily fail.
Other than those, leaks can occur in the same place as in any other engine, the water pump is another common one. This drips out from behind the main pulley.
In the turbo, the thermostat is underneath the engine, by the radiator bottom. It could be stuck shut leading to overheat and coolant loss.
If you suspect there's an air lock, you can clear it be evacuating the system using a Pela pump. See the HowTo on vacuum filling the coolant for details.

TC

Cheers Guys,checked for Mayo under the cap and there is none,also the dipstick is clear,seems to be a dry residue on the pipes which could be dryed up coolant,ive still got to get round to fitting my 'Gerry-T' so will probably get that sorted some time this week!.:lol:

Welllll!! Pretty sure now its HGF,the original plastic T-Piece is leaking like sieve,and water is dripping out of the engine,lost another pint yesterday,and there is a big puddle underneath the car,taking it to my mate this morning as he is a mechanic,think it will be about £500,is that reasonable?and how much have others paid to have this done,apparently i also get a full service and cam belt included.

Also on a different note the exhaust back box had an advisory on the mot,and have been told it would be cheaper to have a sports back box sleeved on instead of paying out £230 for a full system,has anybody got any suggestions for a nice stainless box,may as well get it all done while its in for the HGF!

hi
 

hi sounds like the same thing i had with my 1800 turbo .the pipe from the t bit going to the stat at he bottom of the rad split and the cause was the water pump.mine is being done now for £120 ,got new hose for a real bargian from smc trading for £24.99 brand new one .my mecanic says the head is ok as he made up a pipe to test the engine.

Booked in for tuesday,2 day job,£350 for the HG and £65 for a new cam belt,may as well kill 2 birds with one stone!

Make sure they use the new MLS type gasket and ladder rail, i think this involves removing the sump. Less chance of it going again then :)

They are fitting the landrover metal gasket,and while they have got it i had a call yesterday saying that i need new drive belts/plugs etc gotta add another £50 for the final bill.been told it shouldnt go again though,fingers crossed.

hi
 

check the hoses from the matrix if one hot the cold then you got a bubble it the cooling system stats hardly go it would open if it not sensing hot water .mates car was doing the same trouble is through riunning hot like that will do the water pumd and and pop your top hose .mate just un did hose blow through it and then on to the next pipe in the cycle till all pipes had been blown through,top up rad bleed if you need to bleedor just run engine without cap on rad and your see when system is bleed as no more bubbles will appear at the neck of the expansin tank , hope that helps .

hi
 

the best way mate ,i would get a new water pump fitted at the same time as they are doing the belt . nice to see there are mechanics out there that just see the 75 as another car and dont add 200 just cos it is a rover .

Well phoned about an hour ago and it turns out there is another T-piece from the turbo to the radiator,and that has split,they have said i can drive it but its leaking quite badly,so seeing as im away for a few days they have said they would rather keep it until tuesday when the part is delivered than risk it going again over the weekend,Also they have fitted my Gerry-T will post up piccys when it gets home.