75 1.8Turbo issues & rear parking sensors problem - will be grateful for any advise!

[Samc]

Hello, I’m new to the forum as have only just purchased a 75 but have to say that I extensively used the forum for tips before getting the car – so thanks.
That said, now I have my car there are a couple of things I need some advise on. The car seems to misfire or briefly hesitates when accelerating through the turbo rev range. I’ve noticed on the forum that other people’s 75’s have done this & more often it seems that a loose pipe is the cause. So based on this I had the car checked before buying. The garage checked the various pipes to the turbo with no obvious problem, test drove it & the car was fine. I did too with no problems so we decided that the garage must have just inadvertently sorted the problem whilst checking the pipes. However, a couple of days later the car stated to misfire when accelerating, so much so that after a while the check engine light appeared and the car seemed to start driving on only three cylinders. I called the AA who replaced the spark plugs as mine were yellowing which he said usually indicated that they had it. Although I was pretty sceptical that this would sort it, sure enough when test driving with the AA chap in the car, it was fine and has been since last week. However, I noticed that the misfire seems to have started to come back though not anywhere near as bad. Seems to do it more in 2-4 gears & only through the turbo rev range plus you can hear the turbo whooshing quite loud & continues even in 5th as the speed climbs. There is a definite slight pause/hesitance which you can notice whether or not you are driving or a passenger. The AA man said that coils are quite common but other posts have said on the forum that they’ve changed coils, leads plugs etc with no change. As a novice (mechanically) I’m not sure where to check myself the pipes that have been mentioned on the forum for the turbo so any tips would be greatly received. Does anyone else’s turbo 75s whoosh of is the turbo on the way out?
Also, it looks as though the last owner may have knocked the rear bumper, which may or may not have caused the rear parking sensors fault. Though they do seem to work as you reverse up to something correctly, but as soon as you engage reverse, they beep, and continue to beep either slowing quickly or continuously (no pattern) whether or not your near to any object – any ideas? Don’t really want to go back to the garage on that as reckon they will charge the earth! One last thing (sorry for going on!) the dreaded head gasket issue on the K-series, what happens, what do you need to check on & can you prevent it?! Thanks, Sam.

[chrissyboy]

hi samc .i just had that problem was really bad if you tried to boot it .mine turned out to be the coils and i also changed the plugs and now it is fast and smooth.head gasket issue .just make sure all coolant level is always at the max and that you have no air in the system and it will be fine .remember all the posts on here are for the problems with the car ,,,,just like any other car they do go wrong at times .no one states how good their car is running and that they have not had trouble .the 75`5 are the nuts.hope this helps you .chrissyboy

[Gman2]

SAMC - can't help you with the sensors I'm afraid but as Chrissyboy states the coils are a good place to start and are a fairly easy DIY job. Hoses can also become detached from the small box to the side of the air filter box so worth a check. What is the history of the car - if it's patchy get a good quality oil in (I'm on Millers 10w40 semi) and change plugs (I'm on NGK platinums) - and swap in a K&N type panel filter. Minimal performance improvement but you can wash and clean every 6months and it's surprising how much dirt accumulates. All that's mentioned are easy DIY tasks.

Enjoy the car!

[Parker]

Hi Sam & welcome to this great club.

With concerns to HGF just keep a really close eye on your water levels and regularly check for leaks, the headgasket fails through coolant loss so keep on top of that & you should have no issues, just because it's a 1.8 doesn't mean it will definitely fail, like anything check & maintain. The temperature gauge is quite useless to be honest so many owners especially of 1.8 & 1.8T's have invested in the Hans Gauge, a great piece of kit that not only looks good when installed but extremely effective & gives peace of mind when motoring, several links on here.

Link to Gauge: https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=32185&highlight=hans+gauge

[Samc]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advise - really pleased with the car so hopefully all going well, that will continue.

The history of the car is pretty good, one owner with full Rover history & 47k on the clock so hopfully thats a good start.

Will keep you posted anyway on progress- just a quick questyion though- under normal conditions, should I expect a 'whoosh' from the turbo when it kicks in?

Thanks,

Sam.

[Gman2]

My turbo makes that noise - some do some don't My specialists have checked for leaks, disconnected hoses etc and all appears to be sound.

[T-Cut]

It could be impending Fuel Filter Syndrome. I've read of engines doing this before packing up entirely. If all else fails, it's worth checking for FFS. An Advanced Search for FFS will pull up all the useful threads. Also search for FOC, which is the related fix. There are also some related HowTo docs.

TC