My ZT is very poorly
 

It was all going so well! Since I got it I've been recommissioning it and since getting it MOT's I've been doing increasingly longer journeys. Got back from a 24 mile round trip which was going well until I pulled into my drive noticed steam. Temp was showing OK however when I stopped I was enveloped in a cloud so opened the bonnet and there were signs of coolant everywhere.

Couple of days later my mate over the lane said he'd take a look so went to pull it round and the clutch just sank to the floor :eek:

I'm assuming the clutch is the slave cylinder however my local mechanic won't touch that so I called around and got a quote of £461 for a new clutch and cylinder supplied and fitted. The problem is that I still have a significant coolant leak which seeing as the V is dry I'm guessing water pump so that won't be cheap either.

I think I'm going to tow it round to the local mechanic and get him to investigate the coolant leak before deciding what to do next. Worst case I suspect I could be looking at a 4 figure repair bill.

Just one of the joys of owning aging MG Rover products!

First things first, make sure you get someone you trust and are confident with to provide a 100% diagnosis of both problems - at least that way you can be reasonably sure of what the approx repair costs will be before you spend or do anything.

If the clutch has dropped to the floor, then you could well be right about the slave, but check for fluid leaks from the bottom of the bellhousing first, if clean then move back along the pipework to the master, checking the level.

The coolant leak could be many things, a chaffed pipe, rad cap, radiator, etc. What's the mileage, have the belts and waterpump been done before ? If they have been done in the last few years, then your leak may well be elsewhere ?

Good luck solving the issues :xmas-smiley-008:

Check the lower coolant pipes attached to the front subframe, they are prone to rusting and can cause water loss.

Hello James and I'm sorry to hear that you have two problems at once with your ZT KV6.

I'll begin with my number one tip ...
Don't guess! :D

In fact, I'd say it's extremely unlikely to be the water pump. Actually they are very reliable and durable. We frequently hear of precautionary water pump changes during cam belt renewal but that's only because it's such a major job to do later. It doesn't mean that the pump is going to fail. Come to think of it, how many failures do we read about? Umm .... errr ..... hmmmm .....

The sign of a faulty water pump is a slow drip of coolant at the front plate of the engine at and above the oil filter canister. This doesn't match your description. Water pump problems result from a worn bearing (very high mileage, well above 100,000) or a damaged seal (poor repair technique) or replacement with an inferior aftermarket part.
Be careful James. Coolant leaks on K series engines are frequently misdiagnosed involving huge and unnecessary repair bills. Only in November I saved a cherished 2.5 litre faced with the threat of head gasket replacement or even a new engine :rant: when all it needed was a bit of TLC and parts costing £8.

Take heed of Andy's tip (trikey) and note his location. :} You may like to forget about the local mechanic idea for now.

Simon

Cheers for the advice. Yep I know that the KV6 (excluding the one in the 800's!) is not prone to HGF's, in fact in all my years owning ZT's and lurking on here I can't think of many confirmed HGF's on the KV6.
It is frustrating though that as soon as people realise you don't have the Honda or BMW engine they instantly assume head gasket failure, although with the 1.8's they may have a point!

In normal times I'd lift the car and have a good look round it before sending it off to the mechanic however it's really, really cold and wet out there and much as I love tinkering with cars on a warm summers day it's much less appealing at this time of the year.

Fingers crossed!

Maybe when cold top up the coolant and run the engine up and see if you can see any drips anywhere. If not when it gets hot you should be able to see where the steam is coming from before it becomes a sauna.
Could well be a perished or rusted pipe.

As well.as the other guidance, and I am.reading between the lines as well, is the coolant cap. I am assuming you are religiously checking it from.the recommissioning comment and longer journeys)

It may have failed, however I had a similar description of coolant seemingly everywhere, but no sign. Turned out that I hadn't tightened the cap completely. The cheapest, quickest and easiest check first lol.

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Hope that you know that the coolant level is at the bottom of the header tank and that if overfilled, coolant will push out of the overflow. Easy to overfill. :laugh: When it is correct, you can see the MAX mark.

You can see the MAX and MIN markings at the bottom of the tank in this pic:

https://live.staticflickr.com/5724/2...16772633_z.jpg

This is my third 75 / ZT so I'm pretty experienced with topping up coolant etc! Definitely not overfilled, I refilled it the other day and ran it up to temp for 10 mins to bleed it all through and it was fine. Checked again today and the header tank is empty again and I suspect I could probably put another couple of litres in so it's going somewhere.

Booked into the garage the week after next so hopefully I'll have some answers then.............fingers crossed for a split hose somewhere!