Engaging in that ZT-T?

[bl52krz]

Hi Olli.To be honest, I would not buy the car you show in the pictures. To much rust in places that the mot will fail..............guaranteed under the German mot system. As you say, much stricter than GB mot. I will have a look in the cars for sale on here for you, and then you can make your mind up on whether it would pay you to come over to see what is on offer. You could pay the £10 to be a total club member, and have a look yourself. Your choice obviously.

[JagDriver]

Hi,

thanks or you offer, but I'd like to have a LHD car, so it doesn't make much sense to look for one in the UK. I already spotted behind the borders (Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, France) but there is nothing for sale at the moment that looks like it could be a better deal.

As I mentioned the seller offered to sell it with MOT for a reasonable extra charge, but I doubt he has ever looked below the car. I guess once he does, he will either recall his offer or the result will be botch causing me more effort to undo than it would have been to do it right from the beginning. So I guess I have to accept that it would be the most reasonable thing to run away from this one as well.

Oliver

[JagDriver]

I found an interesting one in Lyon, France, but that is almost 700km away from here. It looks nice on the pics but they actually don't tell a lot. And according to my experience french people are not very keen on making business with foreigners, especially not Germans.

And the timing belt is from 2019, that would mean, if am informed correctly, it would be due next year because of the 6 year interval.

[JagDriver]

I have been looking for alternatives without any luck, but this week another ZT-T appeared on offer in Germany!

But (besides being located about 350km away) the owner told me about two issues:

1. Since the last timing belt change it's lacking power, it doesn't feel like 190 horses any more. Is there really a way to misalign the timing belt/camshafts without destroying the engine but causing a power loss? Or is it rather another cause like VIS actuators he just didn't notice until the timing belt was done?

2. Front brakes shudder, even though quality brake discs have beem used. I've heard this is a common issue on BMW 5 series (E39), is that something they passed on to MG Rover? Or is this rather uncommon?

Oliver

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by JagDriver

1. Since the last timing belt change it's lacking power, it doesn't feel like 190 horses any more. Is there really a way to misalign the timing belt/camshafts without destroying the engine but causing a power loss? Or is it rather another cause like VIS actuators he just didn't notice until the timing belt was done?

Hi Olli,

As you say there's a performance loss "since the last timing belt change", that would suggest that it's related to the work done.

Ask who did the timing belt change; was it an MGR dealer? They would have the special tool for the 190 engine. An independent garage may not as it's usually excluded from the aftermarket service tools and some don't recognise its existence at all! So yes, it is possible to set the valve timing incorrectly.

Originally Posted by JagDriver

2. Front brakes shudder ... Or is this rather uncommon?

It's uncommon I'd say and could be anything on the brakes or suspension.

Another one to avoid, particularly concerning the timing which would be very expensive to rectify.

Simon

[JagDriver]

Hi Simon,

the seller (1st owner!) told me that he had to go to another shop for the belt because the workshop he used to go went out of business. So yes, possibly they did not have the right tool. Do you necessarily need that tool or is it possible to properly align the belt without?

So in the worst case, the belt has to be redone? Or could it have caused any damage (he has done about 30k km like this)? He offered it for a reasonable price, so a new belt wouldn't necessarily be a deal-breaker. That would rather depend on the overall condition ... and rust.

I just must think about the green one which in my opinion had a power loss as well ... and the belt was recently done, too. Would be interesting to drive the other one as well ... and to listen to it, maybe they both share the same issue (incompetent workshops).

Oliver

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by JagDriver

Do you necessarily need that tool or is it possible to properly align the belt without?

The MG 180 & 190 engines have different valve timing to the Rover so the specific tool is vital. DMGRS has commissioned a batch so you could buy a pair and give them to your chosen workshop who would need to own the rest of the service tools.

Originally Posted by JagDriver

So in the worst case, the belt has to be redone?

Yes, and it shouldn't have caused any damage but you won't know exactly what's been done until you've paid to have the belt exposed. This will be expensive.

There are other things which result in a poorly performing KV6:

• Stuck VIS balance flap and/or faulty actuator
• Faulty Power VIS actuator and/or broken valve linkage
• Blocked breather hole in the cam covers.

Simon

[JagDriver]

Oh, I see. So any mechanic relying on all KV6s being the same timing-belt-wise will run into that pitfall.

But is there really no way of doing the timing belt without that toolkit, so to say freestyle? I've heard old mechanics (from other brands) say: 'I don't need no timing-belt-tool, I just make some marks on the spur wheels and block the camshaft with a screwdriver, and it always works'.

Actually I don't know many (former) MG Rover workshops around here, there is one that is still active, after MG Rover died, they moved on to Land Rover, most recently they sell chinese MG. But I haven't seen an 'original' MG/Rover there for many, many years. So no idea, if they still have the tools and know-how.

Might most likely end up me doing the job.

The green one is (very surprisingly) still for sale. The price has dropped, so it is slowly approaching a reasonable range. Luckily I took a picture of the latest service entry where the timing belt was done. It was done in a brand-unrelated workshop, no MG Rover specialist as far as I could find out. So there is a good chance, it was done wrongly, too.