Topic

Hi all,

I recently bought a 2004 mgtf 1.8mpi. The story goes I drive around 20 miles to work everyday and the car is used as a daily driver (when it works!).

The day of getting the car I drive home and I get alot of steam coming from the rear of the car and instantly think the dreaded HGF that's why they sold it! (Fine on test drive)

So I wait until its cool topup and nurse the car home. Luckily around the corner.
I then took to my local garage that have worked on all my cars. They said a hose had split causing the coolant to leak and eventually the steam. Then assured me the HG was intact.

Get the car back from the garage and the car runs fine for 30 minutes until coolant slowly leaks from the drivers side wheel arch.

Took it back to the garage where they now tell me that the water pump had a crack in it so they decided to use radiator sealer....... why...

So I get the car back and notice the next morning that the coolant level is high, almost to the top.

Goto bleed the air out of the system and nothing from any of the bleed points no air no coolant nothing.

Heater to max hot and rear of car raised cap off, engine on.

Hot air still comes from the heater once warm and I've tried poking the bleed points but they don't seem blocked.

What could possibly be blocked that would cause this?

Could it be because the coolant level is above the top hose in the tank as I'm unsure how to get it out with the bleeds not bleeding.
Also due to this cannot see or feel any return into the tank upon sticking a finger in there near the hole.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Using radiator seal for a cracked water pump !!!!!!!! Recipe for imminent disaster with any engine let alone the K series. A raised coolant level is a sign that there is air in the system but running with cap off will not force the air out . Get the water pump and belt changed as it has to come off to do it or HGF will be the next job!!!! Rad seal indeed !!! Numpties , thats the garage not you .
End of rant ....... Sorry my broken ribs are giving me hell so I took it out on this thread.

Sadly I was not informed before they did this to my car or I would have asked them to do it properly.

I'm also not sure if it's raised or rather overfilled?

Either way before I would take the cap off with the engine off then open the bleed to let excess coolant out. This however shows no coolant or air from any of the bleeds since the radiator seal so I'm at a loss..

Well you may have answered your own question . Rad seal ! Get a suitable sized item and have a poke about to free any gunk blocking bleed points . To be honest I think the garage you have used are a waste of space . Find a suitable MG TF specialist and get it sorted or I see trouble ahead . Keep us all posted on this .

Get that crap out of your car as a matter of urgency & flush the system thoroughly. If the previous owner had suspicions of HGF & dumped a pile of that shit in it’ll have bunged the bleed points up & it’ll have crept everywhere. Obviously the car is new to you, did it come with any service history, has the cam belt be changed recently, it’s good practice to change the water pump whilst that’s being done & if the pump has prostate problems it’s quite possible that neither have been done, in living memory.
If you are into the car for the long run taking it in hand now with jobs to do is apposite. Get it ready for summer whilst you’ve time, leave it now & your summer fun runs will curtailed.
M

I'll flush it and get the pump/ belt. Changed.

And yes the car has loads of service history and receipts for pretty much every part ever ordered for the thing. I was surprised myself.

Once all the above recommendations have been done, fit a low coolant alarm if not already installed, these are essential for our cars, giving you a warning to shut things down before any serious damage can be done by a sudden loss of coolant.
This is not negotiable you MUST have one, not having one is insanity.
Don’t be a tight arse and sook about the cost, a buggered engine is much more expensive.
There are various low coolant alarms available, obviously they can vary in quality, don’t cheap arse out and get some silly eBay rubbish that involves sticking self tappers into the header tank.
One of the members here does a kit or use the Brown & Gammons kit ( the one I use )
https://www.ukmgparts.com/product/mgf-midcat-11-submgf120-expansion-tank/mgf-tf-low-coolant-water-level-sensor-kit-bgf1111

As for your current mechanics they need a jolly good horse whipping

+1 for the low coolant alarm that Bruce on the forum does. Easy to fit, not expensive and it will give you the all important warning of low coolant level.

Its quite astounding a garage would try to repair a cracked water pump with rad weld type sealant. A water pump is viewed as a consumable part. Thats why it is changed when the cambelt is done, to avoid untimely failure. A kit consisting of a new water pump, cambelt and tensioner is only £ 64

Booked into a different garage for tomorrow morning, even they couldn't believe rad seal was used.
Hopefully it will be sorted this time as its getting expensive!

Take heart, you have landed on an empathetic & knowledgeable web site, where the express intent is to ensure as many of our cars make it past their next MOT.
Once you have sorted all the niggles, it’s mainly running maintenance or upgrades, so you are in for a great ride.
Part of ownership & it has to be something you “sign up for” is, bruised hands, blood sacrifice, oil under the chipped fingernails; in fact the smell of oil & brake fluid overpowering the whiff of perspiration created whilst trying to shift a recalcitrant bolt.
The car’s reputation is a double edged sword, the clueless naysayers who criticise the car “down the pub” keep the prices artificially low by claiming that it was rubbish when it was made & it’s only got worse. If that were possible. This tend to exclude those who, for not much money, could ruin a potentially good vehicle & thus by not buying one it makes those available for future enthusiast. Obviously those that are left are mostly in the hands of folk who are keen to demonstrate just how good & reliable these cars are.
I have had both f & tf, the f being my current car & initial it cost less than £1k, it’s a dolly. By sympathetic maintenance & upgrading it has served me well, the attention I lavish on it repays dividends in the form of great & sunny days out over the Lancashire moorland roads, into the Lakes & romping around the Dales, both Yorkshire & Derbyshire.
It could take a while for all facets to gel into a coherent whole, but you will know when you’re there by the smirk you will carry around whenever you are off over the hills & far far away.
And it need not be a parochial car either, there are members who take Europe by the scruff of the neck & give it a good shakedown.
One last point; don’t expect it to be a pounds, shillings & pence investment, that won’t happen.
M

It will make it all the more practical, affordable and satisfying to have a go at some of the mechanical jobs yourself. With ready access to the information and the experience of owners on the forum you have the benefit of more timely and accurate information than a general knockabout garage would. Most jobs only require basic tools too.

Notanumber wrote:

+1 for the low coolant alarm that Bruce on the forum does. Easy to fit, not expensive and it will give you the all important warning of low coolant level.

Thanks, Chris.

xSamuraiiii, I can help you with a low coolant alarm. I have sold hundreds on ebay and quite a few, at a discount, to members of The-T-Bar. Send me a private message for more info.