RichardsMG

Thanks for the heads up, Nigel. The 160 still has its original head gasket, as far as I know, the elastomer one… The 135 had its head gasket changed a few years ago to something purportedly designed by an Aston Martin mechanic.

Richard

No worries, I wasn't planning on going anywhere. I have two Sunstorms, both 2004, both nightfire red, the one 135 (RHD) the other 160 (as far as I know the only LHD), and even if they have proven to be quite reliable, this forum – and, to be honest, the MG-Rover one – have proven to be a valuable assets to keeping these cars on the road – and dry

Today we did Orléans to Beynac,430 km in a horrendous downpour that lasted for hours, motorways like riverbeds, even the French slowed down, no really, except for white vans of course, and no water ingress whatsoever! Not a drop seeping from the cheater. Bone dry. Would the adapted heater air intake, the petrol lines inserted in the door rubbers, hours and hours of fiddling with window adjuster bolt and nuts finally have worked?

This thing goes up motorway climbs like stink…

Richard

According to Millersville University – a pdf, look for example 8 on automobile radiator, pp. 23-4 – coolant has an expansion coefficient of 4.0x10^-4 (C^o)^-1. They go on to calculate that in a coolant system of 15 quarts (14.2 l), when the coolant heats up from 6 to 92 degrees Celsius, the spill into the expansion tank will equal 0.46 quarts (0.44 l), which would be about a 3% expansion? But that obviously depends on the type of coolant used… On CarAraC it says some coolants may expand up to 8 to 12% at 100 C^o, about an average coffee cup?

Concerning the Skoda, if coolant expands and shrinks just like any other liquid, maybe the drop in level just made the sensor trip?

Richard

Hi David, yes thanks, but I very recently spent a few days bleeding the cooling system after screwing on a new header tank cap. Richard, my former official MG-Rover mechanic said, Richard, you should really bleed the cooling system. So, rad, heater, no wait, no coolant whatsoever, blocked, poke with a wire, ah, there it is, and coolant rail, no wait, that one's stuck, yep really stuck, even the hexagonal socket wouldn't get it to turn. But maybe I was just too worried to break something. I left it overnight soaking in penetrating oil, and the next day, lo and behold, it budged. First cold, then hot. Not a single bubble

I first tried to reach the bolt on the cooling rail without taking the "bonnet" off. Youtube Man managed to do it that way. Not me…

I drove it to Orléans today, six hundred something kilometers, with rock steady temp needles – and lots of rain.

Richard

Thanks both. Found a Dr Head Gasket tester , for instance. I don't have a pressure tester, but the workshop probably will have one. I'll pass by and have my regular mechanic pressure test it…

And well, HGF isn't the end of the world, it's just the end of the world for the present head gasket

Richard

Hi all,

There are no stupid questions, so here's my stupid question: I noticed the coolant level in the expansion tank of my 2004 MG TF 160 VVC (± 75.000 km) has risen to about an inch above the max indicator when the engine is at (normal) operating temperature – when I open the boot lid after a ride. The level gets back to normal (max) in about 15 minutes. I'm aware of the fact it is called an expansion tank, probably for a reason, but is it for that reason? For the reason that coolant expands when hot? Or, and that's my fear, is it an early symptom of the dreaded head gasket failure and is pressure from the combustion chamber finding its way to some coolant bore? As far as I know the car has its original head gasket. It drives, sounds, behaves absolutely wonderful.

I've asked Google of course and the consensus seems to be that coolant does indeed expand when hot, but by that much? The "hot" level is about halfway max and the top of the expansion tank…

Maybe I'm just suffering from HGF anxiety…

Richard

That is quite the piper… I fear though we wandered off into OT territory.
Richard

Airportable wrote:

And if a bagpiper let them be Northumbrian small pipes.
M

Could be worse . The pipes I mean, of course

Thanks for looking into it. For the time being I'm going to only change the pressure cap (and the air filter, while the inspection lid is off) and see what happens. If it still overheats, the sensor is next.
Richard

You never know, she might be dropping a social anthropologist, a dentist, a reiki teacher, or even a professional bagpiper…
Richard (shedding his years in a 1964 Series 2a 109")