MG_OS

You know what, that gave me an idea. I compared the old gasket with the new ones I bought and it turns out that the new ones are simply too big which means I could try cutting them to size by laying the old ones on top of them and cutting around the shape.

I have to find a suitable knife for this but I think I'll give this a go over the next week and will update on how it went.

Hi All,

Apologies if this has been covered before, I did try to find a topic on this but with no luck.

My boot has a substantial leak from both rear lights. I ordered replacement gaskets thinking they would 'fit all MGF/TF' and have now realised that that doesn't include the Lexus Style lights. I have taken both out of the car and the gaskets really are a mess and are definitely the cause of the pool of water I found in the boot. I can't seem to find any replacements online though, does anyone know where I could get some?

Thanks as always!

Not sure as I can't check mine for a few days. I did find it, however, stuck on the rear of the engine, on what I believe to be the timing gear cover. You can only see it if you look at it through the boot and best take a picture as it's hard to see from only one angle.

So all is good - I've got all the parts I need to mess about a bit and I will update if I manage to fix the poor idling, misfire at cold.

Thanks David, that gave me the confidence to be a little more persuasive and I got them out, just waiting for the new ones and I'll see if that helps the issue at all.

I also read that faulty or worn crankcase ventilation hoses can cause rough idling / misfiring issues - does that seem likely? They seem cheap enough to give it a go, but looking on rimmerbros I have to buy ones depending on the engine number. I know where the engine number should be but it seems impossible to actually see it without taking things apart to get to it?

Hi everyone,

It's been a while and now seems like a good time to update this thread.

I had the 02 sensor replaced back in September. Since then the stalling issues I had at start up have completely disappeared - result!
However, now the engine shakes very slightly when idling, cold or warm. At cold, if I rev is up to 2,500 rpm or so I can clearly tell that it is misfiring but it's not throwing any codes. So I let it sit a minute from cold before driving and then it's very happy. Bit of a guessing game without any codes but I thought I'd replace my coil packs / ignition leads. (spark plugs were also replaced in September)

It's a 2002 TF 160 VVC and you can see an image of my coil packs on a previous post above. Now I know I have to unscrew the packs but I tried pulling the ignition leads out of their holes and they did not want to budge..at all. I put a fair amount of pressure on them and tried twisting them a bit but I don't want to break anything, so am I missing something? I thought you just pulled them out?

Also, I bought these ones http://mgmanialtd.com/index.php?id_product=1002&controller=product which I am very confident to be the right ones.
Currently, there are coil packs installed from Denso labelled NEC 100870. Scanning any MG website (rimmerbros for example) 100870 is not listed anywhere for ignition leads, not even as aftermarket, so could it be that a previous owner installed some slightly wrong ignition coils/leads?

Thanks as ever!

Oliver

Yeah I'll probably end up replacing the O2 sensor again eventually - for now I don't think it's that just because I replaced it last November and the code came back a month later..not going to lie, the symptoms do definitely fit that though.

Base idle speed seems ok to me, and I've just cleaned the air filter, (test drive coming up on Monday)

Next thing I want to check are the spark plugs, and ignition coils (my bet is on the ignition system to be honest)
So I took the cover off the engine thinking I'd know exactly what go expect from various videos etc and I was surprised to see this:

 


Can someone shed some light on this for me? I was expecting to see 4 'holes' for spark plugs etc but I'm seeing two at best and it just generally looks very different, or maybe not? 

Didn't want to start messing about without knowing as I don't want to add issues 

Thanks as always guys, appreciate everyone's time.

So, here is an update, and maybe someone can help shed some light on this. 

Although the problem used to appear when driving this is how it currently plays out:

For the last month or so, every single time I start the car, it idles for about 30 seconds, then starts shaking more and more until it finally just stalls or I usually take pity on it and turn it off myself. However, I then restart the car and it's as if nothing ever happened and it runs perfectly. I get incredible mileage (400 - 500 miles per tank on the motorway) so I'm positive the 02 sensor is fine even though that is the only fault that is being flagged.
It doesn't matter if the engine is cold, warm, halfway there, mornings, evenings, just arrived and driving off again....I always have to start the car twice. Sometimes I drive off at first go, and it's a struggle at higher revs - a restart then sorts it out. I've never knowingly witnessed a misfire but I think that's what it sounds and feels like. But why only at first go? 

Anyway, so then the engine light went off. Now suddenly the car is happy at the first go. Then the engine came back on..and I have to restart the thing each time. This went back and forth for about a week. 

Here is something else that I noticed today. My TF lives in a garage that I always reverse into. The fumes have always been quite strong whenever I drive off and I put that down to the exhausts not having anywhere to go so it's simply a strong smell. Today I started the car though, and the engine light didn't come up (nor did I have to restart the car). I let it idle for about a minute, then turned it off, got out, and was expecting to be hit by the nauseating smell of fumes but there was nothing...I did it again and still no smell. I usually hold my breath when closing the garage door it's so bad, but not today, and today the engine light was off. 

So, I have no idea what any of this means. I have a few things I want to try, starting from easiest to trickiest (for me anyway), so cleaning the air filter, maybe the spark plugs, maybe even the HT leads if it is a misfire? Not sure...but any suggestions would be super appreciated at this point if this rings a bell at all to anybody. 

Thanks everyone!

Hi David,

So this got interesting.

I grabbed a multimeter and checked the following:

1) I removed both fuses for left and right, turned the lights on via the steering stalk and checked for voltage where the fuses are usually inserted. One of them, I think RH had a roughly 12V reading, the other one was dead.

2) I put both fuses back in, went under the bonnet to the bulbs, disconnected the wire plug from the bulbs and with the lights switched on, measured the voltage there. Both left and right lights read a 12V measurement. 

​This is odd right? Why would one of the fuse ports be dead but power is going to the light at the front? 

Anyway, I took both bulbs out, and sure enough they were blown and I have an emergency bulb which I plugged in (only one at a time as I only have one spare) and low and behold both lights shine a lovely light. 

So for now, that's great news and I'm about to head off to Halfords to grab a new set.

However, it's strange for the following reasons:
1) why is one of the fuse ports not showing voltage but the light turns on 
2) why did both bulbs blow at the same time given that they were both replaced as a set only 8 months ago. Decent bulbs too, not cheap.

It could of course just be an innocent coincidence - that's certainly how I'll treat this for now, but I think there might be an underlying (small) electrical problem at play.

Either way, new bulbs for now, and I'll wait to see how they get on.

Edit/Update: Bulbs replaced and now working.
 

Good morning everyone, 

So, apologies if this is a repost, I suspect so, but I need some help with my dipped Beam headlights and I have a night time drive ahead tomorrow (hopefully).
So, randomly they both just won't turn on anymore. I turn the lever (?) to position two and rear lights turn on but not front. Fog lights, main beam and park or side lights still work fine. As it's both I suspect it's not the bulbs although I will test that later today. I read somewhere it could be the fuse, but if I'm correct don't both left and right have individual fuses? 

I'm really hoping this is a simple fix.. knowing these cars that is a lot to hope for.

Edit: Silly me, it's a 2002 MGTF