Topic

I have owned Juliet, my F, for a couple of months now and in that time we've clocked up few hundred miles in country drives and other short journeys. I was planning on taking her to MG90, which is around 100 miles cross-country from me, but I've seen a couple of sorry tales recently on the forum where people on a longer run have met with the dreaded cloud of steam and this has made me a little nervous, especially following my first experience...

Juliet's coolant system failed fairly spectacularly while driving her home for the first time - turned out the head bolts hadn't been torqued-up after the gasket was changed by the previous owner. I had the top hose blow off the radiator, but not before the pressure broke the radiator seals and also caused the steel coolant pipes to spring a leak.

So to boost my confidence, I wanted to ask other owners whether they tackle longer distances, or prefer to stick to shorter, or maybe stop-start runs. Are there any tips you can offer to ensure a trouble-free journey.

Steve

Foot hard down, don't stop for anyone or anything!!!

AGGRESSION IS PROGRESSION

Sorry, thinking out loud again

As you've had two major coolant leaks I think your breakdown cover is a must, but don't rely on free with bank account/ insurance cover as it's rubbish.

Check oil n water before setting off and take a bottle of coolant mix with you.

Just keep an eye on things.

Cars are made for driving.

Been driving my TF for about the same length of time & suffered the "HGFear" as well. But I figured the best plan was just get out & do it.

I'll check on the coolant level & oil level before I go, & make sure I've some coolant stashed under the bonnet too just in case. Check the ground underneath for coolant leaks, forewarned is forearmed, and fire her up.

What I've done, whether a short journey or longer, is make sure I get the engine warmed up very gently. I'll drive the first 4 or 5 miles without going above 2 or 2.5k rpm until the oil temp guage starts to rise then slowly increase the revs until it's reading 80 or 90. After that, just drive with a close eye on the guages.

I also have a bluetooth OBD2 reader installed and hook it up to the phone on the dash, which shows me an accurate engine temp reading which heps set my mind at ease.

HTH

JanCo wrote: wrote:

I also have a bluetooth OBD2 reader installed and hook it up to the phone on the dash, which shows me an accurate engine temp reading which heps set my mind at ease.
HTH

Thanks for the suggestion, just ordered one from Amazon and saved a bundle compared to the stand-alone unit I had been thinking about buying.

Remember people write about failiurs more than successes! I suspect your F if like most of them has covered several thousand mile and many of these will be long runs!

I took my 97, 107000 miler on the friends round london last year, left Norwich, down to london, round the M25 and home! Out of 96 cars the only breakdown I was aware of was a dodgy alternator.

Tips for a long run at my age in an F =

* pleanty of toilet stops
* a crow bar to get me out of the seat
*pleanty of coffee stops
*pleanty of toilet stops.........dam dementia kicking in again


Go for it, be brave and have fun

WeekendMonkey wrote: wrote:

JanCo wrote: wrote:

I also have a bluetooth OBD2 reader installed and hook it up to the phone on the dash, which shows me an accurate engine temp reading which heps set my mind at ease.
HTH

Thanks for the suggestion, just ordered one from Amazon and saved a bundle compared to the stand-alone unit I had been thinking about buying.

What year is your car? Unless you have MEMS 3, it won't work.

Basically if you have a Mk 1 or early Mk 2 F then your system isn't OBD2 compatible. If you have a later Mk2 F or a TF you'll be able to use this set up.

We regularly blat down to Dover and on into Belgium or up to North Yorks.
Low coolant level alarm and regular fluid checks, also no thrashing till warmed up.

Resist the paranoia: if one fails to correctly assemble a Rolls Royce head then it too will pop hoses and cock stuff up just as well as a K Series....

Fair point PQD44, hadn't thought of that issue when i mentioned it. Hopefully it's not money wasted...

John and Sue wrote: wrote:

We regularly blat down to Dover and on into Belgium or up to North Yorks.
Low coolant level alarm and regular fluid checks, also no thrashing till warmed up.

Resist the paranoia: if one fails to correctly assemble a Rolls Royce head then it too will pop hoses and cock stuff up just as well as a K Series....

As John said low coolant alarm essential

[ Wow.. I think you had just about everything that could go wrong all at the same time! If it's any consolation, just delivered a 2005 TF 135 to France. Car was in good order with service history. Timing belt had been changed but not the headgasket as it's supposed to have had the uprated type fitted at the factory I checked it over before the trip as the car was unknown to me - friend of mine had bought it blind - well more or less - and apart from putting fuel in did 640 miles without a hitch. Never missed a beat, didn't explode in a cloud of steam, overheat, or anything else. Only concern I had was it appeared to be using a lot of fuel and I thought I wouldn't have enough without an extra unplanned fuel stop. However, it turned out the fuel gauge was prone to exaggeration - i.e. it was a lying little.... Apart from that it was a fun trip. Keep the speed down on the motorways though. Even with a hardtop it's uncomfortable at 80mph. 60 mph is better both for the driver and the car. As far as I know the new owner is enjoying it in the sunshine....well at least the rain is warmer I have to say it was a lot better than driving a 1954 TF to France...but that's another story as they say. Relax and enjoy your car.....

I have had MGFs for 3 years now and have avoided doing longer runs or pushing the car really hard, partly due to paranoia from reading too many internet posts. I have done a couple of 150 mile motorway runs, never too far from recovery if required, and when I got my first F I went everywhere with a boot full of tools. Having had minimal problems I have started leaving the tools at home and have felt a bit liberated by this.
A couple of weeks ago a group of MGF owners from Alberta came to our big local show and we went to a follow-up show at the Whistler Mountain Olympic site the following day. We continued from Whistler on a balls to the wall run through the Coast Mountains along the Duffy Lake road, some 130km, most of it at full throttle on damp roads through cloud-shrouded mountain passes. Heavy acceleration, heavy braking and continued high revs. This was followed by another high speed blast down the Fraser Canyon to get back home after separating from the Albertans. Over two days I put on 700km and the 3 Alberta MGFs probably did 4 times that mileage. We had not a single issue on any of the cars. I think my paranoia has been cured!

Normal checks before setting off and national breakdown cover to get you home whatever the problem, so no worries.

The TF is now my daily drive and I now have to travel to another site 2 days a week which is 118 miles per day, the only thing that worries me is the amount of miles per year I am now putting on the car.

Just enjoy the drive and have a great day.

Brian.