Topic

David Aiketgate wrote: wrote:

Plus sometimes even taking out the bleed nipple gives no fluid as the vent is gummed up and needs a quick poke to clear it.

Carefully stick a bit of wire down the hole.

WeekendMonkey wrote: wrote:

The drain behind the plastic cover is part of the heater circuit, so you need to turn the heater to hot in order to bleed that part.

Good point. Cheers. We often forget that we have summer in the UK.

Morning everyone, thanks for all the help!

I had to put everything back together in the end last night as I had spent too much time on the car! So it seems the leak is probably not the one labelled #9 in the diagram as the leak is on the one side only.

I could try draining the bleed nipple behind the cover in the bonnet again, but there is still an obvious leak so I guess this won't help the leak, but should probably be drained anyway.

I found this video online (not my video!) that seems to show someone with the exact same problem, and it appears to be a water pump leak.



So, I think my best bet is to book it into a garage today if I can, and hopefully have a mechanic fix it for me next week. I've heard that an MG TF booked in for a water pump repair can ruin anyone's day as its such a difficult job

Such a shame this happened as I purchased the car purposely for my new job which I start tomorrow. My faith and excitement in my new car has diminished! Looks like I'll be getting the train for a while!

You just need to be aware that where the water appears under the engine can be unrelated to where it's leaking.

You're right, i suppose its even a slight possibly to be a HGF? I think my next step is to take it to a garage to get it under a ramp for a proper look. Thankfully I have the 6 month VGS warranty which covers gasket/water pump/etc, so I'm potentially looking at paying for just diags/labour. Just tried ringing some local places that I thought were open on Sundays but no answer. Damn! What a weekend...

Hey guys,

So here's my update. The car has been at the garage for over a WEEK. Despite stressing that I needed it for work. They were only the garage agreeing to perform the repair under warranty, but still managed to make a huge fuss about it. The warranty company VGS have been great, they were confused why the garage were making such a big problem.

Anyway, the work was finally complete (took a day, so I don't know what they were doing for the rest of the week). The water pump needed changing and looks like the belt too. So the total cost was £327 including labour. The warranty covers the parts not labour, so I had to pay £120 labour. Such a shame as I've only just bought the car. Does this seem a fair price?

I have some quibbles though. I've only driven the car home, and during the drive home, the steering seems very loose, much looser than before. I can move the wheel back and forth a little without the car moving.

Also, it appears that the hard top has been taken off. The roof doesn't seem to be fitting flush, as shown in the photo. And as I've only had the car for such a short amount of time, I can't remember what the window against the roof should be like, so I've attached a photo of the window joint too as it doesn't seem to look correct? Looks like the water would just pour in like this? It's the same both sides.





The other problem I have is the actual hard top seems pretty scuffed on top. I've attached a photo of this too but you can barely notice due to the lighting. But I would guess the roof has been taken off and then turned upside down on the floor, without using any protection. I would assume a deep polish would get rid of it all?



Other than that, the actual car is filthy. Which is disappointing as I thoroughly cleaned it prior to being at the garage, and I'd expect most garages to give a car a quick clean after a repair.

Can anyone offer their thoughts on all this please? Thanks all!

Possibly the hardtop is not fitted properly. Check the latches back and front.
I can't think why the steering would be affected by a water pump change, but suggest you check all your wheel nuts are torqued up.

Scuffs on paintwork and a dirty car speak of lack of care.

Firstly the labour costs aren't unreasonable for a high street garage, unfortunately.

Secondly, the hard top would have to have been removed to access the engine under the hood .... in hindsight I'd have advised you to remove it before putting it into the garage to reduce labour costs and avoid scratches... ... which the garage are liable for, if you have documentary evidence that proves it was undamaged before going in ( hint: got any sale pictures of the car ? ... )

Finally, I can offer no explanation for the change in steering response - ask the garage about this when you challenge them about the scratched hardtop.

Sorry for your troubles. I'll go with what David and Jeff (Mogatrons) have said above.

Many garages don't 'know' these cars too well and, as a fledgling owner, it'll take you a while to learn some tricks yourself. Tricks such as;-

Never take your car to a garage for work on the engine with the hardtop on.

Hardtops and garages are both the devils work anyhow. Convertibles are meant to be converted.

Finding the engine for new owners is a nightmare in the first place. With a hardtop, it's double the trouble and garages won't take the care that the owner would when removing it or replacing it, as your pics have clearly shown.


Click these words and have a read of this topic. Why does my car wander? Some simple checks.

Good luck.