MG ZR / rover head gasket

bobert50 · 31 Oct 2007 at 23:14

So...i'm still waiting for the time bomb to go off...what happens when it does exactly? lots of pretty fireworks ?

a bang? engine just cuts out? (likely!) what sorta sounds ?

Just curious really! it seems inevitable that itll happen one day so i'd like to think "oooh i see..yea i was expecting you...mr gasket!!" ...

Jez · 31 Oct 2007 at 23:52

Nothing, you will just start seeing water entering the oil and forming a sludge in the filler cap over time. Its not a problem that happens just like that

Keep an eye on your coolant levels.

tb2000 · 31 Oct 2007 at 23:57

Jez said:
Nothing, you will just start seeing water entering the oil and forming a sludge in the filler cap over time. Its not a problem that happens just like that Keep an eye on your coolant levels.

Or oil entering the water. Can go both ways.

Just that that way it clogs the entire coolant system up!

Dogbreath · 1 Nov 2007 at 00:00

It totaly depends on the failure mode. Some of them just start leaking coolant from the front of the front of the engine, many start mixing oil and water.

It is crucial that you keep an eye on the coolant level, at least once a week. If the coolant starts dropping at all then start investigating immediately. Very often the inlet manifold gasket starts leaking, which can cause the engine to be difficult to turn over when you come to start it (partial hydraulic lock), but if you leave this the resulting low coolant levels will cook the head gasket for sure.

The quicker you can catch a failing head gasket, the better the chances that it can be fixed relatively cheaply. If you let the engine severely overheat then it's very likely to be scrap.

tb2000 · 1 Nov 2007 at 00:11

Dogbreath said:
It totaly depends on the failure mode. Some of them just start leaking coolant from the front of the front of the engine, many start mixing oil and water.

I remember someone we knew bringing in a Rover 200Vi at work a year or so ago, that once was leaking form the front of the engine. One of the very few as nearly all the other we'd done had leaked into the coolant (or the other way round). As it turned out a little tiny part of the rubberised bit on the gasket has come away and was allowing water out the front of the engine. For some reason the fuse had blown on the fan which probably caused it to get a bit warm. One headgasket later (and had the head checked) and it was running lovely.

Engine pulled like a train!