Well I was warned - failed head gasket.

Isn't that a Ford Pinto block? What does that have to do with anything? Wow, you rebuilt a pinto, we're not worthy.
 
Dogbreath is right. I remember similar reviews at the time. What were you reading back then, Janet and John and Thomas the Tank engine books?

Great argument you've put forward there...

I am sure there were reviews at the time praising it as a car, but as someone who went in with the cash looking to purchase one, both that I drove were terrible based on their seating position alone, never mind the shoddy quality, I am forever grateful to the people on here who then showed me the light of the MX5, a car I dismissed as being too girly originally.

The difference between the two cars was night and day, one was good, the other was really bad. It is hilarious that people still purchase these cars, claim that its because the equivalent MX5 is too old, and then wait 20k miles and have to rebuild the engine at the cost of the value of the car.
 
Yes, because rebuilding a Pinto is WAAAAAAY different than rebuilding a k series :rolleyes:

Other than the fact that one of them is a cast iron SOHC 8v with conventional bores and the other is an aluminium DOHC 16v (or 8v but generally 16) with wet/damp liners and long bolt construction, yep they are borderline identical.
 
It's sweet FA to do with the cooling system, its the cylinder liners that drop down into the block over time due to a crap design.
That weakens the clamping force between the cylinder head and block and viola.. one HGF is served.

I believe there are issues with the cooling system, but Id agree on the liners, although it was my understanding that the liner heights were no checked and thus often wrong from factory.
 
[TW]Fox;20081243 said:
If we were arguing about how long it took to change the cambelt on an Alfa would you post a picture of you stripping a Mondeo Duratec engine to show off your l33t sk|llz?

You'll forgive me if I don't take photos of every engine I rebuild.
 
Where is the Rover enthusiast putting his point across that HGF isn't a problem on the k-series?

Knew there was something missing..
 
After owning one for 5 years I would not recommend the cars, even though they have their good points, the fact mine was such an awful turd reliability wise is enough to put me off. After an engine transplant at 65k, I had had enough and haven't looked back.

I still think the MX-5 and MR2 look rubbish in comparison and let's be honest this is 95% the reason these cars are bought (unless you do some turbocharging and track prep).

Moving to a S2000 is like night and day the way it drives and performs.
 
Dude you are absolutely correct... I now need to try and remember the reason I was giving for the gaskets in the f and tf failing so readily. Could it have been something to do with the location of the thermostat? tbh I can’t remember, but do remember my mechanic having a fairly in depth conversation about the flaws of the mgf/tf cooling system.

There is a list, it is widely available online. Pity, though, decent engine if it wasnt for that.
 
That isn't really the point. But what on earth were you trying to prove by putting a photo of a pinto engine in the thread? lol

It shows a head gasket being replaced?

Engines are engines - there's nothing mysterious about them and one is much the same as the other, be it a Pinto, 24 BOB, 2JZ, Duratec or K series.
 
Aside from engines being remarkably different from each other aside from operation principles - absolutely nothing.
 
Aside from engines being remarkably different from each other

Not really - they all suck, squeeze, bang, blow. They all have a block and a head. They all have a crank, rods, pistons and valves (even a rotoray in some for or another).

If you understand the principles and you have the right tools and spec sheet (tolerances, clearances etc) then you can rebuild any engine - even one you've never seen before.

Engines are not complicated - in fact they are probably one of the simplest forms of machine.

Now control systems - ecu's etc - that gets a bit more complicated - but normally only due to the closed proprietary nature of such systems.
 
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