Damn, HG gone i think ?

R220 · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:21

Hi,

Have got hold of a very cheap Rover 416 (1996) last week, but have today noticed the heater was not working. Checked the coolent and it had indeed vanished, although could not see any leaks. Topped it up and let the engine run... then noticed a greeny colour liquid comming from the oil sump gasket area. Took it to a garage to get it up in the air and yeah certainly some water comming from the joint in the oil sump.

Its the damn K series 1.6 and i know these are renowned for hg problems..

Anyways... phoned up a few places and was quoted £500'ish from them all. So i phoned the bloke i bought the car from and explained things to him... he said he would contact his local garage to see if he can get it done cheaper on trade price (as he is a dealer).. came back to me and said if i pay £300 he will sort it out... does that sound reasonable for a HG job ?

He asked me to make sure its the HG before taking things up... but tbh i cant think of any other reason for there being water in the oil. Theres no other signs.. no 'mayo' around the oil cap and the car has not over heated once.

How much damage will this do to the car if i keep running it.. (cant get the HG fixed untill 27th and i need to get to work each day).

Thankies

M0T · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:24

The only way for water and oil to mix on the K series is via a head gasket failure.

If you keep driving it like that you'll probably end up stuck miles from home with a wrecked engine. The only driving it should be doing now is a short cautious one to the dealers.

Edit: If it is coming from the sump area you could have a leaking water pump with the coolant running down the back of the engine and accross the join and off the sump. You definatly need to confirm that there is oil and water mixing.

R220 · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:27

Just seen the other Rover HG threads, lol. What a nightmare these cars are. Silly me on buying one :rolleyes:

SB118 · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:27

Greeny liquid will be coolant with anti-freeze.

Drop the oil and coolant, fresh filter oil & water. Run it for a day, if the coolant vanishes try running with the radiator cap off, it'll stop the system pressurising and should slow the coolant lose.

R220 · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:28

Does my car even have a rad cap ? looked earlier and all i could see was a tiny thin sheet of metal that looked like the radiator, but has no cap on the top!

great advice · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:30

Are Rover's prone to head gasket failure then?

MagicBoy · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:33

great advice said:
Are Rover's prone to head gasket failure then?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/search.php?

Firestar_3x · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:33

great advice said:
Are Rover's prone to head gasket failure then?

What gave you that idea Lee? :confused:

JRS · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:36

great advice said:
Are Rover's prone to head gasket failure then?

Is there some great need you have to bait the Rover owners on here?

F355 · 13 Mar 2006 at 23:37

R220 said:
How much damage will this do to the car if i keep running it.. (cant get the HG fixed untill 27th and i need to get to work each day).

You will get oil and water contamination so the car will overheat causing a warped head eventually and oil will will be useless causing oil starvation and big end damage which is just the start.

SB118 · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:05

R220 said:
Does my car even have a rad cap ? looked earlier and all i could see was a tiny thin sheet of metal that looked like the radiator, but has no cap on the top!

If you've got a thin rad with no cap, the cap will be on the expansion tank. As long as you keep the coolant from pressurising you can keep the damage to a minimum, you might need to chuck a pint of water in every other day, but that's about it.

If the coolant system isn't emptying into the oil you will at least have semi-useful lubrication.

R220 · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:12

SB118 said:
If you've got a thin rad with no cap, the cap will be on the expansion tank. As long as you keep the coolant from pressurising you can keep the damage to a minimum, you might need to chuck a pint of water in every other day, but that's about it.

If the coolant system isn't emptying into the oil you will at least have semi-useful lubrication.

Many thanks

R220 · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:17

F355 said:
You will get oil and water contamination so the car will overheat causing a warped head eventually and oil will will be useless causing oil starvation and big end damage which is just the start.

oh yes no doubt.. but as i said its not over heating... am keeping a keen eye on the gauge and its been dead centre all the time i have been driving it. Oil levels are fine and whilst it does appear to be leaking slight and i mean slight water from the oil sum the oil doesnt look to be thined out by water on the dip stick.. maybe a tiny but i wouldnt have thought the entire collent system is in there just yet

M0T · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:24

Yes but the temperature gauge measures coolant temperature, if theres no coolant it may read normal despite the true engine temperature being a lot higher. Gasket failure also creates hot spots.

Simon · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:25

What is this head gasket failure talk anyway

Nedved11 · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:28

Glad I stayed away from them now! Well £300 seems OK for a re-fitment HG as a mate of mine was quoted about the same for one. If the head needs skimming too then will probably cost that bit more, but if they are going to do the lot for £300 its bloody good going.

R220 · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:33

Nedved11 said:
Glad I stayed away from them now! Well £300 seems OK for a re-fitment HG as a mate of mine was quoted about the same for one. If the head needs skimming too then will probably cost that bit more, but if they are going to do the lot for £300 its bloody good going.

Well i shall be speaking to them soon, and i will ask them to do the full job as half is being paid for by the dealer hopefully. If he winges im sure theres a few paragraphs on trading standards website about faulty goods. (only bought this 5 days ago).

TBH my family has owned 3 Rovers in the past and i used to have a Coupe and non have ever suffered HGF... hence me going for this one.. hey 1 in 5 aint to bad is it

M0T · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:43

Simon said:
What is this head gasket failure talk anyway

I have no idea. Certainly the only reason my head is on the garage floor is because I often wondered how heavy it was.

R220 · 14 Mar 2006 at 00:47

M0T said:
I have no idea. Certainly the only reason my head is on the garage floor is because I often wondered how heavy it was.

Just read your HG diary, very interesting

.. think i will be lazy and let the garage do it though.. hehe

R220 · 14 Mar 2006 at 01:03

ooo, i have just found a HG set for my engine on ebay..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROVER-214-414...620217633QQcategoryZ10414QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Is that a good price ? (my local garage suggested £80 for the parts earlier).

Presume there is no such thing as an uprated gasket so it wouldnt matter which exact one we use ?

edit - also, seeing as ebay looks like a gold mine for Rover parts.. is there anything else i should buy cheaply and have the garage fit whilst the head is off the engine ? (obviously cambelt will be done).