HGF, I hope...

Kingy

Kingy

Kingy

Soldato
Joined
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Leicester
Well, it's FUBAR. :(

It's 98 Rover 216SLi with what I hope is HGF, and not a cracked block.

How much should I be looking to pay for a Head Gasket set, and where would be best to look for this and other parts?

I'm sure I read something about a Klinger headgasket or something? Is this a good idea?
 
Yep, the klinger gasket is to cure the T series engines habit of leaking oil.

Aftermarket gasket kits are very cheap for the K series (due to volume of production :D ). The genuine kit is a bit more expensive, but probably worthwhile if you intend to keep the car. Check ebay, dozens of aftermarket gasket sets on there, but occaisionaly you see a genuine set go cheap.

However, far, far more important than the quality of the headgasket is to ensure the liners are at the correct height wrt the deck, if they are too low the engine will never hold a gasket.
 
Well apparently it's knocking like mad and needs a new engine. Not the news I wanted after a £400 bill.

I'm not sure now whether to scrap the car and buy another, or foot the bill for a new engine...

What would you lot do?
 
Kingy said:
Well apparently it's knocking like mad and needs a new engine. Not the news I wanted after a £400 bill.

I'm not sure now whether to scrap the car and buy another, or foot the bill for a new engine...
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What was the £400 bill for? You didn't have the headgasket done did you?

If so, take it back and get the garage to sort it! It wasn't knocking until you had the work done was it?

Instead of scrapping it, get a 1.8 T engine and slap that in (direct swap). Great fun :D
 
agw_01 said:
What was the £400 bill for? You didn't have the headgasket done did you?

If so, take it back and get the garage to sort it! It wasn't knocking until you had the work done was it?

Instead of scrapping it, get a 1.8 T engine and slap that in (direct swap). Great fun :D
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Yeah, head gasket was done. He says it's knocking because the big end bearings/camshaft are knackered. Something to to with the crap in the oil getting in there or something.

Where would I look for an engine like that? He reckons ~£300 for a decent 216 engine. Insurance will kill me if I do a transplant, but it'd be interesting to know what the stats are etc...
 
I suppose if the bearings were on their way out in the first place, the thicker emulsified oil (how did you know the gasket failed, was the oil mixing with the coolant?) could have accelerated the wear... although it's almost unheard of!

Find out exactly why the bearings have failed! They don't just go... especially not after 8 years.

The 1.8 Turbo engine is from the MG ZT or Rover 75 1.8 Turbo's. They're pretty hard to come by, and will probably fetch closer to £500-600.

£300 for a 216 engine is *ok* but I know for a fact you'll be able to get one for peanuts by looking on Rovertech.

The 2 litre T-series Turbo engines go for around that price, and that's with the gearbox and the turbo. A little bit more work involved though, as you'll need subframes and a wiring loom from a 220.

Stats? You mean those of the engines?

1.8 Turbo's are 1.8 K-series with 120bhp but with the turbo strapped on obviously. They give out around 150bhp.

The 2.0 Turbo's are 2.0 T-series engines with 136bhp, but with different pistons and the turbo, they put out 197bhp.

The 1.6 k-series puts out 111bhp.
 
agw_01 said:
I suppose if the bearings were on their way out in the first place, the thicker emulsified oil (how did you know the gasket failed, was the oil mixing with the coolant?) could have accelerated the wear... although it's almost unheard of!

Find out exactly why the bearings have failed! They don't just go... especially not after 8 years.

The 1.8 Turbo engine is from the MG ZT or Rover 75 1.8 Turbo's. They're pretty hard to come by, and will probably fetch closer to £500-600.

£300 for a 216 engine is *ok* but I know for a fact you'll be able to get one for peanuts by looking on Rovertech.

The 2 litre T-series Turbo engines go for around that price, and that's with the gearbox and the turbo. A little bit more work involved though, as you'll need subframes and a wiring loom from a 220.

Stats? You mean those of the engines?

1.8 Turbo's are 1.8 K-series with 120bhp but with the turbo strapped on obviously. They give out around 150bhp.

The 2.0 Turbo's are 2.0 T-series engines with 136bhp, but with different pistons and the turbo, they put out 197bhp.

The 1.6 k-series puts out 111bhp.
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I quite fancy the idea of a 200bhp rusty arched Rover. Not likely to happen, but exactly how much is a little more work? I barely know the right end of a spanner, so this would all be done by the mechanic...

Have you got a link to rovertech?

The mechanic is a mate of my old man, so I'm not sure I want to cause a row, particularly about something I know nothing about...

Yeah, coolant was all going into the oil, he drained about 10 litres out apparently.
 
Kingy said:
I quite fancy the idea of a 200bhp rusty arched Rover. Not likely to happen, but exactly how much is a little more work? I barely know the right end of a spanner, so this would all be done by the mechanic...

Have you got a link to rovertech?

The mechanic is a mate of my old man, so I'm not sure I want to cause a row, particularly about something I know nothing about...

Yeah, coolant was all going into the oil, he drained about 10 litres out apparently.
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If you want to put the T-series into a bubble, you'll need to remove both subframes, the front and rear. You'll need some hefty man power to undo the bolts on these, as they'll most probably be seized to hell.

Once you've removed the subframes and replaced them with the correct ones, you can lower the engine into the bay. I'm not sure if the engine mounts are the same though, so you'll probably have to fabricate your own.

Then, you have to modify the wiring loom using the turbo loom and the original 216 loom. If you can read wiring diagrams, you'll have it done in no time.

If you know your way around an engine bay, you could have it done in a weekend. Knowing me, and my mechanical skills (even though I'm not a complete n00b) it'd take me a week and I still wouldn't have the new engine in :D

www.rovertech.net is the link. Lots of clever guys over there.

10 litres of oil... if he really did drain 10 litres of oil/water out from the sump, that would explain why the bearings have gone. The system should only take around 4.5 litres, so 10 litres will really be pushing things. Suprised the oil seals didn't give way and leave you will oil squirting out of every part of the engine!
 
agw_01 said:
If you want to put the T-series into a bubble, you'll need to remove both subframes, the front and rear. You'll need some hefty man power to undo the bolts on these, as they'll most probably be seized to hell.

Once you've removed the subframes and replaced them with the correct ones, you can lower the engine into the bay. I'm not sure if the engine mounts are the same though, so you'll probably have to fabricate your own.

Then, you have to modify the wiring loom using the turbo loom and the original 216 loom. If you can read wiring diagrams, you'll have it done in no time.

If you know your way around an engine bay, you could have it done in a weekend. Knowing me, and my mechanical skills (even though I'm not a complete n00b) it'd take me a week and I still wouldn't have the new engine in :D

www.rovertech.net is the link. Lots of clever guys over there.

10 litres of oil... if he really did drain 10 litres of oil/water out from the sump, that would explain why the bearings have gone. The system should only take around 4.5 litres, so 10 litres will really be pushing things. Suprised the oil seals didn't give way and leave you will oil squirting out of every part of the engine!
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Insurance don't want to know about a transplant, but they aren't massively against the idea of a Vi.

Anything I need to know about when looking at these?
 
Same as with any K-series engined Rover really... check for mayo ;)

The Vi's are excellent cars for the money. They have the 145bhp 1.8 VVC K-series and do 0-60 in around 8.5 seconds.

They look like any other Rover 200 from the outside... so if you debadge it, nobody will be any the wiser... even more fun if you stick a 214 badge on there ;)

Interior wise, they have electric windows, leather seats... and that's about as far as my knowledge goes on them, lol. Some of them have a sunroof which is probably electric, but as I've never been in one, I couldn't tell you.

They're still pretty new though, and I don't think I've seen any Vi's with rust.
 
agw_01 said:
Same as with any K-series engined Rover really... check for mayo ;)

The Vi's are excellent cars for the money. They have the 145bhp 1.8 VVC K-series and do 0-60 in around 8.5 seconds.

They look like any other Rover 200 from the outside... so if you debadge it, nobody will be any the wiser... even more fun if you stick a 214 badge on there ;)

Interior wise, they have electric windows, leather seats... and that's about as far as my knowledge goes on them, lol. Some of them have a sunroof which is probably electric, but as I've never been in one, I couldn't tell you.

They're still pretty new though, and I don't think I've seen any Vi's with rust.
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The sleeper thing is something I've always liked about the 200...

There's a Tahiti Blue (My fav) 5 door on the trader with 110,000 miles for a grand, are high mileage models to be avoided?

Any VVC specific issues? I think I read something about checking that for knocking or something?
 
I do like the Tahiti Blue bubbles. When polished, they come up a treat!

I wouldn't avoid a 110,000 mile Rover, no. Both of my old 214's were getting onto 85,000 when I got rid of them. I know of 214's that have reached 200,000 miles with no problems... a few high mileage cars are even on their original head gasket!

Also, if it is on 110,000 chances are it's had the head gasket done quite recently, so shouldn't be a problem for you.

The VVC units can get quite noisy as they get older. As to whether it'll fail, I don't know. If the car has been well maintained and looked after, it shouldn't be a problem. But you never know, as the VVC mechanism is very complicated.
 
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