O/T MG TF

[chazpowerslide]

I have had two Rover 25 and have had no problems with either which have both been high(ish) mileage.

I have done two head gasgets on friends K powered cars and it's cost IRO £195 to do each one.

One of these was due to a rotted out rad core that caused overheating.

As has been said Payen do a gasget set that's uprated and uses stainless dowles instead of the nylon ones which solves the issue.

Chaz.

[SteveD]

dont forget in the mgf and tf its a mother of a job you have to remove the complete soft top and half the interior at the rear to get to the engine as its under that lot unless you drop the engine from underneath both ways is a b***h so counter lots of labour  

[Jack T]

Just a thought as a younger driver (trying not to upset anyone   ) I cant think of a car i would want less than an MGTF!

Just my 2 p's worth tho!

Haircut anyone  

Jack

[funbobby]

sorry but MGTF's are gay as t**s!!!

[Matt Seabrook]

The last couple of K's we have done have had a modified head set which comes with a Cometic type gasket and a new modified ladder arrangement for the head bolts to screw in to in the sump. I think the kit for doing this was over £150.00 + head bolts @ £6.00 each x 10 + oil + filter + timing belt + antifreeze + head skim + crack test + Stat + rad cap etc etc.  On an MGF it must be about a days work to do so if you can get it done for £300.00 I reckon you have a bargain as the parts list must add up to more than that

[Matt Seabrook]

Just to add we will not take on a head gasket without doing a proper job and advise that if someone wants a cheaper price go elsewhere and I dont like comeback

[Ian]

Didn't someone on here say that Quinn direct were very cheap for learners, but that once you pass your test the price goes up? A lot?

You might want to double check before buying a car that you won't be able to insurance once he's passed his test.

Just a thought.

Ian

[SteveD]

Just to add we will not take on a head gasket without doing a proper job and advise that if someone wants a cheaper price go elsewhere and I dont like comeback

 

[Matt Seabrook]

[mavhh]

I had a Jap Import '97 MGF when I was 20, nice leather seats and aircon that the UK models don't get.

The HGF problem is rarely 'for no reason' - corroded underbody pipes, split hoses etc and then running the car with barely any coolant leads to the failure. If you fit a coolant level sensor (standard from the TF) and modify the thermostat you should be okay.

I did some work to investigate the root cause of the failure and wrote it up on a little webpage. I'm not suggesting I was presenting any new information, but I believe I'm the only person to put any data against the problems/solutions.

MGF Head Gasket

After these tweaks I did about 30k without an problems - until I drove it into an abandoned, unlit, car that joy riders dumped in the fast lane of the A3. Ouch. Oh, and they stand up to 70mph impacts with suprisingly little damage - I opened the door and walked away! (... and then collapsed after the adrenaline finally subsided and the tendons in my lower back realised they were a shade worse for wear.)

Dave

[samcooke]

Never mind the headgaskets, what about the nasty metro suspension and rotten undersides?

[Mat Jackson]

Had an MGF a few years ago and it was great fun....

HG went on mine (cant remember how much to fix), but for £3k it sounds like a great car.

I remember a guy at work was really p****d of as he had a Boxter and in a straight line he couldn`t leave me!!!!

[Matt Seabrook]

Never mind the headgaskets, what about the nasty metro suspension and rotten undersides?

Yep its a Metro sub frame on the front and because the front needs something to keep the wheel bearings falling apart they just fit the CV joints without the guts Good old Rover engineering

[Bryan C]

Enough on HG failure - you will have got the message.

I had a TF from  new, and had a series of electrical problems including a recall for the electric connections to the tensioners on the seat-belts, plug leads failed ( so they changed the plugs as well to eliminate the problem - that was £120+ ) which caused the car to limp home cos it affected the O2 sensor(?),  electric shorts on the boot light wiring ( twice ) - not easy to trace back, and that blew the fuse on the indicators etc.

Yup - I was fed up with it and eventually committed heresy - I bought an MX5 and never looked back. I got a good trade-in cos I didn;t have too many miles on the MG cos it was always in the garage. The MX5 was/is the best shopping / hair-dressers car with a soft top I ever had.

MGF's look good, have nice wide doors and are comfortable to get into and sit in, but I was driving mine always with one eye on the temp guage and never felt confident that it was reliable.

Check out the owners club web-site for more gen.

Stay Cool

BryanC.

[Martin Keene]

Never mind the headgaskets, what about the nasty metro suspension and rotten undersides?

MGF is a Metro hydrolastic set up set up.

The MG TF is a completely new set of arms, coil springs, dampers, etc. The rear sub frame is also new.

I worked for the company that produced 6 of the suspension arms and saw the first ever MG TF test mule built, because we were late with bits and I had to deliver to Longbridge myself after spending the night pressing bushes into the trailing arms...