Tips & Tricks...
home Cooling System

  • Overview
    • Rob Bell has this excellent page which graphically explains the cooling system and possible routes for improvement.
       
  • Head gasket failure (commonly known as HGF)
    • Tell tale signs of head gasket failure
      • a sudden eruption of steam out of the engine vents
      • a sudden increase in engine temperature
      • loss of power and/or engine misfire
      • 'mayo' on the dipstick
      • an oil film in the expansion tank (assuming there is still coolant in the tank !)
      • temperature gauge is in the red
         
    • 1955deisel from the MG-Rover forum, put together this excellent thread covering the diagnosis of possible head gasket failure.
    • Rob Bell has the subject well and truly covered here, here, and here.
    • Tony Thompson's site covers the subject well here, lots of useful links at the bottom of the page.
    • Andy 'Scarlet Fever' Phillips made a fantastic post on MG-Rover.org covering they subject really well.
    • Andy gave another mammoth post here again on  MG-Rover.org concerning HGF.
    • and yet another of Andy's terrific posts here, again imparting some of his vast knowledge concerning HGF.
    • Dieter adds more information for you here on bolt stretch.
    • some wise words from Chris Reeves here, about 1/3 of the way down the page.
    • Erik on The English Fantasy site relays his thoughts on the subject.
    • Dieter covers the improved Landrover head gasket on this page.
    • An article here talking about HGF and the remote thermostat.
    • Visit the MGF Hall of Shame to register your HGF or see the failure statistics.
    • MGFmad on the MG-Rover.org forum posted this thread giving his thoughts via words and pictures after he replaced the head gasket on his VVC powered F.
    • Roger Parker has this article on the MGOC website giving the development of the K series head gasket.
       
  • Coolant refilling
    • Tony Thompson gives detailed instructions on this page.
    • Dieters web site has this page on bleeding the coolant.
       
  • Radiator
    • Tony explains what to do if your radiator fan stops working here.
    • The OE bleed screw was plastic and the threads can be easily stripped or the head can be sheared off easily, replace with a new bleed screw.
    • On the F, replace the 15amp radiator fan fuse for a 20amp one.

  • Hose / clamp sizes
    • Dieter has this page with an excellent colour coded graphic indicating hose and clamp sizes. Be aware though that this page is 'under construction'.
       
  • Regular maintenance
    • Replace the expansion bottle cap at yearly intervals. Andy Phillips explains why here, and Dieter also has this page on the header tank cap.
    • Visually check the coolant in the expansion tank, both the level and for oil contamination, at least once a week.
    • Check the dipstick for coolant contamination at least once a week.
    • Visually inspect the under floor pipes for corrosion, and all joints on the cooling system for leaks.
    • Keep the engine below 3000rpm until the coolant and oil are up to temperature.
       
  • Prevention
    • fitting a coolant level sensor can certainly give prior warning of coolant loss before the engine suffers any heat damage. Have a look at the options in the links here.
    • philmgf, on the MG-Rover.org forum, posted this thread giving details of his home brew low level coolant alarm, a simple, cheap and effective solution.
    • Jerry Herbert from the SWMGF'rs found a fix for a possible coolant loss, his return hose was rubbing on the clutch slave cylinder bracket, read how he fixed it (you need to be a SWMGF member to view the thread).

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Page last modified on:08, December, 2013
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