Stainless steel underfloor pipes. - How to fit

One of the mods really worth doing to your F/TF is to change the underfloor coolant pipes for stainless steel ones. The standard ones are very prone to rust and failure, leading to leaks and possible engine damage/HGF due to lack of coolant.

These were my pipes, and while they hadn't failed, it was only a matter of time looking at them.







Raise the car off the gound so that you have plenty of room to work. Do not work under the car unless it is properly supported on at least axle stands, NOT just on jacks. I used ramps as they are more secure.



Before removing the old underfloor pipes we need to drain the coolant.

First take the coolant expansion tank cap off.

The best place to drain the coolant off is at the front end of the underfloor coolant pipes. Remove the clips by pressing the ends together and sliding them along the pipe away from the connection. The rubber hose will be stuck on the metal pipe after years of sitting in place. I loosened them by gripping them with mole grips, or similar, and turning until the seal is broken.



Rather than pulling the hose straight off and getting soaked I slid a screwdriver down the inside of the hose to create a small bleed.



Now just leave that to drain. Check once in a while to make sure that the container doesn't overflow.

Be careful as it is easy to get the coolant in your eyes. Obviously I didn't, being the professional that I is. I said I didn't, right. And it stings, er, or so I heard somewhere.

You can aid the draining by opening the bleed points.

There is one at the top nearside of the radiator. Be very careful when opening this one as it is only plastic and often shears off. If it does shear off then one of the ways to remove the remaining threaded portion is to heat up a screwdriver end to F hot and melt it into the plastic bolt, let it cool and screw it out.



While you are under the bonnet, remove the plastic cover on the bulkhead and you will see another bleed point for the heater matrix. Make sure that you have the heater set to hot to allow the coolant to drain.



And one in the engine compartment, above the starter motor.



As I am going to be removing the coolant pipes to fit the new stainless pipes, I needed to take the belly pan off.



Remove the 22 bolts and remove the belly pan. Keep the bolts somewhere safe.



Snip the tie wraps that secure the starter motor cable to the coolant pipe brackets





Unclip the rear coolant hoses from the pipes



and remove them. A fair bit of coolant will come out. Be careful not to get it in your eyes or on your skin. If you do, then flush with copious amounts of fresh water.



Now, unbolt the 3 10mm bolts and remove the pipes.



These are the removed pipes alongside the new stainless steel ones. They were £68.05 + £9.95 P&P from Sussex Classic Car Parts.



They seem to be exact copies and I was even surprised that they had new tie wraps fitted.



The underfloor area where the pipes were is cleaner than I thought it would be. I will be waxoiled it before fitting the new pipes.



I also bought some stainless steel jubilee clips to replace the old ones.



Now, simply bolt the new pipes in place, clip the starter cable back in and connect the rubber hoses.

It now looks a lot shinier.


It almost seems a shame to put the floor pan back on, but it is part of the body strengthening, so bolt itback on.



Now all that is left is to refil the coolant system, bleed any air out, check for leaks http://www.the-t-bar.org/showthread.php?p=401#post401

and the job is done.

Thanks for this great how to do.While i was doing a oil & filter change i noticed that one of the coolant pipes was dripping a bit so i thought that i would follow your instructions with great photos and change them with stainless ones.Then i looked at the Radiator that was in a bad way as well so thought that i would do that at the same time.With out this great site i would have never attempted any of those things.So i would like to say a big thank you to all you guys who take the time & effort to put these things on here.I have saved a lot of money by doing bits to my old girl,the mgf.& at the same time i have learnt a great deal.Here are some of the photos that will show how bad things were. :ohmy:

Well done on a good DIY fix.... changing the pipes and rad are one of the best preventative measures you can take!

They look worse than mine did when I changed them. You'll have to stop driving it in the sea.

Yer i know they were bad i have only had the car for a few months she has done 127,000 i think that most of those were wet winter miles, with lots of salt on the roads,more than whats in the sea i think.

chrisd300 wrote: Yer i know they were bad i have only had the car for a few months she has done 127,000 i think that most of those were wet winter miles, with lots of salt on the roads,more than whats in the sea i think.

:yesnod: :bust:

adamelphick wrote: Well done on a good DIY fix.... changing the pipes and rad are one of the best preventative measures you can take!

I totally agree with this, they should have been S/S originally :rant: another MGR cost saving :bust:

Very pleased we have been of help and saved you "loadsofmoney" You know that Clive (CJJ) only dismantles his car so he can do the "how to's) :thumbsup: :woohoo:

Bryan we all know that's not true

Clive takes his car apart at least once a month just for the pleasure of putting it back together again! :lol:

more fequently if he is doing some work on it :whistle:

Seriously though, all the 'how tos' are invaluable. As they say 'a picture is worth a thousand words' and i've never been any good with diagrams. Iwould never taken on the work I have done without joining this forum. :thumbsup:

Would this cause my coolant to get all murky and have copper colour flecks in?

I've checked the oil and its not been compromised so I'm sure its coolant system related rather than hgf.

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Sounds like someone's used a 'leak stopper' product as those are obvious telltales. Finding where the leak is is vital before something lets go in a dramatic and expensive manner.

Look for staining caused by leaking coolant. The underfloor pipes are one of the regular problem areas but the radiator and the coolant hoses also need checked. If you have a plastic inlet manifold then check underneath for staining. That is a common cause for leaks as the plastic distorts over time and allows coolant to either escape or enter cylinders 1 and 4.

Thanks, I spoke to Kayleigh and Dave at MG Rover Mobile Repairs (not a plug honest).

They both said the same thing and advised a new expansion cap, system flush, bleed refil and run up before ordering an expensive hg.

So I'm off to fleabay for a cap and some knuckle protectors as my next two weekends are going to be under my F.

Thanks for the steer, I'm going to check these out too.

Is it worth trying to find a metal manifold?

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