MG F exhaust 'putt putt putt putt" sound

Get your head gasket checked.

I would get a sniff test done, I would suggest that the chuffing is steam build up and the black bits are carbon.

A call to Jon Norris of Rough luck racing will confirm or allay your fears, he's a good guy and very knowledgeable reasonable prices for repairs too.

Sent from my MediaPad T1 8.0 Pro using Tapatalk

Today I replaced spark plugs and fuel filter to see if it was something to do with those. Still the same. I decided to get under the car, I thought if coolant not visible up above, then maybe down below.

This is below the engine at the gearbox, so cylinder 1? Does this indicate a leaking head gasket. Pinkish run down and the UV light highlighted it green - I had put some UV dye in the system to help try and find the leak. Looks mighty wet!

IMG

I'm going to attempt to change the inlet manifold gasket as 1. There seems to be evdience of wetness on the side of the manifold by cylinder 4 and also it can run round to that point on the head. 2. It is a nice bit of experience to bleed and refill the coolant system. 3. If it is the head gone anyway can't do any real damage in trying the IMG!

I also noted that the coolant pipes in the engine bay, those nasty mild steel ones are flaking and rusty, so probably time to change those over the winter too!