Any advice appreciated

Hi all and thank you, this forum has saved us a couple of times already.
we just got a 2004 MG tf with 37,000 on the clock stored in a garage. A coolant pipe blew on the way home!, followed by another leak the next day. I'm pretty handy but it is tight getting around the engine and i don't have the equipment to get the engine out.
I would love any info on what work i may need to do as we are planning on driving it down to France in a few weeks. I have already done a coolant flush and change, replaced the engine bay sensor checked the brake pads. I plan on doing a brake line bleed and clutch. My worry is another pipe blowing, do i need to change the coolant pipes before the long drive, maybe not if they have not blown already?

Thanks for any info and very glad to be accepted on here..

Hey! I’d be concerned with why the pipes are blowing, when the engine is running from cold, take the cap off and see is there any pressure in the header tank? It’s unusual to blow pipes off like that! Saying that, I just recommissioned my MGF, definitely check the belts!


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Advice? Call the ferry company and book the other car. Pipes don't just blow off. There needs to be a reason why the pressure is elevated. Fix it and what happens? Another one goes. That means that the fault that causes the problem has not been fixed.
You need engine surgery and you need it on this side of the channel. The trip down through France will have to wait until next year. Sorry but that is the 99% certainty.
I wouldn't risk taking an MGF into a hot place far from an available mechanic if it was misbehaving and make no mistake, this one is. Assuming the gauge temperature is normal the system should not overpressurise. If it isn't normal and the fan cuts in then there is a problem because the cooling system cannot control the engine temperature. My dark coloured car was driven hard and fast for hours in a very hot France last month and it did not lose a drop, so if it does, there is something wrong and it is very probably a head gasket issue.

Edit:
You changed the coolant. How many miles ago? The bleeding process is straightforward but needs to be done correctly. It isn't enough to sacrifice a virgin at full moon, all three bleed points need to be opened and closed in the correct order and the engine needs to be taken up to temperature a couple of times to ensure that the cooling system is doing its job. This might be the cause but I wouldn't hold out too much hope.

Why did you change the sensor and the coolant? Was there a problem or the suspicion of one before?

When you say: “a coolant pipe blew” was it a rigid pipe or a flexible hose? Did the hose blow clean off or just split and die of old age?
A rigid pipe would only fail due to corrosion of the pipe.
A hose blowing off could be due to a loose or shitty hose clamp ( easy fix), unless it’s due to an over pressurised cooling system a much more serious problem, a thermostat not opening could do this, but more likely a blown head gasket, cracked head or a cylinder liner problem would be likely culprits.
A hose that has croaked it due to old age should be an easy fix, if it hasn’t overheated and done more damage.

Thanks for the info.

Since i repaired what i believe to be the rubber hose from the thermostat (very short hose that does a 360) my wife has been running the car 30 mins each way for the last 2 weeks and all seems fine. The hose in question split and i'm feeling this was old age. The second leak was from the metal pipes underneath at the front and i simply disconnected both cleaned them off inside the rubber and the outside of the metal. Nothing further has happened and it seems to be running well. Temperature gauge is working and no further issues as yet!.
Could you recommend a MGTF mechanic in surrey who's not going to fleece me, I would like it checked out by a professional until i get a better idea and more time to work on her (the MG!).

P.S I had a car blow a dual mass fly wheel on the way down to France before and i am 7,000 pounds aware that the French don't do foreign cars well or cheaply.

Thanking you all sincerely for any info you may have and your time.

That is better. Rotten front to back pipes are par for the course and if you were spanner worthy I would change them out next week for stainless and peace of mind before I went abroad. If it is running half hour trips daily and remaining continent, you have cast the correct spells over the bleed screws. I would take the car for a good hour's run during rush hour and see if that upsets it. If it doesn't then bon voyage et bon retour.

DJMONK wrote:

Hi ..

Hi and welcome to the forum.

James

Ok. Took it for a spin then left it ticking over in the sun. Temp guage went up to three quarters so I turned it off. Guess I've got some work to do.
I've read that it needs 1 Bar in the system. Maybe there's not enough pressure.
Maybe I should bleed the 3 valves again.
Check for flow via the two pipes underneath the rad.
Check the radiator fan, change fuse.
The little hose coming into the expansion tank is clear, I've seen coolant pass through.
Thermostat?
Coolant sensor?
I don't know where to start.

Any thoughts?
Thanks

It doesn't need a bar in the system. That is the blow off valve pressure and you shouldn't get there. Let the gauge get to the top and if the fan does not cut in, the switch is duff in all probability. If it does cut in and the guage doesn't fall, the problem is serious.

Remove the yellow relay beside the fusebox under the bonnet. Bypass it as below. The fan should run with ignition on.

If it doesn't run, switch off ignition and try to rotate the fan by hand. It should turn freely.

Probably a bit late now but, since you asked, there are a couple of people in your area (Surrey/Sussex) with an excellent reputation for working on our cars: Russell at https://mgroversolutions.com/ and Mike at http://www.mjsautoandmarine.co.uk/