Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,......

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Wed 22 Aug 2018 21:08
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - oldroverboy.

I have an elderly neighbour (86 years young) who has a W reg 1.4 rover 25.. I saw him yesterday with the bonnet up... what's up Bill? battery flat, so charging it.. noticed the non original air filter.. Going ok otherwise... well, losing lots of water.. and look creamy water in the expansion tank... took off oil filler cap and lots of nice mayonnaise..

I think your head gasket has gone, terminal as rest of car in poor nick..

will speak to son... son says take it to be pressure tested. Garage did that.. same diagnosis.. keep it topped up and it might last a bit longer...

IT DID... another whole mile today on leaving the garage, so off to the great rover graveyard in the sky or wherever.

Tomorrow will get him a Kia RIo..

Edited by oldroverboy. on 22/08/2018 at 21:09

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 22 Aug 2018 22:11
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - Metropolis.

Notwithstanding what you are saying, it is pleasantly surprising how well Rover 25s seem to be holding up generally, super cheap to repair, you can get chinese redesigned K series headgaskets, the bodies don't seem to rust much, quality cars that can last a long time if taken care of.

RIP Rover, business is business but BMW should have been stopped. If only they hadn't turned their noses up at Honda purchasing them in the first place!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 22 Aug 2018 22:26
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - daveyK_UK

is the chinese re-designed head gasket a proper solution to fix the K series weak spot?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 22 Aug 2018 22:28
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - dan86

I always thought the problem with the K series was the fact it held so little coolant.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 22 Aug 2018 23:06
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - Bolt

I always thought the problem with the K series was the fact it held so little coolant.

AFAIK the head was redesigned to prevent the problems on the N series.

head gasket was redesigned for the K series by the same people afaik

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 23 Aug 2018 07:56
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - oldroverboy.

I always thought the problem with the K series was the fact it held so little coolant.

AFAIK the head was redesigned to prevent the problems on the N series.

head gasket was redesigned for the K series by the same people afaik

Head Gasket AND oil rail fix was signed off for production on K series just before rover went down. A proper fix needs the gasket kit, NEW Stretch bolts and the re-inforced oil rail, which is a big job.

www.dmgrs.co.uk/products/k-series-uprated-oil-rail...g

www.dmgrs.co.uk/collections/all-k-series-engine-pa...3

www.dmgrs.co.uk/collections/all-k-series-engine-pa...t

According to the Land Rover service bulletin that covers the new MLS gasket, the new oil rail MUST be fitted at the same time as the replacement gasket - so it seems likely that the EU IV compliant K-series, had the engine made it to this stage, would have come similarly configured. You'll notice mention of Land Rover. This is significant as these two components are now available to buy - so in the event of a head gasket failure on your K-series engined car, you can fit these components as a direct replacement to the existing items in your engine

So, not a cheap fix, done properly.

ANd anyone bored over the weekend can read this....

mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/engines/development_hist...m

Edited by oldroverboy. on 23/08/2018 at 08:11

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 22 Aug 2018 22:56
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - SLO76

is the chinese re-designed head gasket a proper solution to fix the K series weak spot?

The Land Rover MLS (Multi-Layer Steel) replacement gasket has been around since before the Chinese took over MG. Fit one of these properly and the K series is otherwise very longlived. A tatty W plate 25 is not worth the cost of saving however and a good used Kia Rio, Honda Jazz, Mazda 2 or Toyota Yaris would be a far safer bet for an elderly owner who needs reliability.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 23 Aug 2018 15:40
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - oldroverboy.

An update...

The Garage who did the pressure test and agreed with me that it was HGF did not charge my elderly friend, even though they spent some time on it.

Well done them!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 24 Aug 2018 10:53
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - SteveLee

is the chinese re-designed head gasket a proper solution to fix the K series weak spot?

Ricardo engineering in the UK actually fxed the head gasket issue for SAIC - for the cost BMW spends on designing an ashtray - obviously BMW wanted Rover to fail to justify their subsequent asset-stripping and dumping of the brand.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 24 Aug 2018 13:38
Old Rover 25 smiles now a kia...Rio - oldroverboy.

Went and got him a Kia Rio Strike, 53000 odd miles £2550 ... tidy, full service history..

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 24 Aug 2018 13:41
Old Rover 25 smiles... - Bye Bye,...... - oldroverboy.

The head gasket issue was fixed by MGRover. The inet manifold mods to update the engine were done afterwards. metal manifold instead of the stupid polycarbonate...as per MG6/ LE500

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....