Hey I have a P reg Rover 214. A couple of weeks ago, whilst stuck in traffic my temp gauge reached maximum. I switched the engine off to give it time to cool down but then it took a while to start again. When I got home and let the car cool down I opened the bonnet and realised that the coolant was empty. I filled this up and the car was then running fine...... until a couple of days ago. The same thing happened to me again and when i looked under the bonnet the coolant was empty again. I filled it up but then the morning after I had trouble starting the car. Yesterday, my car completely conked out on me. I'm ashamed to say this but i think that this was due to lack of petrol. After putting some petrol in it, however it wouldn't start and we had to push it back home.
We then changed the starter motor on it and charged the battery. This seemed to do the trick. This morning however, my temp gauge has taken to jumping up and down between half way and the top. It doesn't seem to do this so much when I am going down hill or when I take my foot off the gas. It does it in every gear at about 1500 revs except third gear which it seems to like!!
I dont think that this could be an accurate reading of the temp of my engine as I am sure that it would crack if the temp changed so much at such speed.
Does anybody have any advice as to what could be causing this and how i could fix it?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 04/11/2008 at 18:47
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It sounds like you may have a coolant leak that has now caused an airlock - hence the gauge going up and down. Do you get warm air through the vents when the heater is on hot or is it cold?
Whatever you do, you need to get the system bled of air and the leak identified. Likely culprits are corroded radiator, water pump or even a faulty pressure cap on the header tank. Alternatively you may have a manifold gasket leak and the water is being burnt off.
Worst case scenario is a faulty headgasket - check the oil - if it looks like chocolate milkshake and you have a mayonnaise looking gunk under the oil filler cap then you need a new headgasket.
I wouldnt be driving it until you find out what the problem is as you are likely to blow your headgasket anyway if you keep running it low on water and with an airlock in the system. Its highly possible that you have unfortunately done the damage already - what is an innocent leak will quickly lead to the headgasket needing doing if it overheats.
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thanks very much for replying. The car has now decided that it is not going to start and when we turn the key, none of the engine lights come on. The handbrake light comes on and I can work the lights and windscreen wipers so it cant be a flat battery.
We checked the oil and it seems ok, there is no creamy "mayo" on the cap. I only bought the car in May and it had it's head gasket skimmed just before that.
I haven't had the heaters on as I thought that heating the car would only make it worse. I will try this if we can get the car started again.
Just think that it could be one thing after another with this car and that I might just have to get rid of it. Sad thing is I was gonna sell it next month anyway!
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The heating will take the heat from the engine so will actually help if the temp is above where it should be.
Sounds like you have two separate problems with the starting though. The none starting and things not lighting up can be a sympton of a faulty alternator. Dont ask me why though, but it seems to affect the MGTF which shares similar components so may also be your problem. Does the engine turn over or does it just click, or do nothing?
I would bleed the cooling system, refill and check for visual leaks. Also change the coolant cap - they are only a few quid and should really be replaced at service intervals. If its not holding the pressure it will boil the water off under driving. How many miles has it done since the headgasket was done? - headgasket is 'normally' a result of something else failing - maybe that wasnt rectified and its the same leak?
Edited by bbroomlea{P} on 04/11/2008 at 21:19
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Just noticed that you ran out of fuel - its likely to have drawn the dregs of the fuel tank through the filter - bearing in mind the tank is steel and likely to be 12 years old or so, there will be all sorts of bits that can be causing a fuel delivery problem - of course if your engine isnt even turing over then thats a different matter!
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the car is not ticking over at all. nothing happens at all when you turn the key except the handbrake light comes on. Will have another look at it this weekend to see if we can bleed it.
Thanks very much for your help!
Jill
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If the engine isnt turning over then its likely to be either:
- Electrical - i.e. bad earth, battery, altenator, bad connection on new starter
- Mechanical - starter motor or the very worst a seized engine.
I would start by checking that the battery is charged fully - just because things that draw little current are working doesnt mean that it has enough juice to turn the engine over. If not the battery, check all connections to the starter motor and ensure there is no corrosion.
Was the starter new/recon or from a scrappy?
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You appear to have a colant leak as suggested above.
All the same,it can also be a radiator leak as i experienced a similar problem with same model of rover(R reg) not too long ago. I had to change the radiator and it has been working fine since then.
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Sorry, I'm not here to offer a solution, because I have the same problem with the meters jumping up and down in my Rover 200. Here's my story:
I had left the headlights on overnight and flattened the battery, but when I tried to charge it the fuse in the charger would blow every time after a few minutes. So I replaced the battery with a brand new one.
Replacing the battery is the only thing we have in common I think.
Now with the new battery, everything mostly functions as it should, except for when the electric system is prodded to do something, for example:
-stepping on the brake
-indicating
-turning on the headlights
Whenever I do any of these things the meters (tach, and maybe fuel as well I don't remember) will drop to zero for a moment and the radio will cut out. I also get this cutting out symptom when I take my foot off the throttle to coast, I assume this is because the voltage from the alternator falls for a moment.
Now the ABS light on the dash is usually on, and if it's not, it will come on when the meters jump and the radio cuts out. I have also noticed the headlights seem dimmer than they used to be, and there is slightly less 'pep' and pickup when accelerating.
I'm guessing this is all from a bad earth, but everything looks ok. The cables from the battery to the chassis and engine block look pretty sturdy, is it possible that these big cables could ever wear out or something?
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The head gasgets gone and it sounds terminal as you have cooked the engine to many times.
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Did you connect the charger up the right way round? i.e. black to -ve; red to +ve?
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Hi Mexxy,
I'm afraid I have to agree with the people suggesting the head gasket.
I had a Rover 214 si (K- series engine). Almost as soon as I got it, the temperature needle went into the red and the coolant pressure went up that much that it started to seep from the coolant reservoir cap.
I returned it to the garage and they changed the head gasket. It then went back a couple of weeks later as they had not skimmed the head properly and therefore needed a new gasket again!!
12 months later I was suddenly noticing the car was loosing power and hesitating then going again. This got progressively worse until the temp gauge started rising again and the car would just stop working until it had cooled down. This happened whenever I was in traffic and there was no cool air hitting the radiator.
I have to say that despite this happening many times it did no damage to the engine block.
People I have spoken to since have mentioned that the rover K-series is a renown gasket boiler and once they have gone expect to change them every few years.
HOWEVER- better news-
I have since heard that Land Rover have developed a range of gaskets that are much more resilient to over-heating- I'm not sure if they do one to fit all the Rovers Cars- the conversation I had was regarding Lotus Elise (Rover 1.8 VVT K-series engine).
Hope this helps?
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