Rover 200 & 400 Owners Club

androver · Post by **androver** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:07 pm

My 414sli has done 105000 miles and has started loosing water intermittently - I fear the worst!! I have read on here somewhere that the head gasket can be replaced with a modified version.
What is it, what's different about it and how reliable is the repair?
Some say when you start to get problems with these engines it's time for the car to go, but it's in very good condition and I like the car, and would be happy to keep it if I thought the repair would be effective. Would appreciate your advice please

E_T_V · Post by **E_T_V** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:25 pm

First thing to do is to find out where the water is going. It may be something as simple as a leaking radiator. I feared the worst when ours started losing water but when parked up one day at traffic lights I saw a wisp of steam from a tiny pinhole in the radiator. Also the coolat rail around the back of the engine is another favourite leak location.

If replaced with a conventional gasket then there is no reason not to get another 100k miles! (I've got one if you want one). The modified landrover gasket should be better but the liner heights are even more critical for this gasket than the original one. They also sell a modified bearing ladder for the bottom end which supposedly stiffens up the block a bit to give better clamping.

androver · Post by **androver** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:39 pm

The radiator was replaced at 99000 miles.
The water appears on the ground, dripping from the timing belt end of the engine. It's weird though because a couple of weeks ago it would loose nearly a litre of coolant when parked for a couple of hours (a drip every couple of seconds), but over the last week or so the loss has been negligible - why??
I suspect the gasket because of the apparent area of source of leak. I had thought it could be the water pump, but there are a couple of oily drops floating in the header tank, along with what looks like emulsified water/oil coating the inside top of the header tank.
The oil on the dipstick is clean with no sign of emulsion.
Until I can get under the car on ramps it is difficult to be more specific as to source of leak.

Dorset_Clive · Post by **Dorset_Clive** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:52 am

Sounds to me like either the coolant rail or possibly the water pump.

Coolant rail: If you look at the inlet manifold at the end nearest the cam belt, you'll see a water pipe going in to it (about 10mm dia), this is the so called "jiggle valve". For some reason this is a weakness and can leak from around the inlet manifold gasket. Given the amount of coolant you're loosing, I doubt this is the problem, but have a really good look with a torch and see if you can see any staining below pipe.

Water pump: Much more difficult to see. The most likely failure point is the bearing, which you can only see (if at all) by taking off the cam belt cover (about six 8mm bolts).

To change it is quite a job!

androver · Post by **androver** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:15 pm

Thanks for the advice guys - it's much appreciated.
Have been to local garage today and the fitter there agrees it would seem to be the gasket (bearing in mind the oil & emulsion in the coolant header tank). BTW he drives a 400 wedge diesel!
He's done several K series heads and says he's never had one back yet, so I've left the car with him for the job to be done tomorrow.
I've asked him to change the water pump, timing belt and drive belts for power steering & alternator at the same time (as the latter have to be removed to do the gasket it seems sensible to renew them).
Seems sensible to spend £200 - £300 on the car as I bought it with only 12k miles on and I still like driving it. Furthermore, it's still in great nick.
The alternative was to spend £1000's on a 2nd hand car and not know what you're getting!

The R8 Man · Post by **The R8 Man** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:21 pm

Good to see you are having the old girl repaired. The Head Gasket issue does strike a note of fear into many people with K series engined cars but compared to many other companies products, 100k miles is an average for faliure, even on BMW's and Hondas!
My wife had a Clio 1.6 and that had three head gaskets before 35,000, with it going again just before it was part exchanged at a Ford garage (who seemed more interested in the tread depth than if the engine was any good....

)
I've recently had the Land Rover part fitted, but as my car produces power in the lower range of the K series scale, the uprated rail was not fitted as it is really for the 1.8 engine apparently, which is more prone to block flex.
If you have caught the problem before the gasket failing and overheating the engine, then your head should be perfect. The water pump should be changed along with the cam belt which should be changed whan the head gasket is changed since it is a perfect time to swap it as the old one needs to be removed to change the gasket.
There should be no reason whatsoever why your engine should last another 60,000 at least, but while the LR item is no perfect solution, it should make the 1400cc K unburstable.

Dorset_Clive · Post by **Dorset_Clive** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:51 am

I'd say £200-300 sounds pretty good for all that work.

androver · Post by **androver** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:20 pm

The job was done today and I'm well pleased (assuming of course it's successful - will let you know!)
The gasket was renewed, head checked for flatness, new water pump, new timing and power steering belts, thermostat, exhaust gasket. A chemical was put into the cooling system to break down any emulsion in the system, then drained/flushed and refilled with anti-freeze. I was shown all the parts which were removed - there was evidence of the leak on the head gasket. All for £232 (incl genuine MG-Rover parts!). Excellent value I thought.
Andrew

steven price · Post by **steven price** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:05 am

Do you now what it was that they put in the water to flush it.

whiskeyonesix · Post by **whiskeyonesix** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:46 pm

Yeah, I wonder what chemical they used? I normally just stick the hosepipe down the expansion tank

K series head gasket etc

K series head gasket etc