ewenm Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 A friend of mine has just had the head gasket on his standard 1.8K series engine go. Can anyone recommend a good K-Series specialist in the Bath area? Also, when he mentioned this at work a couple of others piped up and said that Rover engines were well known for going at around 50000 miles. Given that my 7 is on just less than 60000, should I be worried? Thanks, E. Ewen Malloch P979TMV - Yellow 1.6 K Series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 The original head gasket has been improved by Rover. For the cost of a 30 quid part it might make sense to replace it yourself... it's fairly straightforward. Worcs L7 club joint AO.//Membership No. 4379//Azure Blue SLR No. 0077//Se7ens List Tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewenm Posted October 8, 2002 Author Share Posted October 8, 2002 My mate's car is an MGF (not VVC) - he's been quoted £750 to replace the gasket (with 1 yr guarantee) and is nervous of doing it himself with no mechanical knowledge. Is this a good price? Again, should I be worried about mine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 To change a head gasket on a K seven would take around 5 hours - this would include many fag and tea breaks for me at least . Uprated gaskets are available from Mike Sature or Dave Andrews , these differ from the std rover items in that the rubber seals perforate the gasket face providing a stronger bond . Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 750 quid is bonkers ❗ for that price you should be able to get a complete head strip down and rebuild as well ❗ HOOPY Today I shall be mostly wanting to go for a blat R706KGU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 The gaskets fail in two distinct ways. If it is just the rubber bits, then it is a simple matter of swapping in the new gasket and both the new Rover and Mike Satur ones will be better than the original. If the fire ring has *failed* then it probably means that the head is pitted with cavitation erosion and needs a skim, which is an entire rebuild of the head for which 750 quid is a reasonable price for a garage to charge. It is not that you can't do the same job yourself for a hundred quid though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Ranson Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 I think the job on an MGF is rather trickier due to the awkward access. I would be reluctant to go there, especially with no previous experience. OTOH £750 seems steep. And MG should be contributing, has he tried a franchised dealer? Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gridgway Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 did you say 60,000 miles?? That's pretty good. If your engine goes at that mileage I would count yourself lucky and get a new one!! Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewenm Posted October 9, 2002 Author Share Posted October 9, 2002 I did say 60,000 miles (I got it 2.5 years ago at 31,000) and at the moment I'm just counting myself as poor! However, no signs that the engine is about to give up (where's that bit of wood to touch?) so I'll just keep going... My mate with the MGF seems to have found himself a decent MG garage which will sort it out for reasonable notes and importantly sounds competent. Thanks for the advice everyone Ewen Malloch P979TMV - Yellow 1.6 K Series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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