Watchdog - K Series
Discussion
Hello All
I was watching Watchdog last night and they had a section on cars that used the Rover K series engine and how it was known in the industry for being a bad engine that frequently blew the head gasket (at the end Rover also aknowledged that there was a problem). Is this the same K Series thats in the Elise and if so is this something I should be worried about.
I was watching Watchdog last night and they had a section on cars that used the Rover K series engine and how it was known in the industry for being a bad engine that frequently blew the head gasket (at the end Rover also aknowledged that there was a problem). Is this the same K Series thats in the Elise and if so is this something I should be worried about.
Yes, you should be worried.
I have been banging on about this for years.
Basically, all cc variants of the K series engine, especially with the plastic/composite inlet manifold, are subject to serious problems which usually results in head gasket failure, on average every 30k miles and will cost around £1k a go. Inexplicably, a small percentage never suffer!
Q. Why do you think BMW off-loaded Rover so quickly ?
2 years ago the BBC rejected my proposal to bring these sort of problems to the attention of the public but, this year I was astounded when I gained recognition from The British Academy of Science in the form of an Ig Nobel 24/7 accolade in an event sponsored by The Times Newspaper Group organised to celebrate "National Science Week". So much for the integrity of Aunty.
If I tell you anymore about my research & website, I think I will be in breach of PistonHeads forum rules.
I have been banging on about this for years.
Basically, all cc variants of the K series engine, especially with the plastic/composite inlet manifold, are subject to serious problems which usually results in head gasket failure, on average every 30k miles and will cost around £1k a go. Inexplicably, a small percentage never suffer!
Q. Why do you think BMW off-loaded Rover so quickly ?
2 years ago the BBC rejected my proposal to bring these sort of problems to the attention of the public but, this year I was astounded when I gained recognition from The British Academy of Science in the form of an Ig Nobel 24/7 accolade in an event sponsored by The Times Newspaper Group organised to celebrate "National Science Week". So much for the integrity of Aunty.
If I tell you anymore about my research & website, I think I will be in breach of PistonHeads forum rules.
:Pauldanielsmodeon:
Not a lot!
:Pauldanielsmodeoff:
Was surprised that the Elisedidn't get a mention in the list of cars with the K series engine. Maybe the fact that the later cars don't seem to be affected doesn't make such good telly??
>> Edited by cuzza on Thursday 23 October 09:40
Not a lot!
:Pauldanielsmodeoff:
Was surprised that the Elisedidn't get a mention in the list of cars with the K series engine. Maybe the fact that the later cars don't seem to be affected doesn't make such good telly??
>> Edited by cuzza on Thursday 23 October 09:40
Inlet manifold = Pressure relief valve (that's a ball bearing and spring to you) and green gaskets - ask a Rover agent about those =(why), coupled with a thermostat that is position before the block rather than after it. And no they don't seem to have solved the problems, otherwise people with brand new K series engined vehicles wouldn't be getting on to Aunty !
Just out of interest why would you need a 'presure relief valve' in the inlet manifold. Surely this has no bearing on the performance of the head gasket, since at maximum compression (and maximum stress) the main valves at the top of the combustion chamber are shut anyway. So, there would be no way of relieving anything into the inlet manifold.
IMHO the main reason for the failiures is probably a combination of the plastic dowel thing and, as I suggested on the other forum, the crap design of the gasket. I mean a thin layer of silicone-rubber between you and an oil / water catastrophe.... that's good old British engineering for you!
IMHO the main reason for the failiures is probably a combination of the plastic dowel thing and, as I suggested on the other forum, the crap design of the gasket. I mean a thin layer of silicone-rubber between you and an oil / water catastrophe.... that's good old British engineering for you!
Bodgologist said:
Inlet manifold = Pressure relief valve (that's a ball bearing and spring to you) and green gaskets - ask a Rover agent about those =(why), coupled with a thermostat that is position before the block rather than after it. And no they don't seem to have solved the problems, otherwise people with brand new K series engined vehicles wouldn't be getting on to Aunty !
Many thanks for your rather patronising reply.
I was talking about Elises in particular - the addition of metal rather than plastic dowels on the ELISE engine appears to have stopped the cars suffering HGF. I haven't heard from anyone in the Elise community about HGF with an S2 - the car fitted with metal dowels.
rik a said:
Any petrol engine can suffer a backfire in the intake manifold occaisionally. This is no problem for aluminium or singe piece plastic manifolds, but can damage welded ones. The pressure relief valve is there to prevent this damage. It is not relevant to any head gasket issue,
this may be true (although I don't know)...
however the PRV being talked about in the context of HGF is actually a small valve in the inlet mani that allows water to flow out of the head and back to the reservoir.
I assume that this is to allow the head to be cooled before the thermostat opens fully - I'd also assume that the PRV is actually there to restrict the flow slightly to allow fast warmup, while still cooling the head enough to prevent warping etc etc.
I recently had HGF and an overheating problem (which could well have caused the HGF) - the overheating was completely cured by banging the internals out of this valve.
as to the root cause of the K-series HGF issue, it's ultimately going to be poor design, poor component quality or poor manufacturing quality.
"Above all, it's a Rover...."
N
>> Edited by NDT on Thursday 6th November 12:01
beechy said:
Hello All
I was watching Watchdog last night and they had a section on cars that used the Rover K series engine and how it was known in the industry for being a bad engine that frequently blew the head gasket (at the end Rover also aknowledged that there was a problem). Is this the same K Series thats in the Elise and if so is this something I should be worried about.
Hmm... whole piece was really "let's screw Rover over" though...
Podie said:
Hello All
I was watching Watchdog last night and they had a section on cars that used the Rover K series engine and how it was known in the industry for being a bad engine that frequently blew the head gasket (at the end Rover also aknowledged that there was a problem). Is this the same K Series thats in the Elise and if so is this something I should be worried about.
Hmm... whole piece was really "let's screw Rover over" though...
you get the coverage and media relations that you deserve.
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