An old friend returns home ~ My 1.8 Rover 45 Connoisseur.
Discussion
Some may remember that nice Rover 45 Connoisseur I had for a year or so and sold last November. Very nice example and the lady who bought it was delighted with it. Move on a few weeks and she and her partner return with the Rover with a complaint. Car running horribly, misfiring and stalling. Took for a run, drove perfectly. Sod's Law. Anyway, her partner insisted money back which I could not do but, would check it and rectify any fault found. No matter what I suggested, her partner, who was against her buying the car in the first place, he drives French, was adamant he wanted to return the car for a refund. No can do, However if as was obviously the case, he wanted to sell the car back to me ( cannot be much wrong with it ), I would make and offer. He wanders off on mobile talking to someone a couple of times, then comes back and we haggle. Anyway I was pleased to buy the car back for a good deal less than I sold it for.
Used the car occasionally since then to keep the fluids mobile and drove well but, not as nimble as I remember, Then it happened. Just as the lady described. Kangerooing and occasionally stalling ~ just like happened to another car I had years ago which had the internals of the Catalytic Converter break up to occasionally block the exhaust so the engine could not breath cleanly. Reaching under the car with a broom handle, gave the Cat a sharp prod and heard the internals rattle about. Ahah!
A rear end shunt 1.6 MK 2 Rover 45 I had a couple of years ago I had stripped for spares. Like many older cars, most are now worth more as the sum of their seperated parts than as a whole car. That was the case with that MK 2 Rover 45 which had only completed 53,000 miles. I shrewdly kept the fine engine and the complete exhaust system which still looked like new. OE Rover exhausts with built in Cats are better but, not cheap...aftermarket far less expensive but, do they last well ? ... not in my experience.
Now this Y2000 Connoisseur does not have the second O2 sensor in the exhaust system. There's a hole for that with later cars fitted with the second sensor. I found that there is a blanking bolt available which enables later spec exhausts to be fitted to earlier cars. Got one of those and fitted it :~
I had previously checked the exhaust from the later car to see if it was the same fit. It was although the mid-section on the older car was not OE MG-Rover, but an aftermarket with a slight blow in a seam. So two birds with one stone at zero cost. Here's the replacement lined up when I checked it for compatibility :~
So, spent a leisurely couple of hours in this afternoon's sunshine removing the old and fitting the replacement exhaust pipe ~ all safely up on ramps ~ with lots of regular stops for a cuppa. The first decent sunshine for a week or two.
22:22 14th February 2013 :~
Then, having done the job washed up after putting the tools away and took the car for a run.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE !!!
The car now flies and I would not be surprised if in a straight line it is as fast, or a tad faster than my MG ZS with the same engine !! Both cars showing 60,000 miles.
Delighted!
Oh yes, shaking the old Cat it rattled like a bucket of nails ... apparently these are now worth a few quid for scrap .... precious metal extraction and all that...
Sorted !
Used the car occasionally since then to keep the fluids mobile and drove well but, not as nimble as I remember, Then it happened. Just as the lady described. Kangerooing and occasionally stalling ~ just like happened to another car I had years ago which had the internals of the Catalytic Converter break up to occasionally block the exhaust so the engine could not breath cleanly. Reaching under the car with a broom handle, gave the Cat a sharp prod and heard the internals rattle about. Ahah!
A rear end shunt 1.6 MK 2 Rover 45 I had a couple of years ago I had stripped for spares. Like many older cars, most are now worth more as the sum of their seperated parts than as a whole car. That was the case with that MK 2 Rover 45 which had only completed 53,000 miles. I shrewdly kept the fine engine and the complete exhaust system which still looked like new. OE Rover exhausts with built in Cats are better but, not cheap...aftermarket far less expensive but, do they last well ? ... not in my experience.
Now this Y2000 Connoisseur does not have the second O2 sensor in the exhaust system. There's a hole for that with later cars fitted with the second sensor. I found that there is a blanking bolt available which enables later spec exhausts to be fitted to earlier cars. Got one of those and fitted it :~
I had previously checked the exhaust from the later car to see if it was the same fit. It was although the mid-section on the older car was not OE MG-Rover, but an aftermarket with a slight blow in a seam. So two birds with one stone at zero cost. Here's the replacement lined up when I checked it for compatibility :~
So, spent a leisurely couple of hours in this afternoon's sunshine removing the old and fitting the replacement exhaust pipe ~ all safely up on ramps ~ with lots of regular stops for a cuppa. The first decent sunshine for a week or two.
22:22 14th February 2013 :~
Then, having done the job washed up after putting the tools away and took the car for a run.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE !!!
The car now flies and I would not be surprised if in a straight line it is as fast, or a tad faster than my MG ZS with the same engine !! Both cars showing 60,000 miles.
Delighted!
Oh yes, shaking the old Cat it rattled like a bucket of nails ... apparently these are now worth a few quid for scrap .... precious metal extraction and all that...
Sorted !
One of the reasons I take the time to do these threads is because of the feedback I get here and on other sites I visit. I know they are appreciated by some.
I retired a few years ago and since my early childhood in the 1940-50s, have always been interested in cars. I now have time to play with them.... productively.
If I do some work on the cars I think my be useful to others, I post up a thread. This has often resulted in someone tackling a problem with their car and guess what, problem solved for little or no time and money.
Reason enough for me.
Good luck with your 75. ...
I retired a few years ago and since my early childhood in the 1940-50s, have always been interested in cars. I now have time to play with them.... productively.
If I do some work on the cars I think my be useful to others, I post up a thread. This has often resulted in someone tackling a problem with their car and guess what, problem solved for little or no time and money.
Reason enough for me.
Good luck with your 75. ...
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