Mgf suspension
Discussion
chasdad said:
Think I may be having my midlife crisis because I've been looking at mgfs .
Trouble is the mrs doesn't know so it's got to be cheap.the ones I'm looking at seem to have issues from head gaskets to suspension . How hard is it to change the hydro gas units on them
Not the easiest resrticted access but possible. Trouble is the mrs doesn't know so it's got to be cheap.the ones I'm looking at seem to have issues from head gaskets to suspension . How hard is it to change the hydro gas units on them
The K series is a fragile but very high performance engine. I own five currently.
The airflow is restricted on the MG F and TF which adds to cooling problems. The length of the cooling system pipes ads to the failures. Altogether this was not a good design for a rear installation engine.
However they are great free revving engines. But repairs are frequent and there are no real cures.
I wouldn't fully agree with the above statements tbh The K series isn't fragile, it just doesn't like neglect and the same with MGF's
By cheap whats your budget? There are some right snotters out there that are absolute money pits and the thing will be constantly off the road.
Instead find one that's been looked after, ideally by a MGOC or MGCC member, they will have looked after them properly... because that's what they do and had the headgasket done, fitted the stainless coolant pipes etc.
If you get the right one they are gems and completely reliable, buy the wrong one and you'll learn some new swear words!!
There is no such thing as an expensive F anymore because of there age and a few hundred quid extra at buying time makes the difference between scrapyard queen and beauty queen
By cheap whats your budget? There are some right snotters out there that are absolute money pits and the thing will be constantly off the road.
Instead find one that's been looked after, ideally by a MGOC or MGCC member, they will have looked after them properly... because that's what they do and had the headgasket done, fitted the stainless coolant pipes etc.
If you get the right one they are gems and completely reliable, buy the wrong one and you'll learn some new swear words!!
There is no such thing as an expensive F anymore because of there age and a few hundred quid extra at buying time makes the difference between scrapyard queen and beauty queen
trouble with the hydragas units is that you can only buy the front ones (or is it rear?!) new
The others are not made anymore
The long term option is to buy the Suplex suspension kit which replaces the hydragas units with a more conventional spring/shock setup
The downside to this?.... its about £700 if i remember rightly. You can pick up a tatty MGF for under £700
I've had one, good little cars, nippy and nice with the roof down.
Just buy a good 'un and it will be a good car
The others are not made anymore
The long term option is to buy the Suplex suspension kit which replaces the hydragas units with a more conventional spring/shock setup
The downside to this?.... its about £700 if i remember rightly. You can pick up a tatty MGF for under £700
I've had one, good little cars, nippy and nice with the roof down.
Just buy a good 'un and it will be a good car
to be honest was hoping to get one on the cheap end of the scale .being as i havent had the bottle to tell the mrs.seen what looks like a nce cat d one .not sure if id have trouble insuring it though.
have just been told of a 2000 model thats had a fair bit spent on it for 990,was only hoping to spend about 600
have just been told of a 2000 model thats had a fair bit spent on it for 990,was only hoping to spend about 600
My 1997 non VVC cost me 400 quid, as it had a misfire and a few other issues- head off, 1 valve replaced and bolted together with a non MLS payen gasket- parts cost less than 50 quid and I know it's been done- it was on 116,000 miles on it's original gasket,which was still in very good order- still on it's steel cooling pipes too. Other stuff was easy and cheap and now its a great wee car and a lot of fun. I'm a big fan of the K series and it's a great engine if you understand it and look after it properly.There's a lot of crap spoken about with these cars- Rover did a lot of R&D before putting them on the market but lots of bar room mechanics seem to know better... they need to be bled carefully, expansion tank caps should be a service item,leaky inlet manifold gaskets give the same symptoms as a head gasket failure,don't try to lower them by letting some fluid out, getting the wheel alignment done properly makes a world of difference,they are very sensitive to tyres and like a stiff sidewall- stuff like that makes the difference between heartache and a great wee sports car.
Edited by tiffx19 on Saturday 29th June 00:52
Great fan of the K-Series in all its forms. We have lots in my immediate family and circle of friends including a Lotus Elise S2 all with fine 1.8 K-Series engines.
It's now thirty years since I last had an MG two-seater. All that changed last week when a PHer and total stranger to me, seeing my enthusiasm for the MGs, offered me a project car challenge in the form of a P-Reg MGF which I accepted.
Have started a thread on the project car here which may be of interest to the OP and his plans as well as others :~
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?p=551035...
It's now thirty years since I last had an MG two-seater. All that changed last week when a PHer and total stranger to me, seeing my enthusiasm for the MGs, offered me a project car challenge in the form of a P-Reg MGF which I accepted.
Have started a thread on the project car here which may be of interest to the OP and his plans as well as others :~
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?p=551035...
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