bgunn said:

Sorry, that's not true. The very early (pre around '95) engines had wet liners sealed with O rings, but post '95 engines have 'damp liner' engines where only half of the liner is surrounded by coolant, the lower half is a hand press fit into the block. The ledge is sealed with hylomar.



Please don't pedal lies - for a start, Rover never made the A30, as the 'A' signifies Austin who manufactured the car 35 years before the K series was even designed and nearer 40 before it was launched. The K series is no more leaky than any other; the water pump is cam belt driven like many cars and is no more likely to leak.



Actually, this is rare - you'll have absolutely trashed the engine through overheating to get the lowest part of the block hot enough to soften the quench hardened aluminium. Coolant loss through a radiator failure or leaking hoses is no more a cause of failure than any other car.



No. The head softening will be the cause, the quench hardened deck surface of the head will get too hot, and the fire ring of the gasket will hammer into the surface, along with micro porosity allowing coolant in. What the K series cannot tolerate is running on a low antifreeze/anticorrosion additive concentration, suffering from rapid erosion of the block/head and other parts if run on neat water.



No they don't - there's no such thing. If the liner standproud is incorrect, it's not too difficult an operation to machine the deck surface of the block to ensure the liners stand around 4 - 10 thou proud.



There is no factory in the UK making the K series (OK, the updated version - the N series - is being made in China, but is different in a few important ways), so getting a factory remanufactured engine would be difficult. Permanent cure to gasket fail is to inspect the head carefully, do a hardness test on the surface around a number of points and bin if too soft. If the head is good, a light peening around the fire ring locations before skimming can help compress and consolidate the aluminium and help prevent future issues.

The main thing people do miss is the liner stand proud, if not even and at around 10 thou, the gasket will go and go again.

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markybizz said:

could you please give me some alternatives which tick the boxes I provided please. Thank you.

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dave said:

fiat punto
fiat cinquecento
fiat seicento
fiat panda
fait idea
fiat stilo

welcome to FIAT forum

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markybizz said:

I said which looked good not boxy lol and please dont come back with the 500 lol. And this is non-fiat section so be imaginative

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markybizz said:

I said which looked good not boxy lol and please dont come back with the 500 lol. And this is non-fiat section so be imaginative

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portland_bill said:

This is the FiatForum, you are asking the wrong people if you want a non-Fiat.

The MG is cheap for a reason.
Partly because with the demise of Rover Group, there are fears about spares backup, although service parts and frequent failure items have a good supply.
Sadly, like most Rover Group vehicles from 1980 onwards, they have a habit of being good for a long time, then suddenly turning into a money pit almost overnight. And it is difficult to tell when this will happen. One day, you will look outside and think someone has swapped yours with an identical model but 5 years older. If you are lucky, and lots oare, it will be a good car, but it may suddenly cease to be cheap.

Almost everything else, including the Fiats, will age gradually.

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markybizz said:

come on bill help a brother out ive been waiting for either you or the other guy who was arguing cos u know your stuff about this mg lol.

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markybizz said:

So good first car? Im looking at 1 which with 45k miles on clock 2003 model looks in good nik no scratches or nuffin.
Should I get it or can you suggest a different good first car that
1. Cheap to buy
2. Cheap to insure
3. Looks sporty
come on bill help a brother out ive been waiting for either you or the other guy who was arguing cos u know your stuff about this mg lol.

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markybizz said:

So good first car? Im looking at 1 which with 45k miles on clock 2003 model looks in good nik no scratches or nuffin.
Should I get it or can you suggest a different good first car that
1. Cheap to buy
2. Cheap to insure
3. Looks sporty
come on bill help a brother out ive been waiting for either you or the other guy who was arguing cos u know your stuff about this mg lol.

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portland_bill said:

It is not my cup of tea, but that does not mean it is a bad car, or wrong for you. Only you can decide if it is right for you. The fact you are looking for someone on here to agree with you might suggest you have doubts.

1. Who is going to service and repair it? If not you, ask whoever is for their opinion. If they don't recommend it, they won't want to mend it.
2. Get an insurance quote. If that is ok, go to step 3.
3. Check all its fluid levels, as recommended above. Check for quantity and quality. Clean/dirty fluids, smelly?
4. Drive it. They can feel heavy compared to others, but solid.
5. After the drive, look at the fluids again.

If it all feels right, take it. Any doubts at all, walk away.

Whilst the handling is good, on the limit they can let go with little warning, but you have to be pushing way too much to get that far. Respect it and enjoy it.

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