Hey guys
I’ve been a member on here for a while, tuned in on and off and hopefully helped some people out with the impromptu guide ’How to Change a PAS steering column’ (judging by the amount of views it recurved I guess it did!?)
So I’ve owned my HGT for 14 of its 21yrs, nearly had it written off and lost to eager insurance companies wanting to kill off older cars but saved it (CAT C) , and for the most part it’s been a pleasure to drive and had planned to keep on driving it until the wheels fell off as they are becoming rarer in the U.K. as the years go on.
Everything was fine... until recently that is. On a recent trip taking a family member out. When parked up I noticed the temperature gauge rise slightly more than normal..
Then a bit more...
Then a bit more...Then it goes right to the top and I can hear the fan working really hard to keep the engine cool, but it’s not winning this time. It’s a problem and I’m gutted in what I’m seeing. I wait for it to cool down I take the car back home. Up on the ramps I start investigating possible causes. I find one! A leaking coolant hose tighten it up, sorted! ???
NOPE
Test it afterwards let it warm up, it’s still needling past it’s normal operating temperature...
??*
Out with the Laptop to see if it throws up any codes, Multiecuscan software now doesn’t work when connecting Car will only speak to the Lappy with red cable connected not green and yet it worked two months prior? ?
Check all fuses, nothings blown can hear the fan working really hard...why? It’s only been running for 30mins? ?
Open bonnet, check fan cut-in...second fan NOT cutting in. Test 2nd fan...
DEAD.
??*
Spend a day swapping out fan from HGT (Have two) currently under restoration. Switch engine on, both fans kicking in when they should, everything all good ! ???
NOPE☝?
Short lived victory, after 20 mins driving temperature needle is creeping up again but this time both fans are doing a better job of cooling the engine but it’s not enough. Take it home for further investigation, hear a gurgle from the coolant tank, this is not good news. I revisit the rad and fan I’ve taken off, examine the deposits from the radiator after flushing the old one out, find some gritty deposits, take my magnetic pick-up tool to see if it picks up said deposits...it picks some up ?. As I pick the assembly up to move it to another locationI hear something drop in the fan assembly which then reveals itself to be...
A star-bit adaptor thought to be lost! ??
So what I can gather is the bit dropped down in the fan assembly and sat there out of sight, then at some point in the last 4 months it decided to jump out and jam fan number 2...The result? a slowly cooked engine resulting in Head Gasket trouble ??*??*??* in this particular timeline we’re experiencing is not the best time.
So after having resigned myself to the head going I tried one last thing which I’m not keen on using as past experience I have used it it’s never yielded any results for me, nothing to lose right?.
Used a non-steel seal head gasket sealer, and...car is back to its old self! ????
However these things are notoriously known for being temporary and not permanent fixes. So reluctantly I had to weigh up fixing the HGT vs investing in a newer vehicle. In the end I yielded to the latter. Why? Well as I mentioned earlier I own two mk2 HGTs both manufactured in 99. Also living in North London we have glorious things like Congestion Charge now 24hrs and the blessed ULEZ , also as I am currently fixing one I don’t have the time or money to fix two HGTs. So as much as it pains me to do so I will have to let this one go.
Question is what to do with it? I can’t store it, I could flog it on eBay and run but that’s not me, I could sell it for scrap but then would you want to do that if you owned a motor for 14yrs and bearing in mind there’s technically less than a 150 left in the U.K.? I’d personally love to see it go to a good home and be restored. The body work is not great but it’s not rusty, has a good frame and currently runs like there’s nothing wrong that’s why I believe the H/G can be saved and car still has life left in it currently sitting on the 95k mark. Mot runs out in October with two or three advisories which would have been sorted had this not happened.
So should I...
Scrap
Sell (obviously won’t get mega bucks for it!)
Sell for parts (not too keen on this idea tbh)
Find somewhere to store it and comeback at a later date? (bearing in mind government are pushing out fossil fuel based cars and pushing electric/hybrid cars firmly in our faces. So that may be a false economy)
Many good fun memories with this car and will be sad to see it go but I guess it is what it is ??*
Sensible suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance !
Pic added from last year when carbon fibre wrap was added to the roof.
I’ve been a member on here for a while, tuned in on and off and hopefully helped some people out with the impromptu guide ’How to Change a PAS steering column’ (judging by the amount of views it recurved I guess it did!?)
So I’ve owned my HGT for 14 of its 21yrs, nearly had it written off and lost to eager insurance companies wanting to kill off older cars but saved it (CAT C) , and for the most part it’s been a pleasure to drive and had planned to keep on driving it until the wheels fell off as they are becoming rarer in the U.K. as the years go on.
Everything was fine... until recently that is. On a recent trip taking a family member out. When parked up I noticed the temperature gauge rise slightly more than normal..
Then a bit more...
Then a bit more...Then it goes right to the top and I can hear the fan working really hard to keep the engine cool, but it’s not winning this time. It’s a problem and I’m gutted in what I’m seeing. I wait for it to cool down I take the car back home. Up on the ramps I start investigating possible causes. I find one! A leaking coolant hose tighten it up, sorted! ???
NOPE
Test it afterwards let it warm up, it’s still needling past it’s normal operating temperature...
??*
Out with the Laptop to see if it throws up any codes, Multiecuscan software now doesn’t work when connecting Car will only speak to the Lappy with red cable connected not green and yet it worked two months prior? ?
Check all fuses, nothings blown can hear the fan working really hard...why? It’s only been running for 30mins? ?
Open bonnet, check fan cut-in...second fan NOT cutting in. Test 2nd fan...
DEAD.
??*
Spend a day swapping out fan from HGT (Have two) currently under restoration. Switch engine on, both fans kicking in when they should, everything all good ! ???
NOPE☝?
Short lived victory, after 20 mins driving temperature needle is creeping up again but this time both fans are doing a better job of cooling the engine but it’s not enough. Take it home for further investigation, hear a gurgle from the coolant tank, this is not good news. I revisit the rad and fan I’ve taken off, examine the deposits from the radiator after flushing the old one out, find some gritty deposits, take my magnetic pick-up tool to see if it picks up said deposits...it picks some up ?. As I pick the assembly up to move it to another locationI hear something drop in the fan assembly which then reveals itself to be...
A star-bit adaptor thought to be lost! ??
So what I can gather is the bit dropped down in the fan assembly and sat there out of sight, then at some point in the last 4 months it decided to jump out and jam fan number 2...The result? a slowly cooked engine resulting in Head Gasket trouble ??*
??*??* in this particular timeline we’re experiencing is not the best time.So after having resigned myself to the head going I tried one last thing which I’m not keen on using as past experience I have used it it’s never yielded any results for me, nothing to lose right?.
Used a non-steel seal head gasket sealer, and...car is back to its old self! ????
However these things are notoriously known for being temporary and not permanent fixes. So reluctantly I had to weigh up fixing the HGT vs investing in a newer vehicle. In the end I yielded to the latter. Why? Well as I mentioned earlier I own two mk2 HGTs both manufactured in 99. Also living in North London we have glorious things like Congestion Charge now 24hrs and the blessed ULEZ , also as I am currently fixing one I don’t have the time or money to fix two HGTs. So as much as it pains me to do so I will have to let this one go.
Question is what to do with it? I can’t store it, I could flog it on eBay and run but that’s not me, I could sell it for scrap but then would you want to do that if you owned a motor for 14yrs and bearing in mind there’s technically less than a 150 left in the U.K.? I’d personally love to see it go to a good home and be restored. The body work is not great but it’s not rusty, has a good frame and currently runs like there’s nothing wrong that’s why I believe the H/G can be saved and car still has life left in it currently sitting on the 95k mark. Mot runs out in October with two or three advisories which would have been sorted had this not happened.
So should I...
Scrap
Sell (obviously won’t get mega bucks for it!)
Sell for parts (not too keen on this idea tbh)
Find somewhere to store it and comeback at a later date? (bearing in mind government are pushing out fossil fuel based cars and pushing electric/hybrid cars firmly in our faces. So that may be a false economy)
Many good fun memories with this car and will be sad to see it go but I guess it is what it is ??*
Sensible suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance !
Pic added from last year when carbon fibre wrap was added to the roof.
