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Overheating

1K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Adam80 
#1 ·
Hi all
I have an MG ZR 1.8
I had the head gasket, water pump and cambelt done a few weeks back and notice it’s still overheating could this be a broken thermostat or a temperature gauge sensor? Pleas help thanks
 
#2 ·
Is the water at the correct level in the header tank or is the engine consuming/ leaking coolant? Who did the repair - take it back to them for the analysis. Could be as simple as bleeding the coolant system properly, or it could be a failed repair. Do you know what type of HG gasket was fitted?
 
#4 ·
Temperature gauge sensor possible, but that’s hoping I think. Easy to replace, 5 minute job. Thermostat possible, usually done with the HG, best accessed from underneath with the head on if they din
didn't replace it then, fiddly job. There’ll likely to rebleed after doing the thermo which may help. Best take it back to the garage for them to sort as they missed to problem first time. Maybe neither of the above...
 
#6 ·
So, in reply to your latest post, could we confirm that you have now actually renewed the thermostat and the temperature gauge sender, and (of course) it’s been rebleed after refilling? It could be me, but it seems all of this has been auctioned very quickly.

re. ‘...wash my hands of the car...’?
Personally, this seems to be a knee jerk reaction, and I would still be debating the overheating cause with the garage which carried out the repairs.
In your initial post, you mention ‘......still (in caps) overheating..’, so it would seem that the garage were presented with an overheating car, they diagnosed the cause, and carried out the repair according to their diagnosis. This work has not resolved the issue, so you have good reason to debate that diagnosis and the resultant repair with the garage. This would be my first port of call.
Kind regards,
Austin.
 
#7 ·
So, in reply to your latest post, could we confirm that you have now actually renewed the thermostat and the temperature gauge sender, and (of course) it’s been rebleed after refilling? It could be me, but it seems all of this has been auctioned very quickly.

re. ‘...wash my hands of the car...’?
Personally, this seems to be a knee jerk reaction, and I would still be debating the overheating cause with the garage which carried out the repairs.
In your initial post, you mention ‘......still (in caps) overheating..’, so it would seem that the garage were presented with an overheating car, they diagnosed the cause, and carried out the repair according to their diagnosis. This work has not resolved the issue, so you have good reason to debate that diagnosis and the resultant repair with the garage. This would be my first port of call.
Kind regards,
Austin.
Hi Austini haven’t done the change on thermostat or temperature gauge sensor as of yet so they are my next things to change I was just seeing if anyone else had this problem after having the head gasket done thanks
 
#8 ·
I would say poor bleeding is most likely - it is possible that the thermostat is stuck, but they are more likely to fail in the open position, in which case you are going to get the car running below normal temperature rather than overheating.

The temperature sensor is also unlikely to cause such an issue if the coolant system is otherwise operating correctly - the sensor will only come into play when the car is stationary or moving very slowly as it triggers the radiator fan to start up. It is very rare for the fan to need to come on when the car is travelling at any reasonable speed as the air flow through the grille is always sufficient.

In any case, if the head gasket has recently been replaced by a professional mechanic, it will be warrantied, and your first course of action should be to take it back to him for rectification. It may be something simple such as the correct bleeding procedure not used (the K series can be difficult and Rover always recommended using a vacuum fill system), or it may be that there is something more serious awry - even 'professional MG Rover specialists' do get things wrong occasionally.

Whatever the problem turns out to be, it will be something that can be rectified, possibly something quite simple - so no call to "wash your hands of the car" in a fit of pique ;) The important thing is to get it put right before it causes another HGF (assuming it hasn't overheated to the point of doing damage already).

To be honest, it wouldn't be the first time we have seen a post claiming work was done by an experience MG Rover specialist, who then turns out to be nothing of the sort (although we haven't seen a certain one in particular mentioned for quite a long time now!).
 
#9 ·
I would say poor bleeding is most likely - it is possible that the thermostat is stuck, but they are more likely to fail in the open position, in which case you are going to get the car running below normal temperature rather than overheating.

The temperature sensor is also unlikely to cause such an issue if the coolant system is otherwise operating correctly - the sensor will only come into play when the car is stationary or moving very slowly as it triggers the radiator fan to start up. It is very rare for the fan to need to come on when the car is travelling at any reasonable speed as the air flow through the grille is always sufficient.

In any case, if the head gasket has recently been replaced by a professional mechanic, it will be warrantied, and your first course of action should be to take it back to him for rectification. It may be something simple such as the correct bleeding procedure not used (the K series can be difficult and Rover always recommended using a vacuum fill system), or it may be that there is something more serious awry - even 'professional MG Rover specialists' do get things wrong occasionally.

Whatever the problem turns out to be, it will be something that can be rectified, possibly something quite simple - so no call to "wash your hands of the car" in a fit of pique ;) The important thing is to get it put right before it causes another HGF (assuming it hasn't overheated to the point of doing damage already).

To be honest, it wouldn't be the first time we have seen a post claiming work was done by an experience MG Rover specialist, who then turns out to be nothing of the sort (although we haven't seen a certain one in particular mentioned for quite a long time now!).
Thanks for your advice he is an mg specialist and be doing it for over 30 years, I will check see if it needs bleeding and also the fan does come on quiet quick and after a short journey and at not top speed so could this be the sensor? Thanks
 
#10 ·
I think you are attempting to solve this reoccurred issue - no disrespects, but seemingly not armed with sufficient knowledge - when the solution and rectification rests solely with the experienced MG specialists who you employed to resolve it.
Yes, it could be ‘this or that’, and even inadequate bleeding, but that is for them to sort out, not you.
Personally, I wouldn’t be fiddling with this car, since it could reasonably be argued that you have contributed to the issue.
Is there any problem in returning the car to them, stating what is still wrong with it, and requesting them to sort it out?
Kind regards,
Austin.
 
#11 ·
They probably didn't bleed the coolent system after doing the head I would recommend putting a New thermostat on as they are a common fault and cheap and easy to replace and even if it doesn't need doing at least you know it's 1 extra thing done that won't go wrong.
 
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