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What have you done to your MGF MGTF today? (Second Part)

469K views 2K replies 157 participants last post by  davidej999 
#1 ·
Today have got to remove the failed front pipe.. Dammned thing has broken in the flexi. The outer mesh is fine it is the inner corrogated bit that has failed and this pipe was new in January.

This is the second one to fail like this .............................. first one was the replacemnt on Blue and now the one on the 75th has failed. Obviously cheaply made and the supplier wants it back to inspect as I made a complaint.. of course I have to pay for everything and will not have an exhaust while ths is being done but that does not seem to bother them one little bit.

Anyone have a suggestion where to get a decent 4 bolt flange front pipe that won't fall apart in a ew thousand miles?
 
#775 ·
Fitted wheel, with new tyre back onto the F. Anyone had problems getting hold of 215/40 16 tyres? garage I've used for many a year had to order one in as he don't keep stock as hasn't sold any for years and couldn't source one from any local tyre fitting companies which he'd usually do.
 
#778 ·
When you have freed those corroded solid bolts, try and source new replacements. Also on reassembly, use a smear of Copper Based Grease on the bolt shafts and threads to reduce the chances of more corrosion giving problems in future.

I have a fastener firm a few of miles away who can supply just about any fastener for our cars. They even had those pesky bolts and locking nuts which secure the Stainless Steel Trims above the exhaust pipes in various MG ZS and ZT's rear bumpers. They are often abused in previous ownership making removal difficult.
 
#782 ·
I've recently been tidying up the brake callipers ready to refit the refurbished 11spokes.
Rebuilt the rear brakes, gave all the newly painted callipers a couple of coats of Autosmart topaz.
Two coats of topaz on the wheels and a coat of v07 sealer .

Just the tyres to black and get the wheels refitted :smile:







 
#785 ·
First drive out for a few weeks (thanks to the Beast from the East and associated snow & ice etc.) ..... battery now on charge to give a bit of a top-up as there was just a hint of a slight hesitance when I turned the engine over.

And my son has bought himself a ZT-T V6, so had to give that the once over (very nice) but plenty more MG related tinkering ahead no doubt..
 
#790 ·
Since last Saturday, I have spent almost all of my free time helping a friend remove and replace the CVT in an MGF.

I don't know how you guys do it in the drive and tilting the rear end of the car upwards. We have a 2 post lift and placed the rear subframe onto a motorcycle lift. It's working out really well (the new CVT and rear subframe subframe are back into the car) but its been a long slog. I tip my hat to you guys that have done this sort of job in the drive.
 
#794 ·
Today my Wife informed me that I don’t need to sell the F to fund further progress on my Mk1 Cavalier Coupe project.

Naturally I am delighted to hear that, but sorry everyone I guess that means you will have to put up with me for the foreseeable future.
 
#797 ·
#801 ·
Ian, may I suggest to open completely new thread for follow up for your car? You know, in Other cars section?
If you open one, we can transfer all your pictures to it. What you think?

Excellent work done and it deserves its own thread.
 
#802 ·
I’m off on holiday in the morning, but I will give it some consideration if you really think that others will be interested?

Cheers all, I hope you all have a nice Easter.
 
#804 ·
Excellent idea.

Yes, seperate project thread gets a thumbs up from me.

Although not an MG or Rover, no problem as many of the processes and techniques apply to any car. That way we all can learn.
 
#805 ·
Not so much of what I did Today, but the last few days.

I was on my way to my local shopping centre when I noticed steam bellowing from the rear of the car - boot vents to be precise. I pretty much knew (or prayed it was what I suspected) it was right away. I pulled over as soon as possible, sure as eggs are eggs, coolant tank empty!!

No oil in the tank and no mayo on the oil cap so breathed a somewhat sigh of relief....pretty much had to be a split hose.

Got towed by the RAC (after a 4 hour wait) to my local garage and went back there the next day to check out what'd gone wrong - yep, big split in the large hose to the left hand underfloor coolant pipe, right on the elbow where it joins the engine.

Parts ordered along with a few other things that needed changing (IACV, coolant temp transducer) to rectify another small issue of bad idle when cold. Went down to the garage (who let me do my own work on several occasions now as they are very flexible) and set about repairing her.

Took about 3 hours to remove, replace and fill & bleed, along with other said parts to be fitted. Back home and re-bled yesterday.

Today, quick check and all is well with the world again. Coolant steady and heaters are as hot as hell, my issue with really bad idle when cold is now completely gone - must have been the IACV and/or coolant sensor, but glad I changed both while I had access to the engine.

Sure, I'd rather it not have happened, but at least I killed two birds and enjoyed workig on her again as my inclined drive is not the best for that kind of thing!
 
#806 ·
@steviejones133... :D

Been there done that. In over fifty years of car ownership, including many years of AA membership which came with new cars I have bought or supplied by my employers, I have never had to call a rescue service until last year.

My recently purchased MG ZT-T 1.8T "project"with issues had been running superbly until I heard a muffled "explosion" under the bonnet followed by massive clouds of steam as coolant hit the hot Turbocharger and Exhaust Manifold. Sadly, coolant hose rubber does not last forever.

Here's what caused that muffled "POOF" sound under the bonnet. Burst Top Coolant radiator hose along manufacturing seam :~



Less than an hour later, AA to the rescue. Not all bad news that. The AA Guy was ex-MG-Rover being redundant in April 2005. Had a good job with them taking him to remote parts of the planet testing MGs and Rovers in extreme environments. So the journey home was interesting in more ways than one. Here's my stranded car ready for the long trip home. Easy fix as I had a good spare hose. Moral lesson learned. Check those hoses on your old cars ... sharpish .. :)

Here's my picture of him taking a picture of my car on his dolly. Well equipped those AA Rescue Vans. They take images of the condition of rescued cars as some folks claim for previous damage... too many crooked folks about now. I blame lack of Brexit ... :D...:~

 
#807 ·
new coolant, water pump, cam belt and at the same time alternator from MGFnTFBITZ. Darren did a stirling job and the alt was here a working day later.
The tf was due the cam belt change, it was 5 years old and I was feeling twitchy. The TF was running so well before and I didn't really want to upset things.
Alt bolts came out ok so I should have got one of those adjuster kits off ebay. All seams fine if a little hot.
I'll keep my eye on it.
 
#808 · (Edited)
The MGF is now back on the ground as it's winter hibernation is coming to an end. Insurance and back on the road next week ready for the first event of the season in later in April.
My list of winter jobs is just about complete including fitting a new throttle cable. The big project was finishing the inside of my hardtop and recovering the headliner as well as mounting the laminated glass engine cover I had made up last year. The glass guys were a bit apprehensive abut the glass standing up to the engine heat. I am thinking, "What's the worst that can happen?" If the glass shatters the metal cover will go back on-lesson learned. It's looking pretty good so far. With the engine up to temp the glass was only 55 degrees C, which isn't bad.
With the convertible top and frame removed you get a good view of the engine through the rear window. Very Lambo-ish except for the missing 8 cylinders!:discostu:
Here is the glass in place before the carpet went in
 
#811 ·
Very impressive what both you guys have done. The Glass engine cover and poliished VVC Manifold are superb. Very worthwhile and will be pleased to have feedback how the glass cover shapes up in actual use from heat-cold exposure cycles.

Cosmetic enhancements are rarely high on my list of things to do to my cars, but, the clear engine cover and the other nice polished bits gets me thinking.
 
#813 · (Edited)
Thanks for the nice comments and suggestions. The main reason I have started showing off the engine compartment is that here in Western Canada very few people have seen an MGF (They were never imported here) At shows all I get is a constant chorus of "How do you work on the engine?" I am thinking it may bee easier to just show them rather than answer the question 100 times a day. We'll see how that goes!
The intent is to only have the glass in place for the couple of big shows I do each year and put the metal panel back on for general use.
The clips holding the glass in place are bolted into rivnuts mounted in the deck and the gasket around the glass is a small profile windscreen seal.
I have been thinking of powder coating the cam cover but had too many projects on the go this past winter. Maybe next winter!
I love the look of the polished intake but can only imagine how long it took to do it. Maybe one day. Possibly a good retirement project when the time comes.
The silicone hoses work very well with no leaks but the jury is still out on the PRT conversion. The heater doesn't work as well and the car seems to take forever to warm up. (Yes, I have bled all 3 points and have even added a 4th at the high point of the system).
I will post some pics taken through the rear window of the hardtop when I get things cleaned up a bit.
 
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