Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

The head gasket failure problem with these engines is well documented
but I wondered if anyone is willing to put a percentage figure on the
likelihood of one of these engines blowing its head gasket at some stage
in its life.

A friend of mine recently bought a W plate 214 when her Xantia expired
and she needed a replacement car in a hurry. I'd hate to see her
lumbered with a big repair bill and I'd like to know if she should get
rid of it sooner rather than later.

--
Paul Giverin

British Jet Engine Website http://www.britjet.co.uk

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

Paul Giverin (paul@giverin.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

> A friend of mine recently bought a W plate 214 when her Xantia expired
> and she needed a replacement car in a hurry. I'd hate to see her
> lumbered with a big repair bill and I'd like to know if she should get
> rid of it sooner rather than later.

She should maintain it properly, and it won't be a problem.

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:02:09 +0000, Paul Giverin wrote:

> The head gasket failure problem with these engines is well documented
> but I wondered if anyone is willing to put a percentage figure on the
> likelihood of one of these engines blowing its head gasket at some stage
> in its life.
>
> A friend of mine recently bought a W plate 214 when her Xantia expired
> and she needed a replacement car in a hurry. I'd hate to see her
> lumbered with a big repair bill and I'd like to know if she should get
> rid of it sooner rather than later.

Change the coolant at the specified intervals and flush it well each time.
Keep a very close eye on the levels - losing coolant will overheat and warp
the head very fast which is how a lot of these gaskets go.

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

> The head gasket failure problem with these engines is well documented but
> I wondered if anyone is willing to put a percentage figure on the
> likelihood of one of these engines blowing its head gasket at some stage
> in its life.
>
> A friend of mine recently bought a W plate 214 when her Xantia expired and
> she needed a replacement car in a hurry. I'd hate to see her lumbered with
> a big repair bill and I'd like to know if she should get rid of it sooner
> rather than later.


From what I gather it's the larger capacity K-series that had the most
trouble - namely the 1.6 and 1.8, though it's not unknown for the 1.4 to
fail. If the radiator looks at all suspect (broken or missing fins, etc.)
then it should be replaced and the coolant system flushed and refilled with
anti-freeze suitable for alloy engines. Also take time to just trickle the
coolant into the system, filling it very slowly to avoid trapping air - if
need be, leave the topmost hoses disconnected to purge as much air out as
possible. Also check that the header tank cap does seal well (system should
be pressurised after 5-10 miles of driving at normal temp).

Inlet manifold gaskets are known to leak coolant into the engine, so if you
get any white smoke from the exhaust, or the coolant level drops without any
obvious external leaks then this is worth checking. As I'm sure you've
gathered, this engine *needs* the cooling system to be 100% and if it's not
it should be fixed before running the engine. Don't forget to test the
electric fan!

I've said before more than once - I towed a 1ton caravan around mid-Wales
and the Pennines with an L-reg 414i and never had any trouble with
overheating (the gauge barely moved from it's normal position) - if that
didn't cook the engine then normal use for most people should be nothing to
worry about!

Darren

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

"Paul Giverin" <paul@giverin.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1Z81RMCxq2ICFwUE@10.0.0.3...
> The head gasket failure problem with these engines is well documented but
> I wondered if anyone is willing to put a percentage figure on the
> likelihood of one of these engines blowing its head gasket at some stage
> in its life.
>
> A friend of mine recently bought a W plate 214 when her Xantia expired and
> she needed a replacement car in a hurry. I'd hate to see her lumbered with
> a big repair bill and I'd like to know if she should get rid of it sooner
> rather than later.
>
> --
> Paul Giverin
>
> British Jet Engine Website http://www.britjet.co.uk

From reading all the posts, I would be inclined to get rid of the car sooner
rather than later. I have no experience of one directly, but judging by the
response, I'd be looking at something a bit less fragile post haste.

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

"Taz" <me@home> wrote in message news:WvednbnpTZOfOb7fRVnygQ@pipex.net...
>
> "Paul Giverin" <paul@giverin.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1Z81RMCxq2ICFwUE@10.0.0.3...
> > The head gasket failure problem with these engines is well documented
but
> > I wondered if anyone is willing to put a percentage figure on the
> > likelihood of one of these engines blowing its head gasket at some stage
> > in its life.
> >
> > A friend of mine recently bought a W plate 214 when her Xantia expired
and
> > she needed a replacement car in a hurry. I'd hate to see her lumbered
with
> > a big repair bill and I'd like to know if she should get rid of it
sooner
> > rather than later.
> >
> > --
> > Paul Giverin
> >
> > British Jet Engine Website http://www.britjet.co.uk
>
> From reading all the posts, I would be inclined to get rid of the car
sooner
> rather than later. I have no experience of one directly, but judging by
the
> response, I'd be looking at something a bit less fragile post haste.
>
>

Ignorance is bliss mate. I've had 5 cars with K-series engines, covered over
100k miles in them, and never had a head gasket problem. It's not as much of
a problem as some people make out, and ignorant people like you just
scaremonger.

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

Well this is only from my rather limited experience both of this group and a
friends cars, over the years the words "head gasket failure" and Rover K
series do seem to have cropped up in rather a lot of postings on here! The
said friend bought a relatively late model 214 (just out of warranty) within
4 months the gasket went, had the gasket replaced however it always sounded
like a bag of spanners after this, garage thought it was down to bits and
pieces getting warped due to overheating. This car was Then sold on at a
fair loss and the silly bint, i mean good friend of mine went out and bought
another, this time 2 months into ownership the gasket went.! Had it replaced
and all seems well........for now.

Think I'd avoid the things but she might just have been unlucky.

Dilbert

"Paul Giverin" <paul@giverin.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1Z81RMCxq2ICFwUE@10.0.0.3...
> The head gasket failure problem with these engines is well documented but
> I wondered if anyone is willing to put a percentage figure on the
> likelihood of one of these engines blowing its head gasket at some stage
> in its life.
>
> A friend of mine recently bought a W plate 214 when her Xantia expired and
> she needed a replacement car in a hurry. I'd hate to see her lumbered with
> a big repair bill and I'd like to know if she should get rid of it sooner
> rather than later.
>
> --
> Paul Giverin
>
> British Jet Engine Website http://www.britjet.co.uk

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

Dilbert wrote:
> Well this is only from my rather limited experience both of this
> group and a friends cars, over the years the words "head gasket
> failure" and Rover K series do seem to have cropped up in rather a
> lot of postings on here!

Shows how good a car they are - lots of people buy them...

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

"Tim S Kemp" <news@timkemp.karoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Q42dncmHv_JjLLnfRVn-vg@karoo.co.uk...
> Dilbert wrote:
> > Well this is only from my rather limited experience both of this
> > group and a friends cars, over the years the words "head gasket
> > failure" and Rover K series do seem to have cropped up in rather a
> > lot of postings on here!
>
> Shows how good a car they are - lots of people buy them...
>
>

They are excellent cars to drive, and the engines are still some of the
highest powered engines for their size. Really puts VW's pathetic engines to
shame in that respect.

Re: Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.
 

"neutron" <neutron(not real)@a.b.c.co.uk> wrote in message
news:d02flp$i4s$1@sparta.btinternet.com...
>
> "Tim S Kemp" <news@timkemp.karoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:Q42dncmHv_JjLLnfRVn-vg@karoo.co.uk...
>> Dilbert wrote:
>> > Well this is only from my rather limited experience both of this
>> > group and a friends cars, over the years the words "head gasket
>> > failure" and Rover K series do seem to have cropped up in rather a
>> > lot of postings on here!

I would be interested to know what size engines and year they were...


>> Shows how good a car they are - lots of people buy them...

Good secondhand buy as they're dirt cheap, quite rustproof and have decent
performance and spec levels.


> They are excellent cars to drive, and the engines are still some of the
> highest powered engines for their size. Really puts VW's pathetic engines
> to
> shame in that respect.

The K-series has found it's way into many cars besides the 200/400 range,
and not all of them are Rovers! I agree about them being good to drive -
they're comfortable and handle well (except maybe in the wet) and it's
almost certain I'll buy another at some point - the 418 Tourer if possible!

Darren