Rover 216

the-lada-dude, Nov 22, 11:09am
it has the rover not honda eng.has blown h/gasketwhy !this appears to be a common fault., but did it fail due to something else ! probably.!do the heads go soft easily !got any do's and don'ts for these suckers .this car has only just done 100kwater pump / tensioner price was reasonable, cam belt was way too costly , are they a trick shit belt ! doubt it .there are a couple / three of you guys out there that know plenty, espirt is one.oh, how much would you pay for one like this ! rest of the car is very tidy.
andy61, Nov 22, 12:34pm
The seals at the bottom of the cylinder liner fail, causing the liners to sink and therefore poor sealing surface between top of liners and the head.Awful cars to drive,had to repair a headliner in 1,had the CVT auto which had been reconditioned twice in 63000kms and was still playing up.
the-lada-dude, Nov 22, 12:56pm
oh cripes !i suppose you can do the liner seals from the top, depending on how they are constructed, maybe enough room to do the job without taking piston out of liner !
floscey, Nov 22, 1:00pm
soft heads . You should be getting a head shim when you buy the gasket set and should have the head skimmed . Replace head bolts . Do not turn crank when the head is off , you wont like the results. Head bolts hold main bearing caps .16k16 engines are great for business . Has the ABS system failed yet !
floscey, Nov 22, 1:07pm
could have 2 different t/belts .> 07/98or 08/98>143 teeth vs 145 teethboth sell for $40 bucks plus gst . How much was yours!
andy61, Nov 22, 1:18pm
Have you already bought the car!
the-lada-dude, Nov 22, 3:01pm
NO. iI was going to do the repairs, and probably on sell it.so the head set has shims to account for the liners dropping, Yes !yep I always m/c the head face and check and true the block with a large flat file as best as
cam belt trade at repco $ 214, if I buy the car will shop around. segiden in auckland is bloody hard to beat
andy61, Nov 22, 3:12pm
They are not a popular car for resale,too many people know of the issues with the Rover 216/MGF(same motor only its 1800) etc have.
floscey, Nov 22, 3:15pm
surely thats a cambelt kit at that price!
the-lada-dude, Nov 22, 3:49pm
yes not that popular agreed,but its done 100k b4 flagging it , fixed it should be good for another 50 - 60 !
yeah could be, will do more checking on the morrow
supernova2, Nov 22, 5:54pm
I priced a cam belt (only) for a Kia at Ripco.Can't remember the exact figures but was almost 3 times the retail price at Kia.Needless to say Kia got the sale.I'm sure that Ripco just think up a number sometimes for things that are not normal everyday top sell items.

Unless the belt is a real odd bod shop around.They may not have it on the shelf but can probably get it just as quick as Ripco.
mgmad, Nov 22, 6:17pm
Head gaskets seldom go for no reason, you'll need to understand why it did. Often air locks, but water pump and thermostat are most likely other causes. Both easy fixes if the head is off anyway.

Buy an E12 socket.

Damage really depends on how hot it got. To do significant damage it would need to have overheated seriously and driven on. With the head off, check the liner protrusion. Should be 0.004-0.005". Check the head face for liner indendations (and indicator the head has gone soft) for hardness. They can be rehardened but it may be cheaper to replace the head. If it's not got any liner indendations it's probably fine.

There are two main head gasket types - the original elastomeric one, of which there are two types (original and the later Payen type); and the multi-layer steel one, developed by Land Rover. The MLS gasket requires skimming of the head and uses shims, butthe Payen elastomeric one has never been a problem for us in any of our cars and is generally cheaper. Skimming the head without using the MLS gasket or rehardening the head reduces the hardness of the face and can cause problems.

Head bolts only need replacing if they are out of tolerance. With the head off, screw the head bolts in by hand till you run out of thread, and measure the distance between the block face and the flange of the bolt. Should be less than 97mm, if so all good to reuse. I've reused bolts on various engines without problems.

As said, cambelt should not be $200, but you need to check which tensioner type it has, automatic or manual, as this determines the belt. Replacing tensioner is usually a good idea as well.

The 200 is a good car that drives and rides well. Not as much fun as some of MGR other products but far from crap either. Treated well there's no reason the K series shouldn't last (Mum's has clocked over 310,000km without HGF), but the 216 is let down by the gearboxes. The CVT is not the best, and is close to it's limit with the 1600 K. The R65 in the manual (a Peugeot box) is not that strong either, but not as bad as the CVT an is fine to use. The PG1 used in the 1.8 litre cars is much better.
the-lada-dude, Nov 23, 8:24am
thank you very much MGMAD,do the liners leak at the bottom seal at all !
lazzo, Nov 23, 8:37am
Your username says it all.
mm12345, Nov 23, 9:05am
Mgmad - I posted on here a few weeks ago about a K1.8 Rover 200 a friend owns that's a "garden ornament" due to HGF.That car's done about 70,000km and is in very tidy condition.I think it looks like a fairly easy engine to work on the head - with proviso to "do it right" taking into account the wet sleeve design etc.I haven't costed up parts to fix it.Have you got a ballpark figure for gasket set (from what you're saying perhaps the "payen" type!)water pump, cam belt (tensioner too!), plus head skimming (and rehardening!) if required!It's a project that perhaps my son and my friend's son may help on, with hopeful end result that they'd end up with with a very cheap car which would otherwise be taken to the wreckers or sold "as is" on TM.
the-lada-dude, Nov 23, 9:45am
hello LOSSOI just checked your profile, what an unfortunate outlook on life and other people you have, well i'm glad your overseas LOSE O and making the best of it, hopefully your in the Gaza strip having a real bang up Palestinian dinner.
mgmad, Nov 23, 5:06pm
The liner seals at the bottom only leak if the liner moves, and that is only likely if very serious overheating has occured, or if you turn the crank over with the head off so always make sure it's out of gear and be very careful.

Headset should be around 190, cambelt about 85, tensioner is 145 or 100, depending on which type. Water pump is 275 for the OE spec, or about 65 for an after market one. Thermostat 45 including the seal, or ~35 without the seal. I honestly don't know what a skim would cost, I've not had one done for quite a while. Best bet is to take the head off and investigate what damage, if any, has been done to the head, and then go from there.
mm12345, Nov 23, 5:59pm
Thanks for that mgmad.So we're looking at about $500 or so, plus the head skim if needed.
They paid $3k for the car.Scrap value will be low.It's worth fixing.
mgmad, Nov 23, 6:15pm
No problem. Yeah I would think it is, most likely, worth fixing. Do those bits, and bleed it properly, and there's no reason you shouldn't have a good, reliable engine.

I just had a look, and the MLS gasket set isn't much more expensive than the Payen one, which in theory would save you having to reharden the head if it does need a skim - but just remember that using the MLS gasket you MUST skim the head. I've not had much experience with it directly, but others have reported good success.

I forgot to mention, always replace the plastic dowels with the steel ones included in the new head set. They weren't the best idea, but accountants don't generally make good engineers.

Bleeding properly is crucial, as with the low coolant volume the K is quite susceptible to air locks. 5 minute job, but some people do forget.
socram, Nov 24, 9:00am
So are you referring to Ladas or MGs!Bearing in mind the post subject,we'll assume MG.
If you knew MGmad's work history (and his sporting involvement), here and overseas, then maybe you'd realise that there is a huge difference between knowledge and bias.I am biased.MGmad has knowledge.
ozz1, Nov 24, 9:35am
classic.well said lada. good on you
the-lada-dude, Nov 24, 11:44am
hey ta MGMAD i've done lotsa head jobs, but there is always a trick or two.
Yeah and well said SOCRAM