couple of hundred quid should see the head off and damage inspected. Why did it go anyway? first AND second time :err:

 

Donate it to the Rover Car Hospital for a forum rebuild!

LINK

Where are you/is the car located?

 

vulture! :lol:

 

Hi all,

I'm a little sketchy on the details. First time he ran out of water as the pump was nackered, radiator had blown, and he started overheating. Was making a tapping sound and had to be done, as wouldn't run at all. This was around 85,000.

Sundays problems started with him being real jumpy almost stalling in the mornings. This would only happen for the first 5 minutes run every day. sunday i noticed after going through a puddle (admittedly it was fairly big), he was doing it again, so i knew water must be getting to him. Parked it up, and went to start later in the day, he turned over, was firing a little but just wouldn't run. Breakdown attended, pulled out the leads and 2 cylinders were full of water (he didnt remove the plugs). coolant bottle was empty, so im guessing he's right. He reckons in the mornings he's been wet. but dried up after 5 mins, hence the jumpyness.

Rover hospital sounds interesting. I'm based in Gloucester.

I really dont think i can afford to spend more on him if its likely to be a problem again!

Thanks
Mike A

 

>> He didn't remove the plugs <<

>> sunday i noticed after going through a puddle (admittedly it was fairly big), <<

Boy did it rain Sunday!!

... you went through deep water (under a local railway bridge by any chance during the recent monsoon season?) so there could/would be water in the plug locations if the top of the engine got well splashed.

Get at least one second opinion - one that involves removing spark plugs at least. It would not be the first time the recovery organisations have given less than spot on advice. Here I do speak from experience - even so, the advice could be right but, you really need other opinions after a check up.

>> He reckons in the mornings he's been wet. but dried up after 5 mins, hence the jumpyness <<

That could happen when a cylinder head gasket allows coolant into the cylinders which then clears as the engine warms up.

 

I'd guess a cracked cylinder liner.

 

I used to use my engine blowing up as an excuse to put a much larger one in the car-go on ,put a 1.8 vvc in it if it'll fit!

 

>> ... you went through deep water (under a local railway bridge by any chance during the recent monsoon season?)

Teehee! No i did refrain from attempting that one! It was outside countrywide, and everyone else gave it a go! (trying to ignore the fact most of them did have huge 4x4's) :lol:

I'll look at getting a second opinion.

>> I'd guess a cracked cylinder liner.

Expensive? I guess its a pro's job?

 

Get those opinions ... then decide what's what.

Being local you'll know the road towards Maisemore alongside the River Severn.

Often floods and then traffic gets diverted adding miles to a short trip. Some years ago, I used my Montego to slowly drive through the flood water there trying not to create a bow wave in front of the car. Montegos have a very high air Intake location. As I completed the passage crowds gathered watching the 'show' applauded. The BMW which tried to follow me stopped mid-way. There were several stranded cars there ... I later heared of another stranded BMW which had bent con rods following water locked engine....

There was a picture in the paper this week of a Fiesta stranded under a local Railway Bridge... you probably know the one. At least my son believes it was a Fiesta but it was hard to tell as only the roof line was visible above the water...:yikes:

 

Why don't you have a look around for an older 200/400 1.4 MoT failure and do an engine swap?

 

Won't fit :dddc:

 

"N" plate means 1995 or 1996 right? (Sorry I'm not to familiar with British license plates), if it is, then that car's not really that old, and the mileage isn't too bad either, surely there must be some way to make a viable repair? It just seems wasteful to have to send a 10 year old car with 115k on the clock off to the scrapyard when it hasn't even been totalled.

 

You're correct with the date but the thing is you could probably find another decent example for £600-£800 ($1050-$1450) possibly with a fair bit of MOT so for the owner it is debatable whether to have the expense and hassle of fixing it.

Once many cars get over about 6-7 years old they are practically worthless here and most end up on the scrapheap because to fix them or get them through the MOT is more than you could just buy another example for.

 

If it was me and I didn't think it was worth repairing, I would ebay and let someone else have a go!
If you can fix it yourself, spare parts like heads are very cheap!

You are right Bob S, 95/96

 

Ah that's right, I keep forgetting that used cars in Britain are every bit as cheap as the new ones are expensive.

 

To an extent true, although new cars are now pretty much the same as anywhere else in Europe - the days of UK prices being over the top ended about 2000 when everyone realised you could import from the continent and began doing so.

Comparing with the US is difficult as we rarely have the same cars and even when we do the specifications and models vary a lot. You also have to take account that UK prices are always quoted all inclusive so you need to deduct 17.5% tax before you begin to compare. This is in contrast to the US "plus Tax" culture. If you ever get behind some British tourists who haven't been in the US long in a shop queue and they're buying a $4.99 item expect them to calmly present a $5 bill and then get in a panic of pocket searching when the shop rings up more. They will then wander off muttering to themselves that they've just been ripped off and next time will stick to Malaga.

Regarding used cars, firstly remember that as a percentage of the cost of motoring the purchase price is less than the US simply due to the cost of fuel. Therefore, for somebody doing a few miles, a £3000 car which does 45mpg is almost certainly cheaper than a £1000 doing 25mpg over a year. It is for this reason many a petrol car is simply worthless by 7 years old.

12000 miles in a typical 35mpg car will cost you about £1800 in fuel plus insurance, £190 or so road tax plus getting it through the MOT etc. so if you can afford that, you can probably afford £2000 on the car. It is these costs which price people out of motoring not the cost of the car.

You then have to add in MOT issues (although frankly, anyone who drives a car which can't pass an MOT is certifiably insane anyway) and the simple fact that people like to drive a newer looking car and in many cases can afford to - despite what some people here may imply the UK is not a poor country so people simply don't want old cars in the numbers in which they exist.

 

Originally Posted by sadtosee: Comparing with the US is difficult as we rarely have the same cars and even when we do the specifications and models vary a lot.

True, that does make comparison a bit harder. There really was no equivalent to the Rover 200 sold in the US in the mid 90's, and not even today. I still can't help but be amazed at the idea of buying a decent Mk 2 800 for less than $2,000 though, especially since a good Mk1 can go for $3,000+ here.

The simple solution to the tax plus confusion is to do your shopping in either Pennsylvania (no tax on food or clothing), or our three breakaway southern counties known as Delaware (no sales tax at all).

 

sounds like a bit of a pain in the "ass" this plus tax system, why dont the shops put the inclusive of tax price on the products?

I've only been to America once with the british army, so I spent 99% of time on camp or on exersise so I didnt go shopping at all.

 

the problem is the mentality in the UK that a 6 year old car is an antique and that you have to keep buying a new car every 2 or 3 years.

The average age of a car on Australian roads in everyday use is just a touch over 10 years old.

My car is dead on average age now and still worth 15-20% of its original purchase price. And even then I drive the Australian depreciation equivalent of a Rover 45 (ie one of the worst depreciating cars in the country).

 

Its up to the shop, I've been in a few places that have their prices tax inclusive, but the vast majority of stores don't. I guess it makes their products appear cheaper, or they simply don't want to bother figuring out the new retail price, and just stick with what the wholesaler recomends and add the tax at the register.

Of course, in some areas, you can have up to 4 different sales taxes assesed on the same item- state and county, then some muncipalities and school districts levy their own as well. Then there's special taxes for certain items, some states have a luxury goods tax (Massachusetts), everyone taxes tobacco, some states have a special sales tax on firearms, etc. etc.

 

I have been to the US a few times, mostly the west coast and I noticed that there was a surprising amount of older cars, some at least 15 years old in regular use. I think my Rover 75 is the oldest car parked in my street and it's 7 year old. The UK seems to lead the world as a disposable society.
While I was in the US I spotted quite a few British cars, mostly MG's and Jags all kept in excellent condition but the one that really turned my head was the car that drove past me just outside Santa Monica, it was an old green Morris Minor just like my grandad used to drive!