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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - zr loosing water/noisy on start up?

Anybody else out there had problems with zr or other k.series engine loosing water? no leaks,been in and out of dealer with no answers.Also,noisy on cold starts,loud tap,tap,tapping,which goes away with driving.The car drives well,but i still dont think this should be happening on a 2yr old car and my obvious concern is head problems coming up out of guarantee period.Any one having or had these problems and got any answer?
(love my zr but worried the cynics are right about k series engines blowing thier gaskets and warping heads!)
concerned mgzr owner.
s.r. farley

Water loss often starts with a leaking inlet manifold gasket, this seems to be a common problem leading to HGF. Have that replaced under warranty and watch the coolant levels and don't top up with pure water, keep a mix of coolant and water for top-ups. It's an alloy unit so it won't take kindly to water - it needs the right inhibitors to prevent corrosion.

The tap sound is the tappets which seems to be another common issue on K series. My wife's Rover 214SLi has done this for as long as I can remember. These are hydraulic tappets, and usually wuieten as the oil pressure builds up in the engine. Again, what oil are you using? Soemtimes a thin fully synthetic Mobil 1 0W40 (although recommended by Halfords) can make the situation worse. MG R recommend a semi-syn 10W40 to prevent drain back and thus loss of oil from the tappets.

HTH
Martin ZT

Clearly coolant loss is a problem - and your garage should investigate thoroughly under warranty.

Suggest that you think that your car has suffered a head gasket failure - that should get them galvanised! ;o)
Rob Bell

My F was losing coolant with no external signs of a leak. Car was going like a wee " sweety" apart from that. Garage pressure tested it over night and discovered a leak into one of the cylinders. This could be what's happening with you and might be the cause of your noise when the engine is cold. New head gasket fitted under warranty (head was fine since it hadn't cooked)and the car's been great ever since. Don't delay take it back to your dealer, or another one if you don't get any joy.
David Clelland

This thread was discussed between 18/06/2004 and 20/06/2004

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