Rover K series engine head gasket failure info.

Paul Giverin ( snipped-for-privacy@giverin.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Wet weather being the stuff we rarely get in the UK? No? So, should that read "they don't handle well at all"?

;-)

Is that 20K a car?

I had two headgaskets go inside 15K. First one failed after 27k, then second 15k later

... the Chinese - rover merger is pretty much due to china wanting the rights to the K series engine. Not that is an endorsement!!

In that case neither do motorbikes...

Darren

Have a look on

full of Caterhams with head gasket probs on K's. Most of those cars are pampered, oil change every 3000 miles etc and are warmed up/cooled down properly. The Caterham is also about a third the weight of a Rover car so the engine is in fact doing far less work most of the time. They still fail.

There was a document written by somebody who I gather knows about engine design and has a connection with Rover, and he suggested it was the liners that caused the head gasket to blow, something about them needing to protrude above the deck by a certain amount. But either way, the engines still regularly blow their gaskets and whatever the cause, it still costs £100's to fix.

Was the head skimmed before replacing the first one? False economy not to.

It's true - the liners do protrude above the top of the cylinder block (the head gasket fits around them). Not sure why that would make the gasket more likely to fail though, unless the liners themselves move when they shouldn't (the cylinder head clamps them down onto their lower seals).

Darren

Possibly Caterhams don't provide the required level of cooling to the engine. I've never had a head gasket go and I don't actually know anyone who has, just heard about it on TV and a few people online.

Disagree with you there mine handles fine in the wet, you just have to know how to drive it and adjust.

The only problem with this engine is that it is less forgiving to improper maintenance than other engines. Judging by the large number of people I see everyday with badly inflated tyres and one headlight not working, I should imagine quite a big proportion of the population don't bother to ever lift the bonnet to check fluid levels etc, except when it goes for a service once a year (assuming they bother with that).

A lot of people just happily drive around in their cars and only take it to a garage when something is wrong, rather than keeping it properly serviced to minimise the risk of such failures in the future.

If it is maintained properly then she will have no more problems with it than any other car of that age range.