Month: July 2022

Our last day on our trip south, we left our digs in Seale, near Farnham and headed a few miles along the road for our first call of the day…

Robert had got in touch just after our last visit to the area and asked if we could come and see him on our next trip to the area. His very lovely MGF 1.8 mpi that he’d owned for the past 18 years was needing a couple of things doing.

The underfloor coolant pipes had certainly done their time, so we replaced these. The hydragas needed filling up and he was doubtful about the radiator, whether that would need replacement, so went armed with a new one, but the one he has is still in good condition.

A visit booked in for next year to replace the engine bay coolant pipes with stainless and a service. It was a pleasure to meet Robert and we look forward to seeing him again next year, plus he makes a very good brew!

From there we headed up to Lower Earley near Reading for a minor service and a check over of David’s MGF VVC, that he had bought during lockdown, what a very nice example, it has obviously been well cared for and serviced regularly in its previous ownership.

Great to meet David and have a chat about a few things that were on his mind about the car, we reassured him that he’s got himself a very good example. Another cracking brew and cake and we bid our farewells.

So from there we should have been heading home, but the continuing diagnosis of ‘Big Ears’ was required, plus having the benefit of an early finish we headed back over to Worcester Park, rather than stay another night.

Following on from Mark’s test drive as detailed in yesterdays blog, and taking in the description of symptoms Mark said that the car had a markedly improved performance on power, but after a long spell when stationary in traffic it would overheat. Diagnostics therefore plugged in today and ran the car back to to temperature once more. The readings we got from the ECU were all correct. However, as the car approached 100 degrees on the coolant temperature, the gauge inside the car would shoot towards the top. On the previous day we had already replaced the sensor, but to make sure we replaced it again. When the same result occurred we took apart the engine wiring loom to try and find a break or possible earthing point in the loom.

We piggy backed a wire on the existing one just to make sure there was continuity and we also metered the existing wire and found that there were no breaks in it.

The strange thing is if we just plugged another sensor into it and rested it against the engine it all behaves as normal. The only strange thing was if we metered the cars wiring loom we were getting continuity to earth. So the next port of call to test, is a new temperature gauge itself. When this has been fitted we can test the continuity of the wire from the front to the back of the car.

Good job we like a challenge now and then! On the plus side, the engine itself is running extremely sweetly.

Bit of a late finish, but that’s just how it goes. On the M1 now and about 100 miles to go. Looking forward to seeing the cat. – https://ift.tt/WDqn0ae

A pleasant and short run from our digs near Farnham to Haslemere this morning, for work on a great looking TF 160 in LEF.

The head gasket had gone again unfortunately, so we set about replacing it. What a nice car to work on, couple of missing bolts etc needed replacing, and once fired up it settled down to be a very smooth quiet engine.

Great to meet John and his lovely wife Liv who made us very welcome, good to have a chat with them. Jon enjoyed the excellent bacon sandwich.

From there we went to Southampton for our annual visit to this lovely looking MGF 120 mpi in Copperleaf, for minor service and ease off of the clutch release arm, which wasn’t too bad at all. As always really great to see Mark and Joanne and have a catch-up. Thanks both for the tea and the doughnuts. We look forward to seeing you both next year.

Really good weather so far, no need for the gazebo, that I finally remembered to pack! ☀️

Back at our digs in Farnham now for another night here. – https://ift.tt/K2uMbWX

We’re now on our way to Farnham after leaving Eastbourne this evening.

Really good to see Chris, as always, for some more things on his fab MG TF 135 ‘Avril’.

Chris had heard about the benefits of the soft ride kit and we had chatted about it on our last visit, plus he wanted a bit more of a ‘sportier’ sounding exhaust. So he treated her to a few things this time.

Soft ride kit fitted and a TT Mk 7 fitted too. We look forward to hearing how his run out in Avril went this evening.

A bit of a detour made on the way this morning to North Cheam, near Worcester Park as Mark’s always very tidy MGF VVC 143 had developed a couple of issues since we had replaced the head gasket back in April. Bit of an investigation undertaken and various sensors swapped out, including new throttle body as it had been messed with and not set up correctly. On hearing back from Mark earlier (whilst writing this) on a test drive the problem still persists. We shall return to investigate further and see why ‘Big Ears’ is misbehaving…. – https://ift.tt/7y0Znw9

Back to reality today, after a really fantastic time away in Greece…

We headed south to a lovely little village called Pentlow, in Suffolk, where it was really good to meet Gary and his lovely wife, for work on their very tidy MGF Steptronic, that her father had bought for her some years ago. Unfortunately, for them the head gasket had gone again and the car was also over due it’s cambelt service.

The dreaded K-seal had been added at some point in its life, so we cleaned away what we could of that hideous stuff. Couple of bits replaced to get her back to rights and it was so lovely seeing the smile on their faces when she was fired back up.

Really nice morning chatting, together with welcoming brews and butties and some good weather thrown in too.

We then headed further south and are now in our digs in Westerham.

A good start to the week to get us back to it. ☺️ – https://ift.tt/0noBU8G

So this morning we have woken up on the island of Crete and I think for the first time ever our suitcases don’t contain tools!

We’re having 10 days R&R on this beautiful island, that we last visited on our honeymoon.

I will try to keep a check on the admin and will respond to messages etc soon as poss and will have a big catch-up once we’re home.

Wonder how many MGs we will spot on our travels here. 🇬🇷 🏝 😀 – https://ift.tt/KThv2tZ

Back to it today with a job in Stoke-on-Trent after enjoying a few fab, none work, days away in London.

Mark had spotted us a couple of times on his travels, as a long-distance lorry driver. When we pulled into the A66 café, back in December he called us over for a chat about his TF 115, that was needing a bit of work.

Mark had bought the car really cheap and as a what he described as a barn find. After enjoying a few trips out in it, the head gasket went. Plus the car had no service history and after being stood for some time he thought that the clutch had also gone.

So we got him booked in for a couple of days work. After unearthing the car from underneath a bush this morning we set about getting her sorted. All bolts etc came undone with no bother at all. A few were missing or wrong so these were replaced. Head gasket replaced and cambelt service carried out. The clutch itself was absolutely fine, it was just down to the clutch release arm being a bit stiff, due to being stood and a very worn out clevis pin.

What a joy to work on and all up and running lovely now. Mark will now get the MOT done and give her a bit of a clean up, before enjoying the trips he has planned throughout the summer months.

Baking hot day, but we had the shade of a tree, which was welcome. 🌳 – https://ift.tt/2wtuox1

Another just up the road day today…

Our first call was in Cliffe, where it was really nice to meet Martin for work on his immaculate ZS 1.8 that he’s owned since it was a year old.

Cambelt, water pump, tensioner, plugs, all filters and oil all replaced this morning. Fab car, glad we’ve got everything sorted for Martin, nice to have a chat and a brew!

We then went over to Dringhouses, near York for cambelt service on Stewart’s TF 135 (in HQM). Cambelt, water pump, tensioner all replaced. Couple of stubborn bolts, but pleased we have everything sorted for him, as he had no previous history with the car and was a bit tentative about driving it, quite rightly so. Good to meet Stew, who made it back home before we left, good chat and a cracking brew!

An enjoyable day in good company, to round off our work this week, ahead of having a few days away. 😃 – https://ift.tt/jDUJ7dP

Back on the road today after our couple of weeks in the workshop, with our first call in Chapel Allerton for work on Alaric’s recent acquisition, after his last car that we worked on some time ago was written off by a chap on his way to buy some lemons.

Today we replaced the head gasket and carried out the cambelt service on his Rover Tourer 75 1.8 turbo in Odyssey Blue. The car had previously had the head gasket replaced with a Mk II elastomer.

Alaric was concerned that the head may have been warped and would need replacing, but after a clean up was found to be good to go, which he was really pleased to hear.

Nice to see him again and have a chat whilst we worked.

From there we went over to Harrogate where it was lovely to see Pat and Diane again, and of course have fusses with their gorgeous dog Bertie.

Minor service time for their fab looking TF 1.6. Plus a couple of niggles needed sorting.

Good to have a catch-up, complete with a cracking brew, homemade cakes and biscuits. Thank you, both, they were really good. 🍰

Admin almost caught up on and nearly home now. A long, tough day, but good all the same! – https://ift.tt/jDUJ7dP