What to do now!

[Dansrockin]

Hi all, some of you may have seen my post the other day, about a white gold 75 1.8t Connie SE that I'd just picked up.
Well, last night I found out it has the dreaded hgf! The coolant in the expansion tank that was clear when I picked the car up, is now black, there's a little bit of mayo under the expansion tank cap too. There's nothing under the oil filler cap or rocker cover that can see. The car drove the 240 miles home from Durham faultlessly, and the temp showing on the ipk display was pretty steady at around 93-97 from what I remember, it went up to around 103 a couple of times in stationary traffic but the fan came on and it went down as it should.
It was parked up over the weekend, but when I checked last night, I found the above.
From what I've been told by several people, it sounds like early stages of hgf, and the elastomer is delaminating, and the high oil pressure is forcing it into the coolant, but because it didn't overheat and there's no mayo in the oil filler, then it's probably not done any damage as of yet, and I'd probably get away with just a gasket change.
I don't know anything about these engines, I'm a V6 and cdti man, so I don't know if what I'm being toyis accurate.
I'm now left with a dilemma. Do I stick to the original plan of taking anything off the car that's I'm better condition to what is on my celestial 75 and swapping them over, and then trying to sell the car, either as a whole or break it up, or do I put the time and money into fixing it, to then try and sell it as a good car?
Personally, I hate seeing good cars broken up, and this is a good one, it's only done 42k, and it shows by the condition of it! It's had a lot of work done to it over the last year or two, and once the HG is sorted, should make a very nice car. But, I'm not currently in a position to put money into fixing the car, I've quoted anywhere from 350 upwards to get an mg specialist to do it, or I can buy the parts off Mat Price for between 40-200 depending on what kit I get. People are telling me it's not that bad a job to do, but nothing is easy the first time you do it!
So, fellow enthusiasts! What should I do? Break it, sell it as it is, or leave it til probably early next year and then fix it?

[trikey]

Fix it!

It’s not a bad job to do, the 1.8 is by far the best engine to work on out of all of them.

[selwol]

I personally would get an someone who is experienced in the k series engine to have a look and give you a proper diagnosis of whats needed. I`m not that person but when my head gasket went the temperature went right up and water pi55ed out.

[FLYING BANANA]

Contact Mike Stafford at MJSAUTOANDMARINE.CO.UK
He is a K series engine specialist. Only takes a phone call.

Mike has looked after my 1.8t for the last 7 years.

[Dansrockin]

Originally Posted by trikey

Fix it!

It’s not a bad job to do, the 1.8 is by far the best engine to work on out of all of them.

It's not a bad job to someone who knows what they're doing! Lol
Realistically how complicated is it if you've never done it before? I'm pretty ok with basic spanner jobs, but never done gaskets or timing on any engine before in fear of making it worse

[suzublu]

Originally Posted by Dansrockin

It's not a bad job to someone who knows what they're doing! Lol
Realistically how complicated is it if you've never done it before? I'm pretty ok with basic spanner jobs, but never done gaskets or timing on any engine before in fear of making it worse

https://rimmerbros.com/content--name...mp-and-Cambelt

[Dansrockin]

Originally Posted by suzublu

https://rimmerbros.com/content--name...mp-and-Cambelt

Thanks, that's really useful!

[marinabrian]

It's an easy job Dan, do it and don't look back

It's well within the scope of DIY, with access to basic tools and you will enjoy the job.

All it will cost you is a Payen BW750 head set, a timing belt and a bit of your time

Brian

[Dansrockin]

Originally Posted by marinabrian

It's an easy job Dan, do it and don't look back

It's well within the scope of DIY, with access to basic tools and you will enjoy the job.

All it will cost you is a Payen BW750 head set, a timing belt and a bit of your time

Brian

Thanks Brian, I'm seriously considering it, having seen that video, it does look fairly straightforward, I'm just a bit nervous over things like timing incase I mess it up and cause serious issues!
I'm going to try flushing it out first, just on the very slim chance it's just remnants of a previous issue and it's not been cleaned out properly. Apparently the HG was done around 6k ago and it's not been used much since then, so maybe the long drive home shifted it a bit and brought it to the tank.
I had another look earlier, the oil level is just above the full mark, but that's where it was the other day. There's no gunge on the dipstick, and the oil doesn't look too thin or watered down. The coolant isn't actually completely black, it's just got a layer of oil floating on the top. Having cleared a little bit of it away, the coolant underneath still looks red.
If I flush it and then it reappears, then I'll probably look at giving it a go! What's the worst that can happen! 😂

[Avulon]

I'd suggest change the coolant and either drain out some of the oil and get the level right. - halfway between low and high on a cold (stone cold) engine is always best. Over the high and there's risk of seal damage - low and there's a risk to the top end lubrication _ although i'd always err on the lower side - overfilling has probably killed more engines than it's helped...


then take it for a decent run do at least 10 miles cruising 60-70 at temperature then check the oil and coolant (once the engine has cooled for a couple of hours). Then you'll know where you stand.