Timing Belt

[Dave6]

Can anybody recommend a garage located in Lancashire or Merseyside to replace a timing belt and water pump on a 2002 2.5 V6 together with approximate price? Would it be worth replacing the thermostat too?

[stocktake]

Not sure on the closest person to you but price wise, circa £450-£500 for all three inc water pump.
If your in there the stat is easy and minimal labour.

[roverbarmy]

Timing belt(s x3) not belt on the V6! That's why they are so expensive to replace!

[SD1too]

Hello Dave and to the club.

Originally Posted by Dave6

Would it be worth replacing the thermostat too?

The answer to your question is no, not unless you can see pools of coolant sitting in the 'V'. Even then, all you need is a new set of 'O' rings. To check, remove two screws and lift off the engine acoustic cover and use a powerful torch. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

You'll read of many people who've had leaking thermostat housings, including myself, but there are some who have never had this problem. After much research, experimentation and deduction, I've concluded that it all depends upon the position of two simple clips. If yours have been fitted correctly, I don't expect you to have any trouble.

Caution! Some forum members are reluctant to believe that this could be possible, so don't be surprised if you find a contradictory view follows this post.
All ideas are welcome of course.

Simon

[rab60bit]

Originally Posted by SD1too

Hello Dave and to the club.

The answer to your question is no, not unless you can see pools of coolant sitting in the 'V'. Even then, all you need is a new set of 'O' rings. To check, remove two screws and lift off the engine acoustic cover and use a powerful torch. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

You'll read of many people who've had leaking thermostat housings, including myself, but there are some who have never had this problem. After much research, experimentation and deduction, I've concluded that it all depends upon the position of two simple clips. If yours have been fitted correctly, I don't expect you to have any trouble.

Caution! Some forum members are reluctant to believe that this could be possible, so don't be surprised if you find a contradictory view follows this post.
All ideas are welcome of course.

Simon

I bought my KV6 Contemporary SE just over 6 years ago with 118K on the clock and following the drive back to Cheshire from Southhampton discovered it was leaking into the 'V'. Bought all genuine MGR bits and did the job myself replacing the manifold gaskets etc. whilst I was discovering all the other joys of MGR's engineering under the bonnet!
Thankfully it's still good +40K on.
My question however is that your statement about the two clips suggests the job wasn't done correctly by the factory in the first place or are you refererring to subsequent repairs to solve leaks and the clips not being fitted correctly?
Without risking a torrent of disagreements, what is the clip theory?

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by rab60bit

... your statement about the two clips suggests the job wasn't done correctly by the factory in the first place or are you refererring to subsequent repairs to solve leaks and the clips not being fitted correctly?

Well both are possibilities John. Or the clips may have been fitted in the right position but moved because they were not tightened sufficiently. I understand that these plastic parts made their début on the 75 and by the time the leakage problem emerged, MG Rover had survival to worry about.

Without risking a torrent of disagreements, what is the clip theory?

I think it's fair to say that everyone was puzzled by these clips. Their purpose was not obvious. After ruling out nearly all causes of leakage I decided to investigate another club member's suggestion that movement might be responsible. Sure enough, I found that the thermostat housing/straight pipe assembly wobbled quite easily because the straight pipe was free to move in and out of the water pump and thermostat housings. With both clips moved fully outwards, the assembly became absolutely rigid which made more sense. Re-reading RAVE's service instructions, I discovered a very ambiguous section which, with the benefit of my successful test results, appeared to confirm my theory about the position of these clips.

But I may be proved wrong yet!

Simon

[rab60bit]

Ah. I would have thought a 3 piece (+2 clips) all plastic assembly with a regular range of (say) 90C operating temperature is bound to have relative movement issues. Without reminding myself of the design, if you carry out replacement at ambient and fit the clips fully abuted, under running conditions the water temperature is going to get up to around 100C and the assembly expands accordingly (and becomes wobbly?). On cooling it all 'shrinks' back to the original assembed state - doesn't it?
Anyway mine is still OK (but now I think I'll take a quick look under the cover....)

[Animal]

Get in touch with LATES ( on here ) for your belts

You can't go wrong but i believe there is a bit of a wait