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MG MGB Technical - Engine cooked?

Was recently enjoying a drive in my '77 B when I heard the bearing on the water pump destroying itself. Carefully watched the temp gauge the rest of the way home -- never rose above 1/2 on the scale. Never indicated an overheat situation. But within 6 blocks from home, engine just quit -- shut itself off. After finding no signs of catastrophy, it started right up and made it home.

I replaced water pump, coolant, temp sending unit and everything seemed fine at the time. But the last couple of times I've gone out to start it, the engine seems initially hard to turn over and hard to start (especially after it sits for almost a week). Once started, it seems to run OK (I think I'm being hypersensitive looking for any potential sign of new problems).

Previously, the engine seemed to readily turn over even after sitting for a couple of weeks at a time. Could the engine shutdown mentioned above caused other problems? What, if anything, am I missing in my diagnosis?

Thanks for the help.

Ken V.
'77 MGB
Safety Fast!
Ken Vandruff

I had a similar experience this summer with my newly rebuilt 18ga engine in my mga. The gen pulley flew apart and we lost the fan belt. The temp rose to about 200 but stayed there as long as we kept the speed up around 65 mph - about 15 miles. When I exited the xway it really climbed and I shut her down and coasted to a parking lot.

After some grapes of wrath repairs there haven't been any related problems and the engine runs great.

The main problem would be a warped head. I retorqued mine the next day and it needed it.

You might want to change the oil, as high temps can affect it. You might want to perform a dry/wet compression test to check for bad rings or valves.

Is it possible the fan belt is now on too tight or even misaligned because of the new water pump pulley? This might affect the cranking???? I had JUST tightened my fan belt and I think that's why the pulley failed. It was probably ready to go and the extra force was enough to put it over the top.



Fred H

The engine being hard to turn over
sounds more like a battery going
bad or poor connections
than anything else. Check for about 12.25 to 12.5
volts with the engine off, and for about 14 volts
with the engine running. Maybe the belt
isn't tight enough and the battery isn't getting
charged sufficiently? This new problem is
probably just a coincidence and has nothing to
do with the water pump issue.
Ronald

When the water pump lets go, one potential reason for engine stoppage is the ignition system getting soaked with coolant! Happened to my buddy's midget, engine temp never got high enough to do any damage, we swapped the pump and it's fine.

Good luck,
--
Olly
Oliver Stephenson

I agree with Ron. Check the condition of the batteries first. Take them both out and charge them overnight and see if there's any difference after a good charge. Could be the fan belt is slipping slightly.

Andy
Andy Preston

This thread was discussed between 24/08/2003 and 28/08/2003

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